ATI Radeon HD 4350 PCI

The ATI Radeon HD 4350 PCI is an end-of-life graphics card from AMD, built on the TeraScale architecture with the RV710 chip. Fabricated by TSMC on a 55 nm process, it integrates 242 million transistors on a 73 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 3.3M per mm². Released on September 29, 2008, this card occupies the 50th percentile in the database's GPU ranking, yet its average benchmark score is zero, indicating no recorded benchmark runs. Its bus interface is PCI, a legacy standard that immediately defines its target audience: owners of older motherboards without PCI Express slots. The card belongs to the Radeon R700 (HD 4300) generation, sitting between the Radeon R600 predecessor and the Evergreen successor.

Power and Cooling

The card carries a thermal design power (TDP) of 20 W. This is an exceptionally low figure, placing it in the ultra-low-power segment of the database. The data shows no power connectors are required; the card draws all its power directly from the PCI slot. The suggested power supply is 200 W, a modest requirement easily satisfied by virtually any desktop unit. The single-slot design and a length of 178 mm (7 inches) ensure compatibility with compact or older chassis. Because the TDP is so low, a passive heatsink would be a logical choice, though the FACT PACK does not specify the cooler type. The bus interface is PCI, not PCIe, which is a critical distinction. This means the card cannot be used in modern motherboards that lack legacy PCI slots. For systems that do have such slots, the 20 W draw is negligible and will not stress the motherboard's power delivery. The absence of any auxiliary power connector further simplifies installation, as no extra cables are needed. The 20 W TDP also means that system cooling requirements are minimal, making this card a viable option for silent or low-noise builds in retro systems.

Memory Subsystem

Memory capacity is 512 MB of DDR2, arranged on a 64-bit bus. The memory clock runs at 400 MHz, translating to 800 Mbps effective, yielding a total bandwidth of 6.400 GB/s. This is a very narrow and slow memory path by any standard. The 64-bit bus width is half of what was common in the mid-range segment of its era, and the DDR2 type is slower than later memory standards. Consequently, the memory bandwidth of 6.400 GB/s is a hard constraint on performance. For high resolutions, this bandwidth will be exhausted quickly, as the pixel rate of 2.400 GPixel/s and texture rate of 4.800 GTexel/s are also low. The 4 ROPs and 8 TMUs further limit fill-rate workloads. In practical terms, 1080p gaming is out of reach; even 720p would require low settings and older titles. The 512 MB frame buffer is also limiting, as modern textures exceed this capacity, causing swapping to system memory over the slow PCI bus. The memory clock of 400 MHz is the only clock figure provided in the pack, with no base or boost clocks for the core. This memory configuration is clearly designed for basic 2D acceleration and light 3D tasks, not for bandwidth-intensive applications.

Who Should Consider It

This card is for a very specific niche: owners of legacy motherboards that have a PCI slot but no PCI Express slot. The bus interface is PCI, which severely limits data transfer rates compared to PCIe. The card supports DirectX 10.1 (10_1) and OpenGL 3.3, covering games from the late 2000s. With 80 shading units and 96.00 GFLOPS of FP32 compute, it can handle basic 3D acceleration for older titles at low resolutions and low detail settings. The average benchmark score is zero, meaning no empirical data exists in this database, but the theoretical specs indicate it is suitable for 2D desktop work, video playback, and very light 3D applications. The display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x VGA, and 1x S-Video, so it cannot drive modern digital-only monitors without adapters. It is not a gaming card by any modern measure. For users seeking to revive a vintage system for retro gaming or basic office tasks, this card provides a functional, low-power solution. However, for any serious gaming, the 50th percentile ranking—which is misleading given zero benchmarks—and the memory constraints make it unsuitable. The end-of-life production status means it is only available on the second-hand market, and its PCI interface limits it to systems that already have such slots.

How It Compares

The FACT PACK lists no nearest rivals for this entry, so direct comparison with specific competitor models is not possible from the provided data. Instead, the card can be positioned within its own lineage. Its predecessor is the Radeon R600, and its successor is Evergreen. The HD 4350 PCI sits between these two generations, representing a transitional point. The database's percentileVsAllGpus field places it at the 50th percentile, which is the median of all GPUs tracked. However, because its avgBenchmarkScore is 0, this percentile is likely a default placement rather than a reflection of measured performance. Without rival data, no delta percentages can be stated. The only quantitative comparison available is its position in the overall distribution: exactly in the middle, which is surprising for such a low-spec card, suggesting the database includes many similarly limited legacy entries. The absence of rival names means that any claims about beating or losing to specific cards are impossible. The card's architecture, TeraScale, is a distinct lineage, and its process node of 55 nm is typical for its release period. The 242 million transistors on a 73 mm² die give a density of 3.3M per mm², which is modest by today's standards but was reasonable for 2008.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data for this card is essentially nonexistent. The avgBenchmarkScore is 0, and the benchmarks array is empty. This is common for end-of-life, low-volume cards. The only performance indicators are the theoretical fill rates and compute figures. The pixel rate is 2.400 GPixel/s, the texture rate is 4.800 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 96.00 GFLOPS. These numbers are all quite low. The memory bandwidth of 6.400 GB/s is the most restrictive factor. To sustain the 2.400 GPixel/s pixel rate with a 32-bit color buffer, the required bandwidth would exceed the available 6.400 GB/s, making the card memory-bound in most scenarios. The 4 ROPs and 8 TMUs further limit output. In the absence of empirical benchmarks, these theoretical rates are the best guide. The 50th percentile rank is the only relative metric, but it carries no weight without actual scores. Thus, the performance picture is one of severe constraints: low fill rate, low bandwidth, and low compute, all consistent with its 20 W TDP and 512 MB frame buffer. The 96.00 GFLOPS FP32 figure is the sole compute metric, and it is far below what any modern card would offer, though no rival numbers are available for comparison. The pixel rate of 2.400 GPixel/s and texture rate of 4.800 GTexel/s are directly tied to the 4 ROPs and 8 TMUs, respectively, and these are the only throughput figures provided.

FAQ

Q: What is the thermal design power (TDP) of the ATI Radeon HD 4350 PCI?

A: The TDP is 20 W.

Q: Does this card require any power connectors?

A: No, it uses no power connectors; it draws power from the PCI slot.

Q: What is the suggested power supply wattage?

A: The suggested PSU is 200 W.

Q: What type and size of memory does it have?

A: It has 512 MB of DDR2 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 6.400 GB/s.

Q: Which bus interface does it use?

A: It uses the PCI bus interface, not PCI Express.

Q: What is its production status?

A: The production status is end-of-life.

Q: What APIs does it support?

A: It supports DirectX 10.1 (10_1) and OpenGL 3.3.

Q: When was it released?

A: It was released on September 29, 2008.