Now that PC gamers have the dual-GPU monstrosity that is the Radeon R9 295X2 to sink their teeth into, for AMD’s next GPU act, they’re reportedly working on something a little less powerful and a little more affordable called Tonga. Don’t be dismayed though; there is reason to be excited.
According to Videocardz.com, AMD is working to make Tonga a more power-efficient GPU, so it likely won’t be used to power high-end graphics cards. However, this doesn’t mean that Tonga-based cards will be slouches either, and will likely compete head-to-head with Nvidia Maxwell GM107-based graphics cards.
So what’s on the list of GM107-powered cards? That would be the Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti, which combines solid mid-range performance, excellent power efficiency, and an affordable price tag (in the $150 range) to boot. On top of that, the 750 Ti occupies a single slot expansion slot, requires no additional power connector, and demands only 60 watts of juice. This means that you can slot a 750 Ti into PCs with power supplies that provide as little as 300 watts to work with.
As for details regarding specs, Videocardz suggests that Tonga-based cards will sport 2GB of RAM, but no other information is available. However, they’re expected to support existing tech, including Mantle, TrueAudio, and CrossFire as well.
If geography is your strong suit, you might have recognized that by adopting the Tonga name, AMD is keeping with the island/volcano theme from a naming standpoint. It did the same with their Hawaii-branded GPUs, and Vesuvius codename for the 295X2 as well.
So when should we expect Tonga-based cards to hit the market? They may arrive by July, and should be available sometime in August at the latest. Additional details could be revealed during Computex, which will be held in Taipei early next month.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.
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