The GPU has arrived. Took me ~2 hours to rebuild the new PSU/GPU. The package recommended a 750w PSU, while I only bought a 650w. I really have no idea why Sapphire recommends a 750w, over the AMD recommendation of 650w. Took some more minutes to remove any Nvidia trace, instantly hoping into Skyrim after, to forward some testing:
Nvidia GTX 980/Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse:
FPS HQ quality ENB/2-4k textures: 35/45 in benchmark region
FPS Normal quality ENB/2-4k's: 45/55 in benchmark region
FPS Performance ENB/2-4k's: 55/stable 60 everyhwere without compromise
Now the fun part. Whoever is afraid about temperatures, right now I'm laughing at it. The 980 ran at constant 80°C in Skyrim, because Rainmeter couldn't go higher. So it probably ran somewhere at 90-95°C, or even worth. The Sapphire Pulse never exceeded 58°C, mostly running at around 55°C, with the quality ENB. Power consumption pretty much stayed the same, were I had ~300w measured directly at the power plug, I now have ~310w. Also, CPU/SYS/VRM/PCH and both SSD's run at ~5-7°C cooler than before, simultaneously creating more silence from the air vents.
The only thing I could complain about, is how they thought it was a good idea, to put the power plugs directly above the Pulse logo, which is now blocked from view. However, I'm very satisfied with the result, and I don' think I even need to overclock/undervolt the GPU. Maybe I'll try at one point, once I got more familiar with AMD GPU's. But for now I do not have any urgent need for it.
I totally recommend Radeon from this point, given how completely overprized Nvidia GPU's are. Are they btter? Sure they are, but the prize in comparison to a 2070, or 1080, completely outclasses those two GPU's. A 2080 is still ~750-850, even 900+€ if I want to get a decent one. The fact it outperforms the Vega 56 by only 33%, is pretty underwhelming to say the least, though you have to consider, how it renders @100% better:
Userbenchmark
However, I totally dig how I got ~48% VRAM left for Skyrim, and the texture quality is much better then on the 980, pretty much neglecting any further need for 4-8k textures. Some images:
https://imgur.com/a/jbSZICb
