AMD Radeon HD 7790 Pro Reviews

The launch of the Radeon HD 7790 is another precisely targeted launch by AMD. The 7790 is intended to fill AMD’s price and performance gaps between the 7770 and the 7850, and it does this very well, offering 84% of the 7850’s performance – or 130% of the 7770’s performance – for around $30 less than the 7850. In the world of sub-$200 video cards where every $10 matters, this is exactly what AMD needs to fill in their product lineup. Meanwhile as the first GCN 1.1 GPU, Bonaire doesn’t greet us with any great surprises, and if not for the new PowerTune implementation it would be indistinguishable from Southern Islands (GCN 1.0). With that said AMD already had a strong architecture in GCN 1.0, so even minor changes such as PowerTune and a new GPU configuration serve to make a good architecture better. The new PowerTune will probably take enthusiasts a bit of time to get used to, but ultimately we’re happy to see AMD moving to using just full clock/voltage states and not relying on their clockspeed-only inferred states, as the former is going to offer more power savings. As for AMD’s functional unit layout for Bonaire – 14 CUs, 2 geometry pipelines, and 16 ROPs – it looks to have paid off handsomely for them. They’ve improved performance by quite a bit without having to add too many transistors or a larger memory bus, making it a great way to iterate on GCN midway between new process nodes.

Reference Radeon HD 7790 cards should be priced around $149, which includes a copy of BioShock Infinite as part of AMD's Never Settle Reloaded bundle, but we're told that some add-in-board partners are going to be somewhat aggressive with their pricing. Unfortunately, we won't know for sure for a couple of weeks because Radeon HD 7790 cards aren't slated to arrive until April 2. In light of current graphics card offerings and prices, the Radeon HD 7790 would be a good choice for casual gamers that don't want to skimp on features. However, the graphics card landscape is forever changing and may not look the same by the time the Radeon HD 7790 actually arrives on store shelves. If the rumors hold true, NVIDIA may be shipping a card soon that fills the gap between the GeForce GTX 650 Ti and GTX 660. If that card is priced closer to the former, but performs more like the latter, the Radeon HD 7790's value proposition changes significantly. We'll all know more soon. As it stands today, the new AMD Radeon HD 7790 is a clear step up over the Radeon HD 7770, which should serve budget-conscious gamers well. If you can scrounge up the extra coin for a Radeon HD 7850 or GeForce GTX 660 card though, there's a lot of additional performance to be had for a moderate additional investment.

The HD 7790 is able to outgun NVIDIA’s similarly priced GTX 650 Ti and it gives gamers a well tailored, efficient AMD alternative in a hotly contested price segment while also introducing class-lead features into the entry level market. It is a near-perfect solution from nearly every perspective and should contribute towards lowering overall GPU prices for gamers who are looking for the best deal possible. To us, that’s a recipe for success.

If you already own a Radeon HD 6870 or GeForce GTX 560, there's really no reason to spend money on a 7790, even though the new card offers better efficiency and less heat. On the other hand, if you're using a GeForce GTX 650 or Radeon HD 7770, the Bonaire-based board does offer a more notable speed-up. Should you find yourself interested, be aware that availability of Radeon HD 7790s isn't expected until the first week of April. The good news is that AMD is making BioShock Infinite available as a bundle with the card from participating vendors. The thing is, we're more concerned about the loss of a $180 Radeon HD 7850 1 GB than we are excited about the arrival of a $150 7790. Even if they're lower-margin products for AMD, inexpensive 7850s are great cards for hardcore gamers on a budget. If they disappear at ~$180, we'll be worse off for it, not better. Don't count Nvidia out, either. With AMD starting a squabble at $150, a counterstrike against the Radeon HD 7850 might help keep prices down. You never know. We recommend keeping a close eye on this space.