AMD's Radeon RX 550 graphics cards have been reintroduced to help resolve GPU supply issues in Japan, according to a new report.
This is a very old GPU, in fact the RX 550 was released in 2017, so half a decade has passed, and it was a low-end model back then, but Hermitage Akihabara claims that the 550 is now on sale for a card maker that goes by the name "Expert Oriented" (or so it is).
Does that mean either AMD is producing the necessary Polaris 12 GPUs again and supplying them, at least for the Japanese market, or old inventory of these products has been discovered somewhere, and someone has had the bright idea that the Japanese market graphics was pretty much a barren place for these models to really sell.
The graphics cards are supposed to be on the shelves of at least four major retail operations, and possibly elsewhere, so it looks like there are a decent number of them available in Japan (if not anywhere else).
Proof of this comes in the form of several photos of the graphics card and its box, as shown by Tom's Hardware, who originally viewed it.
The other question that you are undoubtedly worried about at the moment is how much does the RX 550 cost? The selling price is apparently set at 17,600 Japanese yen, as seen in one of the photos, which converts to around €155 (or €115, AU €215). Oh.
Analysis: This is crazy, but price inflation even applies here...
Keep in mind that the RX 550 launched at a starting price of €79 in the US (about €80, AU$130, at the time in April 2017), so we can see that even with that Let's face it: the contemporary, old graphics card, the price is still seriously inflated. Such is the GPU world we live in today, where demand outstrips supply to such an extent.
Granted, that launch price was for the 2GB version of the RX 550, and at least this expert-oriented newcomer is the beefier flavor with 4GB of VRAM. In addition, this graphics card features a low-profile design and a compact nature (167mm long, 68mm high, and 16mm thick), so it has advantages for PCs where space on the inside the box is limited.
The actual performance you'll get is shaky, with Tom's review calling the 550GB RX 2 "serviceable" for 1080p gaming; Remember, though, that was five years ago, but it was even surpassed by the RX 460 at the time, which wasn't that much more expensive. Really, AMD was pitching this GPU to PCs as home theaters, with its small, fanless nature (and less power-hungry than the RX 460), not to gamers, and that's even more true today.
The fact that it's relatively expensive compared to when it launched is the real draw here, of course; but sadly, nothing surprises us when it comes to the GPU market these days.
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