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AMD Radeon R7 360

AMD Radeon R7 360: Budget GPU for Undemanding Tasks and Games

April 2025

Introduction

In a world where graphics cards with ray tracing support and 4K gaming dominate the market, the AMD Radeon R7 360 remains a niche solution for those seeking an affordable option for basic tasks. Despite its age (released in 2015), this model is still available for sale as a new entry-level product. In this article, we will explore who the R7 360 is suitable for in 2025 and what compromises must be made.

Architecture and Key Features

GCN 3.0: The Foundation for Budget Graphics

The Radeon R7 360 is built on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) 3.0 architecture with a 28 nm manufacturing process. This outdated production technology allowed AMD to reduce the cost of the card. At its core is the Tobago Pro chip with 768 stream processors and 48 texture units.

Unique Features: A Modest Set

- FidelityFX: Partial support via driver updates (only contrast-adaptive sharpening).

- FreeSync: Compatible with AMD monitors to eliminate screen tearing.

- Lack of RT and DLSS: Ray tracing and neural network technologies are not supported.

The card is oriented towards DirectX 12 and Vulkan, but optimization for modern APIs is limited due to low computational power.

Memory: GDDR5 Limitations

Type and Volume

The R7 360 is equipped with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus. The bandwidth is 112 GB/s (7 GHz frequency).

Impact on Performance

- 1080p: Sufficient for gaming at low settings (e.g., CS:GO, Dota 2).

- Multitasking: 2 GB is critically insufficient for modern games (Hogwarts Legacy requires a minimum of 4 GB even on Low).

- Professional Applications: Rendering in Blender or working with 4K video in DaVinci Resolve will result in stuttering.

Gaming Performance

Average FPS (1080p, Medium Settings)

- CS:GO: ~90-120 FPS (depends on the scene).

- Fortnite: ~35-45 FPS (Performance mode).

- GTA V: ~40-50 FPS (without MSAA).

- The Witcher 3: ~25-30 FPS (only Low).

Resolutions Above 1080p

- 1440p: Not recommended — FPS drops by 40-50%.

- 4K: Unsuitable even for undemanding projects.

Ray Tracing

The lack of hardware support for RT cores makes it impossible to use ray tracing even through software emulation.

Professional Tasks

Video Editing

- Premiere Pro: Basic editing in 1080p with Proxy files.

- DaVinci Resolve: Issues with H.265 rendering and color grading.

3D Modeling

- Blender: Rendering on OpenCL is possible but 2-3 times slower than on modern GPUs.

- AutoCAD: Only suitable for 2D drawings.

Scientific Calculations

- OpenCL: Supported, but limited computational power negates advantages.

Power Consumption and Heat Generation

TDP and PSU Requirements

- TDP: 100 W.

- Recommended PSU: 400 W (e.g., EVGA 400 W1).

Cooling

- Standard Solution: Single fan (noise level up to 38 dB under load).

- Case Recommendations: At least one additional ventilation slot is mandatory.

Comparison with Competitors

AMD Radeon RX 6400

- Pros: 4 GB GDDR6, PCIe 4.0 support, lower power consumption (53 W).

- Cons: Price ($130) compared to $80 for R7 360.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

- Pros: 4 GB GDDR5, DLSS 1.0 support, better optimization for modern games.

- Cons: Priced at $150, which is nearly double the cost of R7 360.

Practical Tips

Power Supply

Minimum power reserve is 400 W. Avoid noname brands: models from Corsair (CV450) or Be Quiet! (System Power 10) are suitable.

Compatibility

- Platforms: Works with motherboards that support PCIe 3.0.

- Drivers: Use Adrenalin 24.4.1 (the latest version with optimizations for older GPUs).

Nuances

- Overclocking: Not advisable due to architectural limitations.

- Multi-Monitor Systems: Supports up to 3 displays (HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort).

Pros and Cons

Pros

- Price: $80 for a new card (e.g., ASUS R7 360-2GD5).

- Energy Efficiency: Suitable for older PCs with low-power PSUs.

- Quiet Operation: The fan stops during idle.

Cons

- Outdated Architecture: GCN 3.0 struggles with modern games.

- Memory Shortage: 2 GB is critically low even for browser-based projects in 2025.

Final Verdict: Who is the Radeon R7 360 Suitable For?

This graphics card is a choice for:

1. Owners of Office PCs looking to add support for 2D acceleration and light gaming.

2. Enthusiasts building budget systems (e.g., HTPC for streaming).

3. Users upgrading old computers with PSUs below 450 W.

However, if your budget allows spending $130-150, it is better to consider the RX 6400 or GTX 1650 — they will provide performance headroom for the next 2-3 years. The R7 360 in 2025 remains an option for extremely limited scenarios where price matters more than capabilities.

Prices are current as of April 2025. They are for new devices in retail stores in the USA.

Basic

Label Name

AMD

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

June 2015

Model Name

Radeon R7 360

Generation

Pirate Islands

Base Clock

1000MHz

Boost Clock

1050MHz

Bus Interface

PCIe 3.0 x16

Transistors

2,080 million

Compute Units

TMUs

Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) serve as components of the GPU, which are capable of rotating, scaling, and distorting binary images, and then placing them as textures onto any plane of a given 3D model. This process is called texture mapping.

Foundry

TSMC

Process Size

28 nm

Architecture

GCN 2.0

Memory Specifications

Memory Size

2GB

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Bus

The memory bus width refers to the number of bits of data that the video memory can transfer within a single clock cycle. The larger the bus width, the greater the amount of data that can be transmitted instantaneously, making it one of the crucial parameters of video memory. The memory bandwidth is calculated as: Memory Bandwidth = Memory Frequency x Memory Bus Width / 8. Therefore, when the memory frequencies are similar, the memory bus width will determine the size of the memory bandwidth.

128bit

Memory Clock

1500MHz

Bandwidth

Memory bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate between the graphics chip and the video memory. It is measured in bytes per second, and the formula to calculate it is: memory bandwidth = working frequency × memory bus width / 8 bits.

96.00 GB/s

Theoretical Performance

Pixel Rate

Pixel fill rate refers to the number of pixels a graphics processing unit (GPU) can render per second, measured in MPixels/s (million pixels per second) or GPixels/s (billion pixels per second). It is the most commonly used metric to evaluate the pixel processing performance of a graphics card.

16.80 GPixel/s

Texture Rate

Texture fill rate refers to the number of texture map elements (texels) that a GPU can map to pixels in a single second.

50.40 GTexel/s

FP64 (double)

An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy, while single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.

100.8 GFLOPS

FP32 (float)

An important metric for measuring GPU performance is floating-point computing capability. Single-precision floating-point numbers (32-bit) are used for common multimedia and graphics processing tasks, while double-precision floating-point numbers (64-bit) are required for scientific computing that demands a wide numeric range and high accuracy. Half-precision floating-point numbers (16-bit) are used for applications like machine learning, where lower precision is acceptable.

1.645 TFLOPS

Miscellaneous

Shading Units

The most fundamental processing unit is the Streaming Processor (SP), where specific instructions and tasks are executed. GPUs perform parallel computing, which means multiple SPs work simultaneously to process tasks.

768

L1 Cache

16 KB (per CU)

L2 Cache

256KB

TDP

100W

Vulkan Version

Vulkan is a cross-platform graphics and compute API by Khronos Group, offering high performance and low CPU overhead. It lets developers control the GPU directly, reduces rendering overhead, and supports multi-threading and multi-core processors.

1.2

OpenCL Version

2.0

OpenGL

4.6

DirectX

12 (12_0)

Power Connectors

1x 6-pin

Shader Model

6.3

ROPs

The Raster Operations Pipeline (ROPs) is primarily responsible for handling lighting and reflection calculations in games, as well as managing effects like anti-aliasing (AA), high resolution, smoke, and fire. The more demanding the anti-aliasing and lighting effects in a game, the higher the performance requirements for the ROPs; otherwise, it may result in a sharp drop in frame rate.

Suggested PSU

300W

Benchmarks

FP32 (float)

Score

1.645 TFLOPS

Compared to Other GPU

FP32 (float) / TFLOPS

Radeon Vega 11 Embedded

1.795 +9.1%

Tesla M10

1.705 +3.6%

Radeon R7 360

1.645

GeForce GTX 580 Rev. 2

1.613 -1.9%

GeForce GTX 770M

1.561 -5.1%