AMD’s Super Powerful (And Small) Radeon R9 Nano Can Soon Be Yours For $649

After months of anticipation, AMD’s super-small Radeon R9 Nano has landed. Since the card’s original tease back in June, AMD’s touted the card as being on per performance-wise to an R9 290X. That’s a fairly big claim on account of the fact that we’re talking about a six-inch model.

Well, if the paper specs are anything to go by, the card lives up to that promise – and then delivers a bit extra on the side. But, I should mention up front that this cool card comes with a notable caveat: it costs $649. It’s true what they say: big prices do come from small packages.

It’s not a secret to AMD that Nano has a high price tag, but it’s probably fine with that given its target audience is niche. The company is aiming this card squarely at those who want to build the smallest PC possible without sacrificing performance, as well as modders who could build some stellar rigs with smaller components.

In the shot below, you can see how the card compares to the R9 290X:

Here are some stats for you: the R9 Nano is 40% shorter than the R9 290X, up to 30% faster, runs 20°C cooler (75°C operating temperature), uses 30% less power, and is 16dBA quieter.

You can see more shots below, including a look at the cooler and bare card.

AMD's Radeon R9 Nano

R9 Nano's bare PCB (front)

R9 Nano's bare PCB (back)

R9 Nano's air cooler (front)

R9 Nano's air cooler (back)

As I mentioned at the start, AMD “delivers a bit extra on the side” versus the 290X. That’s quite surprising, given that the company always compared the card to a 290X. A 30% gain is no joke. That’s backed up in our table above; the R9 Nano hits 8.19 TFLOPs, which isn’t too far off from the Fury X’s 8.6. It also obliterates the R9 390X’s 5.9 TFLOPs.

And, there you have it. The Radeon R9 Nano is powerful, small, and expensive. For those who don’t mind that blend of qualities, the card can be yours on September 7th.