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Radeon R7 250X Review: Reprising Radeon HD 7770 At $100
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1. AMD's Radeon HD 7770 Becomes The R7 250X

Except for the Radeon R9 290-series cards, sporting AMD's Hawaii GPU, all of the other Radeon R7 and R9 boards we've seen are re-branded versions of the Radeon HD 7000 family. The Radeon R9 280X falls between the Radeon HD 7970 and 7970 GHz Edition. The Radeon R7 270 and 270X are based on the Pitcairn GPU. The Radeon R7 260X hosts the same graphics processor as the Radeon HD 7790.

Clearly, the company feels that the first-generation GCN graphics cards still have a lot to offer, especially with a handful of clock rate tweaks. We wouldn't necessarily disagree; the Radeon line-up offers a viable spectrum of performance, from the entry-level Radeon R7 240 to the flagship Radeon R9 290X.

We'd obviously prefer to be testing genuinely new hardware, rather than re-badged versions of old models. With that said, there seems to be a formula for making already-seen graphics cards more successful: increase performance and reduce price. We saw this from Nvidia's GeForce GTX 770 which, at launch, was essentially a highly overclocked GeForce GTX 680 with a $50 price cut. Even more impressive was AMD's Radeon R9 280X, which surfaced looking a lot like an overclocked Radeon HD 7970 at its core, yet came to market $150 cheaper than the product it replaced. Of course, the R9 280X jumped to $470 shortly thereafter, while the GTX 770 fell to $320, but that's another story...

With all of that in mind, when AMD told us that it was re-badging the Radeon HD 7770 as a "new" Radeon R7 250X, we were really hoping the company would increase clock rates and drop the price so we could get excited about it. Disappointingly, the frequencies aren't changing, though AMD claims pricing should fall to $100 (as of this writing, there is no online availability to confirm).


GeForce GTX 650 Ti
Radeon R7 250
GDDR5
Radeon HD 7770 / Radeon R7 250X
Radeon R7 260
Radeon R7 260X
Shaders
768384
640
768
896
Texture Units
64
24
40
48
56
ROPs
168
16
16
16
Process Technology
28 nm (Kepler)
28 nm (GCN)
28 nm (GCN)
28 nm (GCN)
28 nm (GCN)
Core/Boost Clock
925 MHz1000/1050
MHz
1 GHz
1000 MHz
1100 MHz
Memory Clock
1350 MHz
1150 MHz
1125 MHz
1500 MHz
1625 MHz
Memory Bus
128-bit128-bit
128-bit128-bit128-bit
Memory Bandwidth
86.4 GB/s73.6 GB/s
72 GB/s
96 GB/s
104 GB/s
Graphics Memory
 1 or 2 GB GDDR5
1 or 2 GB GDDR5
1 or 2 GB GDDR5
 1 or 2 GB GDDR51 or 2 GB GDDR5
Power Connectors
1 x 6-pin
N/A
1 x 6-pin1 x 6-pin1 x 6-pin
Maximum TDP
110 W
60 W
80 W
95 W
115 W
Newegg Price Range
$110-$180
$90 to $133
Radeon HD 7770:
$110-$170
$125-$140
$130 to $150
Typical Newegg Price
$130
$90
Radeon HD 7770:
$110
Radeon R7 250X:
$99 MSRP

$132
$130

A $100 mark sounds really nice compared to the Radeon HD 7770's $160 when it launched. But it looks a lot less impressive after a look on Newegg. The 7770 has shown up for as little as $100, although the current average lands around $110. If the the R7 250X can keep that figure down at $100, we'll certainly take the discount. Though, again, it's not something we're going to get excited about.

To be frank, if I didn't think that the Radeon HD 7770 was such an important mainstream graphics card in the first place, I would have probably posted a small news item about the name change and continued on with my work. But in my opinion, the HD 7770 (and now R7 250X) is the most important budget-oriented graphics card available. At $110, it's the cheapest option that lets you play most games comfortably at 1920x1080 with low to medium detail settings.

If you're interested in the technical aspects and features of AMD's Cape Verde GPU, check out AMD Radeon HD 7770 And 7750 Review: Familiar Speed, Less Power. Today's story focuses on gaming performance and value calculations. So, let's get on with the benchmarks.

2. Test Setup And Benchmarks

I ran the benchmarks on the following page for AMD Radeon R7 260 Review: The Bonaire GPU Rides Again, where I went into depth on average frame rates and frame time variance. For the sake of brevity, I'm emphasizing frame rates this time around. If you want deeper analysis, we invite you to check out the Radeon R7 260 launch story.

What we're adding to the mix are screenshot to show how the detail settings we're choosing actually look at 1920x1080. My intention there is to show that dialing back image quality doesn't necessarily mean AMD's Radeon HD 7770/R7 250X is forced down to ugly levels of game play.


Test System
CPU
Intel Core i5-2550K (Sandy Bridge), Overclocked to 4.2 GHz @ 1.3 V
Motherboard
Asus P8Z77-V LX.
LGA 1155, Chipset: Intel Z77M
Networking
On-Board Gigabit LAN controller
Memory
Corsair Performance Memory, 4 x 4 GB, 1866 MT/s, CL 9-9-9-24-1T
Graphics
XFX Radeon R7 250 GDDR5
1000/1050 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1150 MHz (4600 MT/s)

Reference AMD Radeon HD 7750

800 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1125 MHz (4500 MT/s)

Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 (Representing Radeon R7 250X)
1000 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1125 MHz (4500 MT/s)

Gigabyte Radeon R7 260
1000 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s)

Reference Radeon R7 260X
1100 MHz GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1625 MHz (6500 MT/s)

Reference Nvidia GT 640
900 MHz GPU, 1 GB DDR3 at 891 MHz (1782 MT/s)

Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 650

1058 MHz GPU, 1 GB DDR3 at 1250 MHz (5000 MT/s)

Reference Nvidia GTX 650 Ti
925 MHz GPU, 1 GB DDR3 at 1350 MHz (5400 MT/s)
Hard Drive
Samsung 840 Pro, 256 GB SSD, SATA 6Gb/s
Power
XFX PRO850W, ATX12V, EPS12V
Software and Drivers
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x64
DirectX
DirectX 11
Graphics Drivers
AMD Catalyst 13.11 Beta 9.5, Nvidia GeForce 332.21 WHQL

We've almost completely eliminated mechanical storage in the lab, and instead lean on solid-state drives to alleviate I/O-related bottlenecks. Samsung sent all of our offices 256 GB 840 Pros, so we standardize on these exceptional SSDs.

Naturally, discrete graphics cards require a substantial amount of stable power, so XFX sent along its PRO850W 80 PLUS Bronze-certified power supply. This modular PSU employs a single +12 V rail rated for 70 A. XFX claims that this unit provides 850 W of continuous power (not peak) at 50 degrees Celsius (a higher temperature than you'll find inside most enclosures).

Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Metro: Last Light
Version 1.0.0.14, Built-in Benchmark
Grid 2
Version 1.8.85.8679, Built-in Benchmark Scene D6
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Version 1.05, Custom THG Benchmark, 40-Sec
Battlefield 4
Version 1.0.0.1, Custom THG Benchmark, 90-Sec
BioShock Infinite
Version 1.1.24.21018, Built-in Benchmark
3. Game Benchmark Results

We begin with Battlefield 4, tested using the game's Medium preset at 1920x1080. Click the screenshot for a full-size representation of how this title looks as we cruise through our  benchmark.

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As you can see, Battlefield still looks good at this detail setting, and AMD's Radeon R7 250X maintains at least 54 FPS. Let's move on to Metro: Last Light.

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Although a DirectX 10 code path and the Low detail preset don't sound particularly cutting-edge, bear in mind that at its most demanding settings, Metro: Last Light brings almost any graphics configuration to its knees. As you can see in our screenshot, the game still looks great at our compromised settings. You still get little extras like shadows, even.

The Radeon R7 250X never falls below 33 FPS, and it maintains an average of 54 FPS. Not bad at all.

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In contrast, the Radeon R7 250X can handle BioShock Infinite's High preset, which looks quite nice (as the screenshot shows). AMD's "latest" keeps its nose above 33 FPS and averages 49 FPS.

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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag has to run at its lowest detail settings on this class of card, but we are able to raise the texture quality setting to Normal and the environment quality from Very Low to Low. As with Metro: Last Light, that doesn't sound like an attractive combination. However, the output still looks pretty darned good. What's more, the Radeon R7 250X doesn't drop below 42 FPS.

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Finally, let's look at Grid 2, which isn't particularly graphics-bound and allows us to utilize the High preset in addition to 4x MSAA. AMD's Radeon R7 250X delivers minimum frame rates above 59 FPS with an average in the 70s.

4. The Radeon R7 250X Is A Good Value At $100

Let's take a look at the aggregate performance of these cards for an idea of where the Radeon R7 250X lands:

AMD's Radeon R7 250X performs roughly on par with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 650 Ti. It's notably better than the GeForce GTX 650 and Radeon R7 250 GDDR5.

What you don't see, however, is pricing. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti typically sells for around $130, while the slower GeForce GTX 650 starts at $105. Moreover, the Radeon R7 250 GDDR5 appears around $90. Is it really any wonder that we'd be fans of a Radeon HD 7770/R7 250X at $100?

Regardless of nomenclature, this card really does enable 1080p gaming on a budget. It never dipped below 30 FPS at the quality settings we used in our 1920x1080-based benchmarks. Average frame rates bottomed out at 45 FPS.

With the Radeon R7 250X looking so strong in the sub-$150 market, AMD's biggest problem is the cards surrounding it. How could we recommend the R7 250 GDDR5 for $10 less than a vastly superior 250X? Similarly, the two R7 260 cards on Newegg (selling for $125 and $140) are far too expensive compared to the more powerful R7 260X, which costs about the same amount.

If we could set prices, the Radeon R7 240 would go for $65, the Radeon R7 250 GDDR5 would be $80, and the Radeon R7 260 would sell for $115. In a world where the R7 250X costs $100, those numbers would make more sense.

Then again, if the worst thing we can say about a graphics card is that it makes other members of the same family look less attractive, how bad can it be? Yes, the Radeon R7 250X is a blatant rehash of the Radeon HD 7770. Yes, I think that AMD should have at least tuned its reference clock rates before assigning a new name. And, yes, a $100 Radeon R7 250X represents the best mainstream graphics card under $120. It's the lowest-priced gateway to 1080p gaming at the moment.