Recently, AMD has been on a launching spree. They launched the fastest gaming processor in the market, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. This launch was coupled with several other Zen 3 launches, including the Ryzen 5 5600 non-X, the Ryzen 5 5500, etc. Among these launches, the company also launched a graphics card. Their last retail launch was a quarter ago, in January, when they launched the Radeon RX 6500 XT. Now, they are back with an even lower-end card, the RX 6400.
But, this card does not look promising.
What are the Specs of the Radeon RX 6400?
Architecture | RDNA 2.0 |
Transistor Count | 5.4 billion |
Base Clock Speed | 1923 MHz |
Game Clock Speed | 2039 MHz |
Boost Clock Speed | 2321 MHz |
Memory Size and Type | 4GB GDDR6 |
Memory Bus | 64-bit |
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) | 48 |
Raster Output Units (ROPs) | 32 |
Compute Units (CUs) | 12 |
RT Cores | 12 |
TDP | 53 watt |
Why are People Thrashing the RX 6400 on the Internet?
The simple answer is its price-to-performance ratio. The card is retailing for around $159.99. At this price, it has to struggle to beat the 3-year-old GTX 1650. The GTX 1650 had a much lower MSRP back when it was launched, although it is not possible to find that card at that price anymore. Also, the global chip shortage has forced card manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD set a higher price point for all of their cards from launch. We saw a similar scenario with Nvidia’s RTX 3070 Ti, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 3090 Ti, and the RTX 3050 launches. But, these cards had a respectable price-to-performance ratio, although not as good as the previous launches from the companies.
AMD did not mean the RX 6400 to be a gaming card. It was launched as a low-profile card for display, and media purposes. But, that did not stop AIB partners from launching beefy “gaming” versions with multiple fans and sleek RGB. This also propels budget gamers’ interest in this card.
At 1080p, the card crumbles in almost every modern AAA title. And, “Ray Tracing” in this card is a mere gimmick as it cannot handle RT workloads in any game at a respectable framerate. Check out this gaming performance comparison put together by YouTuber Testing Games.
Overall, the RX 6400’s pricing is killing it. The card could easily have been priced at around the $100 mark. AMD has done it earlier with its older RX 550. But, the company has to pay a premium to confirm semiconductor shipments. So, we cannot completely blame it on the tech giant either.