AMD Radeon HD 7790
AMD Radeon HD 7790: An Outdated Warrior or a Budget Option in 2025?
An overview of the capabilities, performance, and relevance of a 2013 graphics card in today's conditions.
1. Architecture and Key Features
The AMD Radeon HD 7790, released in 2013, is built on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) 2.0 architecture, known for its energy efficiency and support for modern APIs (DirectX 11.2, OpenGL 4.3). The Bonaire XT chip is manufactured using a 28-nm process, which was progressive for its time.
Notable unique features include:
- AMD Eyefinity — support for up to 6 monitors simultaneously, useful for multitasking.
- PowerTune — dynamic power consumption management.
- TrueAudio — hardware sound processing (a rare feature for GPUs of that generation).
Modern technologies such as FidelityFX or hardware ray tracing (RTX) are absent; this generation of GPUs is focused on basic tasks and games from the 2010s.
2. Memory: Speed and Limitations
The HD 7790 is equipped with 1 GB GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 96 GB/s. For games from 2013 to 2015, this was sufficient: for instance, Battlefield 4 on high settings at 1080p consumed around 1.5 GB of VRAM, but thanks to optimization, it could run on 1 GB.
By 2025, this amount becomes critical: even indie projects like Hades 2 require 2–4 GB of video memory. For office applications or 4K video playback, 1 GB is acceptable, but clearly inadequate for modern gaming and professional tasks.
3. Gaming Performance: Nostalgia for the Past
At one time, the HD 7790 was positioned as a solution for 1080p/30–60 FPS in high-end games:
- BioShock Infinite — 55–60 FPS (Ultra);
- Tomb Raider (2013) — 45–50 FPS (High);
- DOTA 2 — 60–70 FPS (Ultra).
In 2025, the situation is different:
- Fortnite (Low, 1080p) — 35–45 FPS (without DLSS/FSR support);
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Low, 720p) — 15–20 FPS;
- Apex Legends (Low, 1080p) — 40–50 FPS.
Support for 4K or 1440p is excluded due to a lack of memory and weak computational power. Ray tracing is not implemented at the hardware level.
4. Professional Tasks: Minimum Capability
For video editing in DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro, the HD 7790 is only suitable for basic projects (1080p videos, without complex effects). Rendering acceleration through OpenCL works, but slowly: rendering a 5-minute video in 1080p will take 25–30 minutes.
In 3D modeling (Blender), the card can handle simple scenes but will struggle with Cycles on the GPU. It is useless for scientific calculations or machine learning — there is no support for modern libraries such as CUDA 12 or ROCm 5.0.
5. Power Consumption and Heat Dissipation
The TDP of the HD 7790 is 85 W — very low by 2025 standards. A 400–450 W power supply with a 6-pin connector is sufficient.
The cooling system is a single-slot cooler with an aluminum heatsink. Even under load, the card rarely heats above 75°C, and noise remains at an acceptable level (28–32 dB). It fits in any form factor case (including Mini-ITX) but ensuring ventilation is important — after 12 years, thermal paste may have dried out.
6. Comparison with Competitors
In 2013, the main competitors were:
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti — similar price ($150) but inferior performance in DirectX 11;
- AMD Radeon R7 260X — an updated version of the HD 7790 with 2 GB of memory.
In 2025, the HD 7790 lags behind even budget newcomers:
- Intel Arc A310 (4 GB, $120) — 2–3 times faster in DX12;
- AMD Radeon RX 6400 (4 GB, $130) — supports FSR 3.0 and AV1.
7. Practical Tips
- Power Supply: 400 W (e.g., EVGA 400 N1).
- Compatibility: PCIe 3.0 x16, requires UEFI BIOS to work with Windows 11.
- Drivers: Official support from AMD ended in 2018. Use community drivers (e.g., AMDHD7790Legacy) or Windows Update.
- Use Cases: Office PC, HTPC (video playback), retro gaming.
8. Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Low power consumption;
- Quiet operation;
- Compact size.
Cons:
- Only 1 GB of memory;
- No support for modern APIs (DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.3);
- Outdated drivers.
9. Final Conclusion: Who Should Consider the HD 7790 in 2025?
This graphics card is suitable for:
- Retro gaming enthusiasts, looking to build a PC from the 2010s;
- Owners of old systems needing a replacement for a burned-out GPU;
- Office PCs that require output to 2–3 monitors.
The new HD 7790 is not sold in 2025, but in the secondary market (not discussed in the article), it can be found for $20–30. For modern gaming or graphics work, it's better to look at budget newcomers — at least at the level of the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT ($160).
Conclusion: The AMD Radeon HD 7790 is an example of the "golden mean" of the past decade. Today, it has lost relevance but remains a symbol of an era when 1 GB of memory and 28 nm seemed groundbreaking. Use it as a temporary solution or as a collector's item, but don't expect miracles.