It almost feels like AMD hoped no one would notice the quiet launch of its ultra-budget RX 7400 GPU

AMD quietly released a new GPU this weekend, but there wasn't much fanfare for it. As reported by Tom's Hardware, the humble Radeon RX 7400 is the latest addition to AMD's 7000 series GPU line-up which first launched three years ago. It runs on the last-gen RDNA3 architecture with 8GB of GDDR6 RAM. Those specs alone should tell you exactly who this card is intended for: gamers on a tight budget.

The official price for the RX 7400 hasn't been revealed yet, but it will likely end up somewhere between $150 and $250. It's effectively replacing the RX 6400 from 2022, which typically goes for less than $200. Meanwhile, the RX 7600 sits at around $260 to $360 depending on whether you get a model with 8GB or 16GB of RAM.

AMD's page for the RX 7400 describes it as "designed for advanced gaming and streaming experiences at 1080p." Many gamers will probably balk at that "advanced" claim after seeing the 8GB of RAM, and rightfully so. These days, 16GB of memory has become the ideal standard. Anything less is reserved for bottom-of-the-barrel budget cards.

As someone who once relied on ultra-affordable gaming gear, I can't scoff at AMD for at least offering something that's geared toward budget-conscious builds. Of course, more RAM would be great, but if you're on a tight enough budget that you have less than $300 to spend on your GPU, you're probably planning to make some compromises already. You might be able to get a little more value out of a used last-gen GPU, but if for whatever reason that isn't an option, maybe something like the RX 7400 can fit the bill.

The RX 7400 is effectively a GPU for people who want something a bit more robust than integrated graphics, but can't afford (or don't need) a 16GB card. Most gamers would be much better off with a 16GB RX 7600, even on a budget. But if you really can't afford that, any GPU is better than none and that seems to be where the RX 7400 comes in.