Rage3D Editorial - AMD Radeon HD 6770/6750 Rebranding

Lupine

Lupine

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April 28 saw the Retail launch of the AMD Radeon HD 6770 and 6750, using the Juniper GPU core from the HD 5770 and 5750. Yep, it is a 'technology update' using rebranded cards for that ever-so important Blu-ray 3D compatibility. We have some thoughts on the why's and wherefore's on such a move, and try to find a ray of light in this dark, foreboding move.

Editorial - AMD Radeon HD 6770/6750 Rebranding @ Rage3D.com
 
It looks like AMD marketing has decided to completely separate product naming from architecture. Other examples are the Phenom II 840, the rumoured Llano branding which names the low end as E2 instead of A, to associate with the Brazos platform, and the 6790, a derivative of the 6870/50 which in previous times would have been called 6830.

My guess is that the rationale is to name the products according to their performance points instead of their architectures, but this is confusing to any users who care about the technology, so alienates enthusiasts.
 
First if this confuses an enthusiast then he is really too dumb to own a computer.

The reasoning for this is marketting pure and simple. It simplifies the display setup in stores and shows for the uneducated a complete lineup. While I may not think this is a great idea I can fully understand it and it has no impact on my pruchasing decisions.
 
I can understand why some may be upset but when one has such outstanding chips, that have been engineered to last for a few generations, really don't have too much of a problem with it.

Very similar to what nVidia did with the GTS-250 from the 9800GTX+ to me.
 
You can offer white knight, self righteous, protector for the consumer, wearing a cape with hero powers to boot views but when one breaks down the decisions they make logical business sense, not to take advantage of the unsuspecting consumer sense.

These are more exceptions to the rule based on good engineering to me. G-92 was an amazing chip; as is the chip that is in the 5770 and 6770.
 
Bringing the x800 series back to the $150-$250 price point I like. That's the enthusiast sweet spot. And the 5700 cards are priced very competitively, now hitting the mainstream ~$100 price point (and having been there for a while).

With only the UVD firmware changing, it's really hard to see why AMD would bother to go to all that trouble. It's not for end users, it's for OEM's and system builders. Apparently they want that checkbox, so AMD obliged. It's a shame a new GPU that did the same in less power, like Barts did for Cypress, wasn't an option.

At least it hits the same price point and maintains CrossfireX compatibility. And if you find the BIOS from a 6750 or 6770 that uses the same RAM and VRM's as your 5750/5770, you can flash it and get the new BluRay 3D compatibility as well. Good luck finding the bios though. And you'll have to make your own 6750/6770 sticker to put on it. Might not be worth the bother really.
 
Probably more-so with a complete naming convention for the 6XXX series, with most 5XXX series going EOL, the 5770 chip still has a lot of legs left and revenue to bring in and renaming it makes a lot of sense.

With consumers seeing 6XXX series, they probably may ignore the 5770 series product even though it is a good product.

Let's say AMD decided to create a 6770 and engineer one, it would probably perform similar to what is offered now with a similar feature set. Sometimes products are engineered so wonderful, which should continue to bring in revenue for the companies and continue to offer value for the consumer.

Why do it?

To intentionally mislead and take advantage of their consumers?
 
SIrPauly said:
You can offer white knight, self righteous, protector for the consumer, wearing a cape with hero powers to boot views but when one breaks down the decisions they make logical business sense, not to take advantage of the unsuspecting consumer sense.
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What "white knight, self righteous, protector for the consumer, wearing a cape with hero powers to boot views" are you talking about? I don't like their naming conventions, that makes me an extremist? :|
 
Hehe, I don't know, but based on some of the views I've read from posters when nVidia did something similar -- it was like the end-of-the-world-as-we-knew-it!

Evil nVidia, ethics, morality -- when most of these decisions are based on logic. The same logic was used with the naming of the GTS-250 from the 9800GTX+. All these white knights pointing their moral fingers, hehe!:)

I like a clear and concise naming convention at all times but that is more-so based on idealism than reality.
 
SIrPauly said:
Probably more-so with a complete naming convention for the 6XXX series, with most 5XXX series going EOL, the 5770 chip still has a lot of legs left and revenue to bring in and renaming it makes a lot of sense.

With consumers seeing 6XXX series, they probably may ignore the 5770 series product even though it is a good product.

Let's say AMD decided to create a 6770 and engineer one, it would probably perform similar to what is offered now with a similar feature set. Sometimes products are engineered so wonderful, which should continue to bring in revenue for the companies and continue to offer value for the consumer.

Why do it?

To intentionally mislead and take advantage of their consumers?
Click to expand...

Lets say it was 15-20% faster in the same power. Or used 15-20% less power for the same performance, in a smaller form factor/quieter cooling - didn't need external power connector for the 'Pro' version. The 7th generation tessellation unit could be included, and the improved AF from the tweaked back ends.

The first case steps on the 6790, but that only exists because there was no Juniper replacement. But then the 6700's would move up from the $80-$110 price point, so less attractive to OEM's, System Builders and VAR's. End users looking to upgrade would likely still pick the 6800 series for the best bang/buck increase.

The second case steps on the 6600, a little. But could still provide a great option at the $80-110 price point, with the new features that OEM's etc. want. End users looking to upgrade performance would likely pick the 5700 series as it's got better performance, and that would be more important than small form factor, power, in most cases.

AMD had a hole in their line up at the ~$200 price point with the 5000 series, which they moved this time to the $80-110 price point. Here they could effectively use existing products to provide a good product.
 
Crisler said:
First if this confuses an enthusiast then he is really too dumb to own a computer.
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Crisler said:
It simplifies the display setup in stores and shows for the uneducated a complete lineup.
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Yep the enthusiast is mostly immune but it is more a trap than information for an uneducated person. Hardly any lineup btw, 67, 68 and 69 are three different architectures... a most confusing naming scheme if you consider the whole ATI history. AMD alone, a bad start. My opinion ofc.

btw renaming 57 series, it should end up as 66 not 67 imo, Barts at least had some improvements over Cypress but crude rebrand and the same 2nd number is cheap. Hardware acceleration of the MVC codec has nothing to do here, those product numbers are based on performance.
 
SIrPauly said:
Evil nVidia, ethics, morality -- when most of these decisions are based on logic.
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About that logic point, Stalin was logical in his actions. I can find logic in most planned criminal acts, pure logic no ethics means evil in my book.

Ofc we can't exaggerate, we're talking about companies selling gaming gpus and naming them but still, you have to add consequences to the planning.

SIrPauly said:
All these white knights pointing their moral fingers, hehe!:)
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I think it was in the light of other nV actions that the whole rebranding got moral context, with cheap actions one after another. NV earned the image of the company able to cheat, misguide, blame others, playing at the edge of the law etc.

If I blamed someone else for my mistakes, I would be finger pointed too.
 
If you ignore specific architecture and go by feature set then the renaming makes sense. If they hadn't updated the feature set to match the rest of the 6000 series there would be much more reason to be upset but because they did it's not that big a deal.

I think the real issue here is that all those guys on the red team are gonna have to take a break from harping on Nvidia's renaming scheme.
 
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Rebranding takes away some steam and mind share from the new line. For example going from a 4770 to 5770, 4870 to 5870 was some rather huge upgrade path which would really make one look forward to the next jump. Compare that to the 5770 to 6770, not good and for some maybe a huge disappointment (ones who didn't do any research into purchase). I would have recommended something like 5790 naming. For those who do know or did some investigation it shouldn't really matter that much.
 
That defeats the purpose of having a concise, easy to understanding naming convention for their entire 6XXX line.

The 6770 and 6750 naming fits perfectly for their performance right between the 6790 and 6670.

It's just that the chip is so good and a testament to their engineering that the chip can be renamed, yet still bring in nice revenue and nice value for the consumer.
 
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