Radeon R7 250X Review: Reprising Radeon HD 7770 At $100

[wtfxxxgp]

I really dislike the way that the performance numbers for these low-end cards are only shown compared to other low-end cards. To see the big picture, we really need to see a much wider array of boards.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. We use detail settings that make sense for the boards we test.Seeing a 290X get 200 FPS at low settings doesn't provide much insight, nor does it make sense to use high resolutions and details playable on the 290X that deliver 8 FPS on low-end cards.

Also, what's with the exaggerated Newegg hints? Yeah, we get it.... they sponsor you. But tailoring your articles to drop their name? Geez.

That's not how it works, Achoo. I mention Newegg because I use them as a price indicator, not because we have any directive to do so.The content management system will automatically target any keywords that pay and highlight them as links. Welcome to the future...

That was a quote that just wasn't working for me when I pressed the button, but I just wanted to add this comment to that reply: PWND!!!!

I don't get why people want more and more instead of sticking to what is relevant. Also, the fact that you mention newegg has never ever bothered me. I've seen plenty of forum members refer to them as well - guess newegg is paying A LOT in royalties lol

 

[goodriot]

And as I say that I'm finding R7 260X's now that are in my price range too, ouuu the decisions shall be real come Friday.

Doesn't sound like much of a decision, the Radeon R7 260X will put a real hurt on the R7 250X and 650 Ti.

I will say this, though... New stuff might be coming, you might want to hold off for a couple weeks...

Just sayin'.

I haven't had my PC for almost 2 weeks now so prolly won't be waiting. But I agree about the 260X, and the fact I wasn't looking to upgrade anyway and just get a replacement...I think I'll be perfectly happy with the 260X.

 

[iTheGM]

The Gigabyte 7770 representing the 250x??? I understand they have the same spec sheets, but I reaaaallly dislike this in principle. I could have lived without this article until you had your hands on an actual 250x. Again, I understand the argument that they can be assumed to be practically the same in performance, but the real world doesn't always work that way (anyone remember the press vs. retail 290x boards?). I'd say this is a poor precedent to set.

 

[razamatraz]

If this card is compatible in dual-graphics crossfire with the latest A10-7700K and A10-7850K it could make for quite a decent little budget game rig. Any idea if this would work?

 

[alextheblue]

Except the discrete GPUs are running 200-300MHz faster and with GDDR5, they have 3-4X as much RAM bandwidth so the net throughput on a discrete GPU is significantly higher than the nearest physically equivalent IGP paired with ~1866GT/s DDR3.

Agreed. Personally I think that a 250 would be a better pairing in terms of performance, if the drivers can pull it off. At least at stock speeds. You might get a somewhat larger boost by pairing with a 7750/7770/250X if you were overclocking the iGPU and running DDR3 2133 or faster.

I haven't had my PC for almost 2 weeks now so prolly won't be waiting. But I agree about the 260X, and the fact I wasn't looking to upgrade anyway and just get a replacement...I think I'll be perfectly happy with the 260X.

It's a good card at that price. Plus you get TrueAudio support tossed in as a bonus. Oh, Newegg has a fairly aggressively clocked model on sale too. Gigabyte's GV-R726XOC-1GD model on Newegg right now is $120.

 

[cleeve]

The Gigabyte 7770 representing the 250x??? I understand they have the same spec sheets, but I reaaaallly dislike this in principle. I could have lived without this article until you had your hands on an actual 250x. Again, I understand the argument that they can be assumed to be practically the same in performance, but the real world doesn't always work that way (anyone remember the press vs. retail 290x boards?). I'd say this is a poor precedent to set.

I see where you're coming from, but you misunderstand:

The Radeon R7 250X cards coming to market are, quite literally, Radeon HD 7770 cards with a new name and a new box.

It is a name change. Nothing more. Therefore, a 7770 is a perfect representation.

 

[Umfriend]

Given that these are not exactly top-of-the line cards, I would be much more interested how they would stack up paired with a CPU in the same budget-type, say an i3?

If it is an i3-4130 then you are better off with a mid to lower-mid range card to see a good performance.

OK, run it with a Celeron then. TH calls the 250X a mainstream GPU while I think the i3-4130 is a mainstream CPU. Seems like a decent match. The thing I am wondering about is whether you need a high-powered i5 CPU to keep above 30fps with these cards. (And also, whether coupling it with a Kaveri would perform better).

 

[iTheGM]

The Gigabyte 7770 representing the 250x??? I understand they have the same spec sheets, but I reaaaallly dislike this in principle. I could have lived without this article until you had your hands on an actual 250x. Again, I understand the argument that they can be assumed to be practically the same in performance, but the real world doesn't always work that way (anyone remember the press vs. retail 290x boards?). I'd say this is a poor precedent to set.

I see where you're coming from, but you misunderstand:

The Radeon R7 250X cards coming to market are, quite literally, Radeon HD 7770 cards with a new name and a new box.

It is a name change. Nothing more. Therefore, a 7770 is a perfect representation.

No, I do understand this, and that's why I prefaced my comment by saying that they should perform identically in theory. But the world is littered with perfectly reasonable theories that fell flat on their faces when tested. I just find it to be a bad practice to make the assumption that a card released 2 years ago this month (that's a long time in tech, as we all know) will properly represent a new release.

Maybe it will be different; maybe it won't. I'm not making any predictions about the results. I'm just saying that making this kind of assumption is a bad precedent for testing.

 

[cleeve]

No, I do understand this, and that's why I prefaced my comment by saying that they should perform identically in theory. But the world is littered with perfectly reasonable theories that fell flat on their faces when tested. I just find it to be a bad practice to make the assumption that a card released 2 years ago this month (that's a long time in tech, as we all know) will properly represent a new release.

Maybe it will be different; maybe it won't. I'm not making any predictions about the results. I'm just saying that making this kind of assumption is a bad precedent for testing.

I'm getting the impression that, actually, you do *not* understand.

There are no 'assumptions' here. I've talked to AMD, I've talked to actual board partners. AMD contacted *us* about this launch, not the other way around. They gave us an NDA (non-disclusure agreement) date. Let me say again: the R250X is a 7770 with a new name. The box graphics will change. The hardware will not. EXACT. SAME. CARDS. ON. THE. MARKET. TODAY.

Maybe it's clearer if I express it mathematically:

Radeon R7 250X = Radeon HD 7770

Are you suggesting that AMD and its partners are lying, and actually plan to sneak out a secret new GPU with different specifications? That they are staging this elaborate hoax in order to ensure our consumption of misinformation? For what purpose? To what end? I suppose that's theoretically possible. But if they were lying, I also guess they could have sent us a fake card, too. So if we're going to embrace that level of conspiracy theory, there's no way of knowing anything at all. In that case, it's futile to write a launch review ever again, because it's all potential subterfuge.

In this particular situation, though, I think I'm going to go with Occam's razor: it probably makes sense to actually believe them, since it's not terribly flattering to re-name a graphics card without at least changing the clock rates. I mean, if they were going to lie, why not tell us it has a million shader processors and 500 TB of GDDR74 RAM?

Yeah. Call me crazy, but I'm going to take the industry's word on this one over your unfounded concerns. They're probably telling the truth about the Radeon R7 250X being 100% equivalent to the Radeon HD 7770 in every possible way.

But hey. Feel free to shoot me an I-told-you-so if it turns out to be a massive cover up.

 

[iTheGM]

No, I do understand this, and that's why I prefaced my comment by saying that they should perform identically in theory. But the world is littered with perfectly reasonable theories that fell flat on their faces when tested. I just find it to be a bad practice to make the assumption that a card released 2 years ago this month (that's a long time in tech, as we all know) will properly represent a new release.

Maybe it will be different; maybe it won't. I'm not making any predictions about the results. I'm just saying that making this kind of assumption is a bad precedent for testing.

I'm getting the impression that, actually, you do *not* understand.

There are no 'assumptions' here. I've talked to AMD, I've talked to actual board partners. AMD contacted *us* about this launch, not the other way around. They gave us an NDA (non-disclusure agreement) date. Let me say again: the R250X is a 7770 with a new name. The box graphics will change. The hardware will not. EXACT. SAME. CARDS. ON. THE. MARKET. TODAY.

Maybe it's clearer if I express it mathematically:

Radeon R7 250X = Radeon HD 7770

Are you suggesting that AMD and its partners are lying, and actually plan to sneak out a secret new GPU with different specifications? That they are staging this elaborate hoax in order to ensure our consumption of misinformation? For what purpose? To what end? I suppose that's theoretically possible. But if they were lying, I also guess they could have sent us a fake card, too. So if we're going to embrace that level of conspiracy theory, there's no way of knowing anything at all. In that case, it's futile to write a launch review ever again, because it's all potential subterfuge.

In this particular situation, though, I think I'm going to go with Occam's razor: it probably makes sense to actually believe them, since it's not terribly flattering to re-name a graphics card without at least changing the clock rates. I mean, if they were going to lie, why not tell us it has a million shader processors and 500 TB of GDDR74 RAM?

Yeah. Call me crazy, but I'm going to take the industry's word on this one over your unfounded concerns. They're probably telling the truth about the Radeon R7 250X being 100% equivalent to the Radeon HD 7770 in every possible way.

But hey. Feel free to shoot me an I-told-you-so if it turns out to be a massive cover up.

And speaking of setting precedents and principles, I personally have one about the type of person with whom I'm willing to converse. Your incivility and immaturity have now excluded you from that pool.

Good day. All the best. Please try to remain calm in your future interactions with others; it will always be the better approach in any given situation.

-GM

 

[cleeve]

And speaking of setting precedents and principles, I personally have one about the type of person with whom I'm willing to converse.Your incivility and immaturity have now excluded you from that pool.

Wait, does that mean you won't give me a heads up when the Radeon R7 250X "Radeongate" scandal hits the news?

How mature is it, I wonder, to assume that AMD is spreading misinformation about the Radeon R7 250X launch? To challenge the validity of a review based on pure speculation? To get cranky when your baseless assumptions are pointed out in a kind and pleasant fashion?

You have no idea how much I will miss our little talks.

 

[Matt087_48]

don't knock the 2500k i have one at 4GHZ paired with an nvidia GTX 660 i can run battlefield 3 offline at 107fps , i run metro last light at 75fps maxed except no msaa. i'm sandy bridge 4 life or at least for a good while longer lol