The HD7790 "Bonaire" New GPU from AMD [Edit: NOW WITH 100% MORE REVIEWS!]

[GodisanAtheist]

Reviews:
Anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6837/...w-feat-sapphire-the-first-desktop-sea-islands
TPU:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_7790_Dual-X/
HWCanucks:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/60303-amd-radeon-hd-7790-review.html

Just to get it out of the way: Ha ha ha yes they actually named it Bonaire. Yes that sounds like boner with a french twist. This card is going to give everyone in the ~$150 market a Bonaire etc etc etc you're very funny and original.

There are rumors around about this card being a "pipe cleaner" product for GCN 2.0, i.e. Microarch improvements but still on the same 28nm process. 7790 is intended to (obviously) fill the gaping hole between the 7850 1gb and the 7770, although I think everyone would have preferred 7850's & 7870's sliding down in price slightly than the introduction of a whole new SKU.

It performs remarkably well given its core and BUS loadout, the big if is really its potential to overclock, although it seems to be clocked well over 1ghz out of the gate.

Thoughts?

 

[tviceman]

Looks like it's going to be a great chip at the price range. Nvidia is responding with a GK106 chip with the no fused off memory controllers and 4/5 SMX's enabled. This will be a good performer too at that price range and both products will ultimately put pricing pressure on the rest of current video cards on market.

:thumbsup:

 

[Elfear]

Looks like it will fill a needed product gap. Should be a good card if it drops into the $120-130 range.

 

[Termie]

It all comes down to price. The HD7850 1GB can be had for $150AR, so the list on this must be no higher than that. Given the track record of both gpu companies on low-end pricing, I think that's optimistic.

 

[Binky]

Why would anybody pick this over the 7850?

 

[Xarick]

because.. if they need a bonaire

 

[nanaki333]

this reminds me of the 6790. it was technically a 256-bit card, but was so gimped, it was barely above the 6770 in performance, while using quite a bit more power. all while costing about $20+ more.

 

[Lonyo]

Is it actually a new GPU, or a cut down HD7870 chip?
There were rumours at the original launch of the HD7000 series of the 7790 (or 7830) and 7890 (or 7930) based on cut down 7800 and 7900 series GPUs respectively.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Why would anybody pick this over the 7850?

Strict budget and a good chance with a overclock,it can surpass the 7850.

Most of the 7850/7870/7950/7970 cards if not all can do at least a 10% overclock unless the cards are voltage locked.

 

[notty22]

Launch pricing almost never makes sense VS old product that sees sales/deals. And if a new product offers no new features or a die shrink, then it's not interesting for people that follow tech. New casual buyers might like the 'new model' aspect if it comes with a game the older cards don't?
The skinny is Nvidia is gearing up a higher clocked 650ti, or one with turbo also? Better than nothing!

 

[Silverforce11]

The problem is a lot of 7850s are beastly overclockers, so if the 7790 is "only" 8-10% slower out of the gate with its huge default clocks, its not going to look good comparing OC vs OC performance.

 

[iMacmatician]

Is it actually a new GPU, or a cut down HD7870 chip?
There were rumours at the original launch of the HD7000 series of the 7790 (or 7830) and 7890 (or 7930) based on cut down 7800 and 7900 series GPUs respectively.

Apparently it is a new GPU.

 

[NTMBK]

The problem is a lot of 7850s are beastly overclockers, so if the 7790 is "only" 8-10% slower out of the gate with its huge default clocks, its not going to look good comparing OC vs OC performance.

The rumour I heard is that board makers are being barred from making stock overclocked versions of this chip in order to prevent it cannibalising the 7850, indicating it should be pretty competitive. http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/30730-more-amd-bonaire-details-show-up

 

[Red Hawk]

Worth noting is that this has the same amount of shaders as the GPU that is rumored to be in the next Xbox. Should the rumors turn out to be true, this will provide a close point of reference to see just how much of a performance advantage developers can get out of consoles with the same graphics chip as a PC.

 

[Olikan]

another leak...
this time with 896 shaders, faster than a 7850 at BF3 and Crysis 3

http://wccftech.com/amd-bonaire-chip-based-radeon-hd-7790-features-896-stream-processors-launching-april/

 

[Rvenger]

another leak...
this time with 896 shaders, faster than a 7850 at BF3 and Crysis 3

http://wccftech.com/amd-bonaire-chi...atures-896-stream-processors-launching-april/

hmmm, GCN 2.0 in disguise??

 

[Olikan]

hmmm, GCN 2.0 in disguise??

might be, GCN 2.0 pdf got released about a month ago...

GCN 2.0 have better ACE units, that should help compute performance, witch is handy at BF3....don't know much about C3 :\

 

[Eureka]

The skinny is Nvidia is gearing up a higher clocked 650ti, or one with turbo also? Better than nothing!

I think Nvidia sorely needs a stopgap product in the $150 price range more than AMD needs a $120 product. There's nothing worthwhile between a ~$110 650Ti and a ~$200 660 and the gap is pretty big.

For the 7790, I don't see the point since cheap 7850s can be had for $150. The gap between the 7770 and the 7850 is only $50.. do they really need a product in every price segment?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Could someone please explain how its possible that this card could be faster at Crysis/BF3 than a 7850 that overall seems to be more of everything?

 

[Plimogz]

For the 7790, I don't see the point since cheap 7850s can be had for $150. The gap between the 7770 and the 7850 is only $50.. do they really need a product in every price segment?

Hey, if you have a viable product in a price segment where the competition has none, odds are that you win that sale.

And while I completely see what you mean with regards to the cheap 1GB 7850s, the 7790 apparently comes with high clocks which land it close to little Pitcairn if neither the factory nor the end-user overclocks the 7850 to its full potential. So AMD gets to sell a smaller die for nearly the same amount of money.

Besides, what holds the most interest for me about this launch is the bit about it being a pipe-cleaner for GCN 2.0. If there's any hope of some really appreciable improvements from the 8xxx series on 28nm, AMD will certainly come out winning if they work out some bugs on Bonaire.

 

[HurleyBird]

hmmm, GCN 2.0 in disguise??

Interesting. Hopefully PS4 and Nextbox are based on this new iteration of GCN!

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Interesting. Hopefully PS4 and Nextbox are based on this new iteration of GCN!

Could this be the discrete GPU version of the PS4 and Xbox Next GPU's? I never saw how many stream processors they were supposed to have?

 

[Red Hawk]

Could this be the discrete GPU version of the PS4 and Xbox Next GPU's? I never saw how many stream processors they were supposed to have?

PS4 is confirmed to have 1152 shaders. Next Xbox is rumored to have 768, which would match this 7790.

 

[Olikan]

Could someone please explain how its possible that this card could be faster at Crysis/BF3 than a 7850 that overall seems to be more of everything?

GCN 2.0 have some tweaks at the ACE units and new instructions, nothing more

the ACE units, went from 2 comand lines, to 8... let's say, better at complex codes, but slower at simple ones

but still, can just be BS

 

[SPBHM]

it could be faster in some games, simply because of the low stock clock of the 7850.