Radeon R7 240 And 250: Our Sub-$100 Gaming Card Round-Up

[jabliese]

Speaking of GDDR5, there are many 640's with GDDR5 on Newegg. Why did you test a DDR3 model?

 

[Sakkura]

Speaking of GDDR5, there are many 640's with GDDR5 on Newegg. Why did you test a DDR3 model?

You can get the DDR3 version for $40. The GDDR5 version starts at $80.

(the GTX 650 is available at under $90, for reference)

 

[logainofhades]

Not impressed with either of these cards. The 240 would have to be far cheaper to stand out from the GT 640 as you can now find both for a very similar price. Even one GT 640 out there that was cheaper than a 240. The same holds true with regards to the HD 7750 vs the 250.

 

[adbat]

I just wonder why are there no tests at lower resolution? Games look a lot better when they run smooth in lower res with a bit of smoothing then choppy in HD.

What? What the heck are you talking about?

It looks Better in HD ready (I remember there is such a thing) with anti analyzing then in full HD having issues with framerate

 

[Zero_]

Too bad the R7 240 DDR5 version is not available in the US. For ~$5 more, you get a card that easily trades blows with a GT640.

 

[logainofhades]

The GT 640 already is competitively priced with the 240 if you shop around a bit.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 640 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $69.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-29 12:02 EST-0500)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 240 2GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $69.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-29 12:02 EST-0500)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GT 640 2GB Video Card ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $59.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-29 12:02 EST-0500)

 

[Onus]

This was great to see. I absolutely agree that DDR3 versions of cards spec'ed for GDDR5 are abominations with no good reason to exist. It looks like a HD7750 is a valid starting point for a gamer, but a HD7770 would be a lot more comfortable.

 

[airplanegeek]

I wanted to see how well these cards could overclock

 

[mamasan2000]

I would buy a HD7870According to this it draws as much power as R7 240http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_radeon_hd_7850_and_7870_review,7.htmlAnd performance is much better. Buy a console if you can't afford a computer to play on. Otherwise, look at 200+ dollar cards. Rest are just no point to get.

 

[tsnor]

re" ...At the end of the day, though, the existence of a $100 Radeon HD 7770 makes it extremely hard to recommend any alternative under it..."LOW PROFILE is a key factor in this space. Picking the best low profile card would be nice. Right now that seems to be the HD7750. Is that apt to change (say with maxwell) ? The HD7770 does not play.

 

[bahr]

RIP: 64 bit memory bus.

 

[RedJaron]

Just buy a bigger PSU and be done with these poor performance-for-the-dollar/watt cards.

Right, because swapping out a PSU is exactly what the budget user / home office that plays casual games on the side wants to do.

Glad to see this review. I'm currently speccing a replacement machine for my sister ( house fire, ) and was interested in how the 240 and 250 fared against the 7750. I was hoping the 250 would match the 7750 as the 260X seems to be the 7790 replacement ( thinking the 260 would be the 7770 replacement. ) So I'm a little disappointed there. I was also hoping these low end cards would start offering two DVI port versions. Yes, VGA is still around and used, but isn't it time we let it die?

Also, Don, you have an error on the last page: "so long as you're willing to except the lowest-quality settings available. " Should be "accept."

 

[logainofhades]

For a budget upgrade for casual gaming on an OEM rig, I see this as being fairly reasonable. Far cheaper than going out and buying any new console.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.61 @ B&H)
Total: $154.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-29 15:27 EST-0500)

 

[Onus]

If it's full height, logain I'd agree with you. Low profile, the HD7750 is it, as long as it remains available. For the latest low profile offerings to be weaker than that one, yet it might go away, does not make any sense.

I have played GW2 at 1600x900 with a variety of cards, including the HD6670, HD7750 (I'd bought them, so they were both GDDR5), and HD7770. The HD6670 was only "sufferable;" jittery on almost all Low settings and some better settings not even available. The HD7750 was actually decent (mix of medium and high), although a little jittery too. The HD7770 was mostly smooth on high to ultra settings.

 

[logainofhades]

Yes, the low profile options are pretty poor. There is one low profile HD 7850 out there though.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AFOX-AF7850-2048D5L1-Radeon-Powerful-Profile/dp/B00FDUKTA8

 

[ratchet256]

I got my Radeon HD 7770 for 70$ with a mail in rebate ;D AWESOME deal.

 

[InvalidError]

RIP: 64 bit memory bus.

At this point in the game, 64bits GPUs would start lacking sufficient RAM bandwidth to compete against IGPs so those things were definitely overdue for retirement. With DDR4 and 128MB L4 cache coming to a broad selection of mainstream Intel chips next year, even 128bits DDR3/4 GPUs might get a run for their money.

 

[logainofhades]

My brother has a HP s3500f slimline computer that I thought the R7 240 might work well in (at least better than the Geforce 6150se it has now). Problem is he has a 250w PSU, all the R7 240's list 400w minimum and it seems the only place to get one under $75 is eBay($43, new). 400w seems awfully high for such a low end card...

I would focus on getting him a better PC. I checked the specs for that system. Even a lowly Pentium G would be faster than that system, to be honest.

 

[Onus]

As the power numbers in this article show, none of these cards with no PCIe power connection needs a 400W PSU. GPU manufacturers overstate requirements in the attempt (sometimes futile) to account for the liar-labeled PSU-shaped objects out there that might only be good for half their labels (e.g. Logisys, Apevia, Diablotek, Sunbeam, other generic). Yes, a real 200W PSU may be needed, but not 400W. Even the HD7770 can run on a good 300W PSU using an adapter.

 

[Sakkura]

As the power numbers in this article show, none of these cards with no PCIe power connection needs a 400W PSU. GPU manufacturers overstate requirements in the attempt (sometimes futile) to account for the liar-labeled PSU-shaped objects out there that might only be good for half their labels (e.g. Logisys, Apevia, Diablotek, Sunbeam, other generic). Yes, a real 200W PSU may be needed, but not 400W. Even the HD7770 can run on a good 300W PSU using an adapter.

Good power supplies below 400W are relatively rare though, especially if you want to save money compared to a good unit with 400+ watts.

 

[Onus]

Good power supplies below 400W are relatively rare though, especially if you want to save money compared to a good unit with 400+ watts.

That is true, unfortunately, although I've seen a few more tests of good TFX and SFX PSUs (the physically little ones) in the 300W range, and Seasonic has some 300W ATX PSUs that are 80+ Bronze and are inexpensive. Still, if you're going ATX, I agree that not much more can buy a larger, more capable unit like an Antec Earthwatts or that new EVGA 500W model.

 

[InvalidError]

Good power supplies below 400W are relatively rare though, especially if you want to save money compared to a good unit with 400+ watts.

They are not that rare but I agree they make very little sense when you can get a unit with 200-300W higher rating and similar build quality for only $5-10 more so most vendors have very little motivation to stock more than one or two models in that category - if any.

From a manufacturing standpoint, a 500W unit costs maybe $2 more in higher-rated parts to make than a 300W unit based on the same design and the likely higher sales on the 500W model may ultimately make it the cheaper one to mass-produce, making it that much more profitable... so the aftermarket PSU vendors and manufacturers have very little motivation to promote sub-300W units either.

This is a bit unfortunate considering how the majority of systems shipping out these days are under 150W.

 

[Onus]

Yep, that's why I mentioned the physically smaller units. FSP has a couple that include a mounting plate so you could use it in an ATX case, but then why bother? Getting a 380W Earthwatts or Antec VP-450 probably makes more sense.

 

[vertexx]

Agreed. I use the FSP SFX 300W unit for ITX cases even if they fit a standard ATX (i.e. many of the Lian-Li ITX cases). Using the SFX give a little more room for a CPU cooler in these cases. I believe its actually the same unit that Lian-Li bundles with a couple of the cases (i.e. PC-Q12).

For builds that will run 24x7, I have used the Seasonic 360W Gold PSU, but that's full ATX. It runs ~$56, so it's a good buy for a gold PSU.

Below that, there are the Pico PSUs which run up to 160W. Between those two points there is definitely a gap for a quality built PSU. I'd really like to see a Pico 200W PSU. They have a 192W brick, but only a 160W PSU with that.

I'd be tempted to try that kit with a Pentium G/ R7-240 build, but I think it's pushing it. I'm definitely going to use it with the A8-7600 when that's out.

 

[Yhuzan]

I got a Radeon HD 7790 for $105. Not under $100, but it does everything I need it to do and runs every game I play with beautiful graphics at 40+ FPS.