The new Radeon HD 7790 is based on AMD's new Bonaire graphics core, which is an evolutionary step towards new GPU technology. It uses more shaders and a new dynamic clock algorithm that promises higher performance than AMD's original PowerTune Boost. In our testing, we see nice performance results that sit right in between the HD 7770 GHz Edition and HD 7850. This makes the HD 7790 capable of full-HD 1080p gaming, but in some titles, you might have to go easy on the anti-aliasing levels, or reduce details slightly for the best gaming experience. The ASUS HD 7790 DC II OC comes with a good out-of-the-box increase on clock speeds. They provide a 5% real-life performance improvement.
Overclocking our card worked well, but was not as good as with the Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X. Real-life performance improvement after overclocking turned out to be 10%, which certainly is worth it. It would have been nice to see a VRM heatsink like on the Sapphire HD 7790, which also has cooling for the memory chips, since both probably help a bit with overclocking. Unfortunately, voltage control is not possible at this time. All cards use a new voltage controller that is incompatible with current overclocking software, but AMD has, for the future, promised an updated SDK that adds voltage control for Bonaire.
The HD 7790 delivers excellent performance-per-watt numbers; actually, the card is the most power-efficient one we have ever tested. This should provide a good idea of things to come for future Radeon graphics cards. In our testing, the card never exceeded 100W, not even in Furmark, so it will run perfectly fine with weaker power supplies—something that's important in this market segment. While slightly improved, Blu-ray power consumption is still not as good as NVIDIA's cards, but we are getting there.
Thanks to the low power consumption, heat output of the card is quite low, which means board partners can use less complex cooling solutions. ASUS opted for a dual-fan design, and it delivers great temperatures and amazing noise levels. The card will be inaudible in any modern system regardless of what you do—even during demanding gaming. ASUS really did a great job here, making this card the weapon of choice for the silent gamer.
Pricing of the reference design HD 7790 is very reasonable with $149, and ASUS is asking a fair $10 price premium for their overclocked version with the better cooler. All HD 7790 cards come with a Bioshock Infinite game coupon—one of the most anticipated titles this season. If you don't need the game, you can easily sell the coupon for $20-$30, which helps offset the cost of the card. Compared to the GTX 650 Ti, which costs $140 at this time, the HD 7790 is a bit faster but also a bit more expensive. There is no clear winner here unless you factor in the game coupon, which will make the HD 7790 the better deal. If you are willing to spend a bit more money, the HD 7850 is available for $180. It provides around 20% higher performance and comes with two game coupons (another $20 worth of resale value). There are many options in the sub-$200 segment right now, and you really can't go wrong with either choice—it all comes down to your budget.