AMD R7 265 Confusion

[Midgetguy]

Hey guys, hoping someone with a bit more knowledge could help out with a quick identification thing regarding the AMD R7 265. If I'm not mistaken, the reference design has 1024 cores, 2 GB GDDR5 RAM over a 256-bit memory bus; basically a cut-down Pitcairn chip, making it essentially a rebrand of the old HD 7850. On Newegg in the US (dunno if it's different anywhere else, but it's my reference) it's in the $160-$170 MSRP range.

As a comparison, the R9 270 has 1280 cores based on the same chip with the same amount of RAM and the same memory bus. It's around the $190-$200 MSRP range. More money for more cores and, in turn, more performance makes plenty of sense and fits just fine in the product stack.

Today, I came across this card and got a bit confused as to what happened to the order and pricing of that product stack because it's an R7 265, but it has the same specs as an R9 270 at a lower price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150709

I went to XFX's site to check that this wasn't a typo on Newegg's end:
http://products.xfxforce.com/en-us/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Radeon™_R7_265/R7-265A-CNF4

As far as being a consumer is concerned, it's still great news because now the same performance is coming for $20 cheaper, but from a business perspective, this eats into AMD's profit margins and cannibalizes the entry card of their "performance-oriented R9 series" graphics cards right?

Thoughts from the people more knowledgeable than me on this development would be much appreciated.

 

[ViRGE]

Newegg likely just copied XFX's official specs, and XFX got it wrong in the first place. There's no reason to expect a 265 to have anything more than 1024 SPs.

 

[Techhog]

Newegg likely just copied XFX's official specs, and XFX got it wrong in the first place. There's no reason to expect a 265 to have anything more than 1024 SPs.

I agree with this.

 

[nwo]

The R265 uses the same GPU core as the 7870 & 270, except that it has some shaders disabled, similar to the 7850. Whether or not these can be successfully unlocked remains unknown. Officially speaking, all Radeon 265s have 1024 SPs but might potentially be unlocked to 1280 SPs. However, unlocking was not something 7850s were known for, so I would assume the same applies for the Radeon 265.

 

[Midgetguy]

I thought the same. Good to see I'm not going crazy. Just another reason I don't buy XFX. How can I expect them to get the board design and cooling right if they can't type in a simple number correctly?

 

[3DVagabond]

I thought the same. Good to see I'm not going crazy. Just another reason I don't buy XFX. How can I expect them to get the board design and cooling right if they can't type in a simple number correctly?

That's right because it's the same people who design their coolers as administer their web site.

 

[Midgetguy]

That's right because it's the same people who design their coolers as administer their web site.

I sure hope not haha. "Hey Frank, I know the cooler's got 2 fans, but we can say it's got 3 fans right? I mean, it's pretty much the same thing." :sneaky: