AMD unveils new GPU range, including the fastest yet

AMD has announced the initial lineup of new Radeon graphics cards that will be part of its Volcanic Islands family. The new graphics cards form part of the Radeon R-200 series and are based on a new revision of the GCN architecture from AMD.

The lineup so far is comprised of five new cards; the R7 250, R7 260X, R9 270X, R9 280X and R9 290X. To wrap your head around the new naming scheme, this article will help: New AMD GPU naming scheme explained

Prices scale from $89 to $299 for the R9 280X. AMD is expected to launch the new GPUs in the coming weeks.

Specification	R9 290X	HD7970 GHz	R9 280X	R9 270X	R7 260X	HD7790	R7 250	HD7730
Firestrike score	7800+	6900+	6800+	5500+	3700+	3500+	2000+	1600+
Clock speed	—	1000MHz	—	—	—	1GHz	—	800MHz
Boost speed	—	1050MHz	—	—	—	—	—	—
VRAM buffer	4GB	3GB	3GB	2GB	2GB	1GB	1GB	1GB
Bus width	512-bit	384-bit	384-bit	256-bit	128-bit	128-bit	128-bit	128-bit
AMD TrueAudio	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
TDP	300W	300W	300W	225W	150W	85W	—	47W
Suggested price	—	$299	$299	$199	$139	$130	$89	$70

The new R-200 series includes a few cards from the HD7000 series and rebrands them for a lower price point. The R9 290X supports all the bells and whistles, including TrueAudio support, a massive 512-bit memory bus and 4GB of memory as standard. AMD says it’s the fastest single GPU they’ve ever built.

The R9 280X and the HD7970 GHz Edition are remarkably similar, both lacking True Audio and both scoring similarly in 3DMark Firestrike. The memory sizes are also the same and they have the same power requirements – one 6-pin and one 8-pin PEG connector for a possible TDP (thermal design power) of 300W.

In gaming situations and real-life scenarios, neither card should push past the 230W mark at stock speeds.

The R9 270X replaces the Radeon HD7870 at the same price point and offers comparable performance to the GTX760, which performs one tier above it. AMD is pushing some serious firepower into the lower tiers because that’s also the same performance level as the HD7950.

The R7 260X replaces the Radeon HD7790 with a comparable pricepoint, AMD TrueAudio support and higher stock performance. The TDP value for this card may change closer to launch, as we can only see a single 6-pin power connector onboard.

Finally the R7 250 replaces the Radeon HD7730 with a similar price point and features and higher stock performance.