AMD's upcoming Radeon 300 series graphics cards may end up being rebadged 200 series cards with minor tweaks but it's not all bad news for gamers. WCCFtech has it on good authority (they're confident enough to drop the "rumor" tag completely) that the red team's 300 series cards will arrive with extremely attractive MSRPs.
Here's what the publication is claiming at this hour:
- Radeon R9 390X 8GB (enhanced Hawaii XT): $389
- Radeon R9 390 8GB (enhanced Hawaii Pro): $329
- Radeon R9 380X 3GB/6GB (Tonga XT): unconfirmed
- Radeon R9 380 4GB (Tonga Pro): $235
- Radeon R9 380 2GB (Tonga Pro): $195
- Radeon R7 370 4GB (Pitcairn): $175
- Radeon R7 370 2GB (Pitcairn): $135
- Radeon R7 360 2GB (Bonaire): $107
The new cards will be split into two separate categories - performance and enthusiast - with only the Radeon R9 390X 8GB and Radeon R9 390 8GB falling into the speedier enthusiast category.
While we're not prepared to consider these prices set in stone just yet, the publication does have a solid track record. What does seem certain, however, is that the 300 series will indeed be rebrands of the 200 series.
Graphics card maker XFX accidentally confirmed that the Radeon R9 390X will indeed be a rebranded R9 290X, a card that first debuted near the end of 2013. Demand (and subsequently, pricing) for AMD's high-end 200 series cards skyrocketed shortly after their debut as they were a popular choice for cryptocurrency miners.
That trend lasted less than six months, however, as dedicated mining hardware quickly make GPU mining inefficient. Pricing returned to normal in May 2014.
It's worth pointing out that the Radeon 300 series isn't the only thing AMD is working on. The company's true successor, based on its Fiji GPU with vertically-stacked HBM and the rumored nickname "Radeon Fury," will officially be announced at E3 next week.