Radeon HD 4600 Gets Multiple Listings, Partners Ready with Fleets of Custom Designs

[btarunr]

After a successful high and enthusiast segment conquest, ATI seems to be going for the kill. Pre-release evaluations show the RV730 graphics processor to be a potent piece of silicon. When it's made to stretch in its Radeon HD 4670 512M variant, it certainly ousted competitor's offerings but owing to the price-band it belongs to, in the process of beating the GeForce 9500 GT, it seems to have created a vacuum. The HD 4670 could be faster than the 9500 GT, but at a price that takes it away from the band 9500 GT sits on. Certain European online stores have started listing RV730 based products. Their prices in terms of US Dollars seem high, but the product itself is awaited in the North American markets. PCHC.ch listed products that seem like custom designed. They haven't released pictures but as their specifications and product names tell, they do have an interesting mix in store.

HIS is already out with IceQ variants of the HD 4670, with a 1 GB GDDR3 variant priced as high as $141 (in terms of EUR to USD conversions). Also in store is a 512MB variant of the same card at $115. There are two variants of HD 4650, a base model and another advertised as silent. The RV730 graphics processor features 320 stream processors and a 128 bit wide GDDR3 / DDR2 memory bus. It features one of the smallest dies in relation to its performance, at 145 sq mm. Tests show the RV730 to deliver a performance level up to what a Radeon HD 3850 can deliver.

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[WarEagleAU]

Very nice. Now lets see a bit more powerful cpus (I know I know, I ranted in another thread about not really needing them )

 

[ShogoXT]

$89 and it will sell.

 

[DarkMatter]

What are they thinking? You can have some 8800 GT for that price.

And of course some HD3870, 9600GT for less or ultimately HD3850 for much much less, and it's still notably faster.

 

[aj28]

What are they thinking? You can have some 8800 GT for that price.

And of course some HD3870, 9600GT for less or ultimately HD3850 for much much less, and it's still notably faster.

Keep in mind the following words/phrases: "HIS," "IceQ," "as high as," and "conversions."

I'm sure you'll be able to get a decent 256/512MB Palit/Sapphire/VisionTek card in the US market for well under $100. Poor Europeans always get ripped on hardware... I do agree though, even given the kind of prices we can expect in the US market, it's a little too close to the 3850. I think we can expect AMD to phase these out sometime soon, lest they cannibalize sales of the new chips.

 

[DarkMatter]

Keep in mind the following words/phrases: "HIS," "IceQ," "as high as," and "conversions."

I'm sure you'll be able to get a decent 256/512MB Palit/Sapphire/VisionTek card in the US market for well under $100. Poor Europeans always get ripped on hardware... I do agree though, even given the kind of prices we can expect in the US market, it's a little too close to the 3850. I think we can expect AMD to phase these out sometime soon, lest they cannibalize sales of the new chips.

Oh thanks, I AM European. It was very kind to remind us that! j/k <--(joking about being angry, not European )

Seriously, I did the conversion to euros, not dollars, and the price is still too close to some 8800/9800GT and clearly above any HD3850. That's ridiculous even for an IceQ card IMO. Even close in performance, HD4670 will require a fair amount of overclocking to get to HD3850 performance.

Anyway I was refering to HIS or that particular retailer, rather than Ati or the card itself.

EDIT: See, this is better, even though an HD3850 is still a better buy:

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9274&Itemid=1