Radeon RX 7650GRE
Instead of the much awaited RDNA4 GPUs, AMD has introduced a new graphics card belonging to the RX 7000 generation. However, this card is likely to remain relevant even after the new generation arrives, serving as a more affordable option below the RX 9000 series. For now, this model is Chinese market exclusive, but that might change – the RX 7900 GRE, which was initially a China-exclusive, eventually made its way to other markets as well.
The newly released card is based on the Navi 33 chip, which is the only monolithic GPU of the RX 7000 / RDNA 3 generation. It is also built on the older 6nm process node and optimized for a relatively small die size of around 200 mm². This chip is likely cheaper to produce than the smaller of the two GPUs planned for the RDNA 4 generation (Navi 44). That’s why it was expected to continue being sold even after the new generation’s arrival, with some cards using it filling lower price segments below the RX 9000 models.
That appears to be the intention with this newly released card, named Radeon RX 7650GRE (rumors about this card circulated last fall, and it turns out they had a real basis). It features a fully enabled version of the Navi 33 chip with 2048 shaders of the RDNA 3 architecture (32 CUs, 32 ray accelerators for ray-traced graphics), 32MB of Infinity Cache, and a 128-bit GDDR6 memory interface with 8GB capacity. The memory runs at an effective clock speed of 18.0 GHz, providing a bandwidth of 288 GB/s. The card’s configuration is very similar to that of the Radeon RX 7600 and even the higher-end Radeon RX 7600 XT, though the latter has 16GB of memory – something the 7650GRE will not include.
Clock speed and performance between base and XT version?
Apart from the larger memory in the XT model, the only difference between all three cards is in the GPU clock speeds (and, consequently, power consumption). The Radeon RX 7650 GRE seems to be positioned between the other two cards. While the standard RX 7600 has clock speeds of 2655 MHz (boost) and 2250 MHz (“Game Clock”), and the XT model runs at 2755 MHz and 2470 MHz, the new Radeon RX 7650 GRE has a boost clock of 2695 MHz – exactly in between. the Game Clock is also halfway between the other SKUs, reportedly at 2350 MHz.
The card should thus usually run at higher clock – if it does, the Radeon RX 7650 GRE could be a mostly superior replacement (essentially a refresh) for the original RX 7600, as the power consumption is ot significantly higher, with a TDP of 170 W compared to 165 W for the original version. If the actual gaming performance is a few percent higher, it wouldn’t be a reason to complain if the 7650 GRE replaced the original 8GB model in the market. We will see whether its availability remains limited to China or if this graphics card will later be made available globally, similar to the RX 7900 GRE.
The card will likely be available only in non-reference versions from manufacturers such as PowerColor, Sapphire, Asus, ASRock, as well as brands like Yeston and Vastarmor that do not operate in western markets. These will often feature dual-fan coolers with a compact length (and a thickness of two slots), but some models will also come with triple-fan coolers. Triple-fan designs are sometimes preferred even for lower-end GPUs, not really for cooling performance but for aesthetics – so that a PC with a large case with a glass side panel doesn’t look empty and cheaply. Power will be supplied via a single 8-pin connector, though some of the more expensive triple-fan variants may have two (such as the Black Diamond card from Sapphire – which is a rather amusing name combination, when you think about it).
The Radeon RX 7650 GRE will keep all the well-known limitations of its chip—it has only eight PCIe lanes (PCI Express 4.0 ×8). This could theoretically cause performance bottlenecks when installed in older motherboards that only support PCIe 3.0 or, especially, PCIe 2.0, as those have slower per-lane bandwidth. However, in such a system, the CPU used may already pose a more important performance bottleneck on its own anyway, so in practice, this might still not be a hugely relevant flaw for a graphics card at the perfermance level of the Radeon RX 7600 / 7650 GRE.
The Navi 33 chip also supports DisplayPort 2.1, but only in UHBR10 mode, whereas higher-end RDNA 3 models offer support for the faster UHBR13.5 mode. It is still unclear whether card manufacturers are required to include DisplayPort 2.1 on the 7650 GRE. Standard RX 7600 models do not always have it, and some only come with the older DP 1.4a (it’s only a mandatory feature for the 7600 XT model).
The price has so far been set only for China, at 2,049 yuan. According to a conversion/estimate by VideoCardz, this corresponds to an initial price of around 249 USD, meaning the GPU could officially be positioned 10 USD lower than the standard Radeon RX 7600 (real street prices may naturally vary slightly due to discounts over time on the market).
After this “refresh” card, it should finally be the time for the new Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, starting with the 9070 series models. AMD recently confirmed that they will start selling sometime in early March (unofficially, March 6th, a Thursday, has been mentioned). The official unveiling event, where specifications – and hopefully pricing – will be confirmed, is expected to take place later in February, likely in the next 2–3 weeks.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
⠀
- Contents
- Radeon RX 7650GRE
