AMD has introduced a new entry-level graphics card to its lineup. Following the launch of the Radeon PRO W7400 for professionals, the same hardware specifications have been brought to the consumer market with the Radeon RX 7400, targeting gaming enthusiasts and OEMs. This card continues the design philosophy of low power consumption and a compact form factor, aiming at the budget and pre-installed market while retaining core features of the RDNA 3 architecture, including 8GB of memory and support for ray tracing.

The core features remain consistent: 28 compute units, 1,792 stream processors, 28 integrated light accelerators, with nominal FP32 compute power of about 7.88 TFLOPS. It boasts 8GB of GDDR6 memory, a 128-bit interface, and an effective rate of 10.8 Gbps, which results in a bandwidth of 173 GB/s. Compared to the Radeon RX 7600, which also uses Navi 33, the RX 7400's memory subsystem is more conservative, with about 40% less bandwidth, highlighting its lower positioning.

With a power draw of 55W, a standard single-slot design, and a length of about 167mm, the RX 7400 eliminates the need for a 6pin/8pin external power supply, relying instead on the motherboard's PCIe slot, making it an excellent choice for compact and power-constrained systems. Its low power consumption benefits both cooling and noise control, making it suitable for pre-installed business desktops, narrow towers, or ITX mini-PCs.

The RX 7400 has undergone "specification slimming" in two areas: first, the number of compute units has been reduced from 32 in the RX 7600 to 28, and second, the memory rate has been significantly reduced. These changes affect raster and shading throughput and frame rate stability in bandwidth-sensitive scenarios, respectively. With 8GB of memory, the RX 7400 remains adequate for most 1080p games, though bandwidth may become a bottleneck in high-texture, post-processing-heavy settings. For gaming and handling lightweight AAA titles, this card is well-suited to medium-quality 1080p output.

While it does support hardware-level ray tracing, achieving a stable frame rate at this card's price point with ray tracing enabled is challenging, unless image quality is significantly reduced or frame generation techniques are employed. Realistically, users should opt for traditional rasterization paths with performance optimizations through resolution scaling or variable shading rates. For retaining higher quality or tackling complex lighting, the RX 7600 is more suitable.

The Radeon RX 7400 appears tailored for OEM needs: its lack of external power requirements and single-slot design simplify adaptation for OEMs and offer a straightforward upgrade from integrated graphics in entry-level pre-installed machines. Some OEM brands are already listing the RX 7400 as an option for entry-level desktops in enterprise or home settings. Its retail availability is not yet confirmed and may remain OEM-exclusive.

On media and display capabilities, the RDNA 3 architecture's integrated video engine supports hardware codec acceleration for mainstream formats and multi-display outputs, making it suitable for light tasks such as basic creative projects, classroom video recording, and HD media playback. The 8GB memory capacity offers future-proofing compared to previous entry-level cards, alleviating issues from high memory usage. It's tailored more towards light workflows rather than complex editing or demanding 3D rendering tasks.

Overall, the Radeon RX 7400 effectively repurposes the PRO W7400's parameters with a clear focus on power efficiency, compactness, and cost control, enhancing entry-level consoles' capabilities for 1080p gaming and multimedia within minimal upgrade paths. For users or purchase scenarios looking to move beyond integrated graphics, focusing on power efficiency and compatibility, the RX 7400 is a compelling choice. However, if higher frame rates and enhanced quality are priorities, or playability in ray tracing scenarios is desired, the RX 7600 or higher may be more appropriate. The RX 7400's retail presence and integration in complete systems will depend on subsequent manufacturer and channel decisions.