AMD HD34X0 and HD3650

INTRODUCTION

A few months ago AMD released their first 55nm GPU’s, the HD3850 and the HD3870, both targeted at the Performance segment of the market. Today AMD is revealing the successors to the successful HD2400 and HD2600 cards, the HD34x0 and the HD3650, aimed at the Value and Mainstream segment of the market. While we have not yet been able to test one of these puppies we in this brief article will go over the specifications and the new features of the cards. 

Those of you waiting for official information about the next top of the line AMD card, the 3870X2 which we briefly looked at in our article from the Warsaw event, will have to wait a few days more.

THE FEATURES

As expected the HD34x0 and the HD3650 inherit the same feature set as the HD3850 and the HD3870.

• They are both built on the 55 nm process giving them very low power consumption and keeping them cool.
• They also support DirectX10.1. Whether this will be important or not in the future is debatable but the support is at least there.
• Both cards have UVD (Unified Video Decoder) built in.
• PCI Express 2.0
• Native support for CrossFire technology

One of the cool features of the HD2400 and HD2600, a feature which made them very popular amongst HTPC-builders, was the native HDMI-support which included sound. With the 3xx0 GPU’s AMD continues to innovate and this time they introduce full integrated DisplayPort support. It is of course, just as with HDMI, up to the OEM’s and board partners to use the support but the support is now there. In fact AMD told us that they already have sent out boards with DisplayPort to selected press that were testing the Dell 30” monitor that has a DisplayPort.