AMD announces budget graphics cards

AMD presents us with their new Radeon HD 3400 and 3600 series graphics cards. The 3400 cards are expected to cost between $50 and $65 and the 3600s will go from $80 to $100. With these prices, the new cards will be great for casual gamers and those wanting to watch HD movies on their computers.

Another nifty feature of these cards is the ability to pair them in a Hybrid Crossfire setup on an ATI motherboard, combining the power of the two cards and the onboard graphics chip for a fairly low price.

The cards include support for DirectX 10.1, PCI-Express 2.0, and the DisplayPort video interface.

The introduction of these cards is a good move on AMD’s part. The casual gamer or HD move watcher doesn’t want to shell out $400 on a video card, so a $50 to $100 card will be perfect for a weekend game or two. The graphics won’t be spectacular, but they’ll be much better than an onboard chip and will come with a reasonable price.