The AMD Radeon Technologies Group have gotten ensnared in a little bit of controversy recently. They quietly introduced a “lite” version of the Radeon RX 560 with just 14 Compute Units about six months ago. That quiet addition of a cut-down version with no clear differentiation in name did not go unnoticed, and AMD was forced to quickly address the issue.
The AMD Radeon RX 560 With 14 Compute Units
When AMD introduced the Radeon RX 560, it was not just a rebranded Radeon RX 460. The RX 560 touted two additional Compute Units over the Rx 460. That gives the RX 560 a total of 1,024 stream processors – 128 more than the RX 460, with just 896 stream processors.
However, AMD later quietly introduced a “lite” version of the Radeon RX 560, with just 14 Compute Units. This would essentially be a rebranded Radeon RX 460, with 896 stream processors.
The only change AMD made was in the specifications section of the Radeon RX 560 product page. Even the banner still quotes the original 16 CU specification!
So it would be easy for anyone to continue believing that all Radeon RX 560 graphics cards were created equal – with 1,024 stream processors.
AMD On The Radeon RX 560 With 14 Compute Units
Tom’s Hardware pressed AMD on this issue, and received this statement from a company representative :
There are two variants of AMD Radeon RX 560. End users will definitely need to double check specs on variants.
Typically the RX560 14 CU version will sell lower than 16 CU version, [and the] 14 CU version will have lower power consumption.
This allows our GPU partners to offer differentiation between different SKUs for different power and pricing segments.
AMD also clarified that they will be leaving it to their AIB partners to disclose the number of CUs in their Radeon RX 560 product (or not), it is truly caveat emptor to anyone buying one of these cards. That naturally resulted in an online uproar.
[adrotate group=”1″]A day later, AMD backtracked on leaving it to their AIB partners for disclosure. They issued a new statement :
It’s correct that 14 Compute Unit (896 stream processors) and 16 Compute Unit (1024 stream processor) versions of the Radeon RX 560 are available. We introduced the 14 CU version this summer to provide AIBs and the market with more RX 500 series options.
It’s come to our attention that on certain AIB and e-tail websites there’s no clear delineation between the two variants.
We’re taking immediate steps to remedy this: we’re working with all AIB and channel partners to make sure the product descriptions and names clarify the CU count, so that gamers and consumers know exactly what they’re buying.
We apologize for the confusion this may have caused.
While that is a relief for potential buyers of the Radeon RX 560 going forward, those who purchased their RX 560 cards in the last 6 months will be wondering if they have the “full” or “lite” version of the Radeon RX 560.
How Many CUs Does My Radeon RX 560 Have?
If you purchased a Radeon RX 560 in the last 6 months, it may come with 14 CUs instead of 16 CUs. How do you check?
Simple – download and run GPU-Z. It will tell you how many Compute Units your Radeon RX 560 has.
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Looks like another GPU class-action lawsuit. Nvidia lost the last one, and all they did was forget to mention that 1/8 of the memory had much lower bandwidth. This seems more serious, because AMD released the original with full shader count, then deliberately gimped the card, (disabled 12.5% of the shaders) and kept the same SKU and model number. The gimped card was sold for 6 months before these changes came to light.