Shenzhen, China-based PC component maker Yeston has added a new GPU to its lineup. The new Sakura Hitomi AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT graphics card joins the ranks of the firm’s famous anime design products. We last reported on one of these confections in December 2020, when the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 got a similar makeover.
The Greymon55 Twitter Ledger Point Update from Yeston on his social media account today. Yeston’s Bilibili post features a slew of promotional images showing off its new RX 6500 XT from all angles and highlighting its features and specs.
This is the most affordable GPU that Yeston has produced with the pink and powder blue Sakura Hitomi livery. Yeston’s Sakura Hitomi AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GD6 is also the smallest GPU carrying this design language to date, with its super cute Mini ITX compatible shroud measuring just 172mm long.
We reviewed the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT in January, and it didn’t get a very favorable review from our graphics editor, but it was weighed down at the time with horrible expected prices. Today, some RX 6500 XT cards are selling for 35% below MSRP, which gives a more positive shine to products like this.
The Yeston Sakura Hitomi doesn’t push the format in terms of performance, with a maximum boost clock just 1% higher than the benchmark when switched to OC mode. On the contrary, its strengths are the aforementioned fairing design and compactness (172 × 101 × 41 mm).
You have probably already seen the different images presenting this new Sakura Hitomi product. Compared to all previous releases in this series, we think this one might also disappoint with its paint job. Basically, the other GPUs in the family feature a Sakura Hitomi image on their backplates. This one has an image of a stylized bear.
Did Yeston make a sow’s ear silk purse with this new product? For some, the Radeon RX 6500 XT will always be pigs ears, or worse. However, for collectors and Sakura Hitomi fans, it could be a worthwhile purchase thanks to its presumably more accessible price.
Yeston’s previously released Sakura Hitomi graphics cards have been focused on the high end. Current products include familiar pink and powder blue custom versions of the RTX 3070, RX 3080, RX 6700 XT, and RX 6800 XT. With the graphics card market as it was and somewhat still is, these will probably have been out of reach for many. Plus, it’s natural to wonder if any of these Yeston Sakura Hitomi graphics card editions have been scalped and mined (crypto). This link is reminiscent of a similar fate befalling a stack of very cool limited-edition Asus Gundam RTX GPUs in Vietnam.
The Yeston Sakura Hitomi AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GD6 is expected to be available through Yeston’s JD.com store beginning Wednesday, March 23.
