Radeon RX Vega is great news for crypto miners

AMD recently launched its Radeon RX Vega graphics cards, with online stores in South Africa listing limited stock of the GPUs.

The cards are based on the manufacturer’s new Vega architecture and boast HBM2 graphics memory.

Like the previous generation of Polaris graphics cards, these GPUs are proving popular among cryptocurrency miners thanks to their high hash rates.

Performance

Initially, Radeon RX Vega cards did not deliver outstanding hash rates when using the NiceHash miner.

According to benchmarks from HotHardware, the RX Vega 64 delivered 30.37MH/s, while the RX Vega 56 reached 29.3MH/s.

AMD then released a beta blockchain-focused driver, which aimed to optimise Radeon cards for cryptocurrency mining.

After installing the drivers and optimising the graphics cards for maximum performance, the RX Vega 56 reached higher hash rates than the RX Vega 64 while drawing less power.

It must be noted that the mining efficiency of graphics cards can differ depending on the configuration of the unit, with one user reaching 43.5MH/s on a Radeon RX Vega 64 while only drawing 130W.

The NiceHash hash rates from HotHardware for the latest GPUs are detailed below.

Availability

Graphics cards are still difficult to find in South Africa, especially at a competitive price.

Many Radeon RX cards remain out of stock, with thousands of products tied up in back orders. The RX Vega cards are no different, and are sold out at many stores in South Africa.

When they launched in the country, the RX Vega 56 and RX Vega 64 were priced from R8,999 and R11,499 respectively.

Those prices may change as stock remains limited and back orders continue to grow.

This article first appeared on MyBroadband and is republished with permission.

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