The second card from the test arrived together with the previous model. As one may easily suppose, HD 3400 is here to replace the HD 2400 generation. Just like with the previous model, this model was improved in terms of reduced production process, newest DirectX and Shader Model support (as with any card from this ATI generation) and PCI-Express 2.0 standard. Other characteristics of the RV620 (the GPU on this card) remained unchanged compared to RV610. This means 40 stream processors, 4 TMU and 4 ROP units. The video reproduction capabilities are also still present, which makes this card a great solution for non-gaming users wishing to watch HD video on their PCs with integrated GPUs. Members of the HD 3400 family are HD 3450 and HD 3470. We received the first one, while we leave the review of the second one for a later date. Common characteristics are a very low price and a painfully narrow 64-bit memory bus. Besides, there is next to no noise produced by these two, as these cards are usually either passively cooled or have a very small active cooler.

Radeon HD 3450

Radeon HD 3450 is a very small card with the well-known red PCB, only slightly bigger than a standard PCI LAN card. The cooler is very small - we haven't seen such a small fan since GeForce 2. As a matter of fact, it was on hold during most of the testing period simply because there was no need for it to work. This was also an indication that the card possesses an internal fan rotation controller, which controls the fan speed according to the current GPU temperature. Even with the fan standing completely still, there was not even a hint of heat coming off this card. The GPU is clocked at 600 MHz, while the memory is clocked at exactly 1 GHz (this is somewhere halfway between the 2400Pro and 2400XT from the past generation). The sample we received had 256 MB of onboard memory, but we were notified that 512 MB will be hitting the market as well (although you will most likely never need it). Performance was never meant to be the highlight of this card, but a 50_ price tag was. This will most likely attract low-budget and non-gaming customers towards it.