Wednesday, January 29th 2020

AMD to Debut 2nd Gen RDNA Architecture in 2020

AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su, in her Q4-2019 and FY-2019 earnings call, confirmed that the company debut its second-generation RDNA graphics architecture in 2020. "In 2019 we launched our new architecture in GPUs, it's the RDNA architecture, and that was the Navi-based products. You should expect those will be refreshed in 2020, and we will have our new next-generation RDNA architecture that will be part our 2020 lineup."

Second-gen RDNA, or RDNA2, is expected to leverage the new 7 nm+ (EUV) silicon fabrication process at TSMC, to dial up transistor-counts, clock-speeds, and performance. Among the two anticipated feature additions are VRS (variable rate shading) and possibly ray-tracing. The fabled "big Navi" silicon, a GPU larger than "Navi 10," is also on the cards, according to an earlier statement by Dr Su. More details about these upcoming graphics cards are expected to be put out in March, at the 2020 AMD Investor Day conference.
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81 Comments on AMD to Debut 2nd Gen RDNA Architecture in 2020

#1
steve360
"Expect those will be refreshed"

Interesting.

2 sets of Navi GPUs in 2020.
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#2
Gmr_Chick
Well damn, my proposed GPU upgrade just became A LOT more confusing than it already was. Though, I suppose it's very much a "nature of the beast" kinda thing.
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#3
Fatalfury
hmm so a Refresh, casual core Boosts and power Limit Increased, i hope its not only that,
if they want to compete with Nvidia 7nm, They better pull a Rabbit out of the Hat
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#4
Countryside
Can't wait to get the new RDNA2 into a test bench.
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#5
bug
Once again, I was right: Navi in its first incarnation, does not scale beyond 5700XT.
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#6
Space Lynx
Astronaut
Gmr_ChickWell damn, my proposed GPU upgrade just became A LOT more confusing than it already was. Though, I suppose it's very much a "nature of the beast" kinda thing.
Wait for reviews first.
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#7
Gmr_Chick
^ Well yes of course. To be honest though, I'll probably just get a 5700XT (or a 2060/70 SUPER, haven't made a final decision yet) and be done with it
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#8
Space Lynx
Astronaut
Gmr_Chick^ Well yes of course. To be honest though, I'll probably just get a 5700XT (or a 2060/70 SUPER, haven't made a final decision yet) and be done with it
I hope you are aware that Freesync still does not work properly on Navi even 6 months after release. Reading lots of crashes on Reddit as well still a common thing after 6 months of release date. I'm leaning towards Ryzen 4800x CPU and RTX 3080 for my next PC build. Nvidia is just stable and works, sadly I am willing to pay a premium for that.
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#9
_Flare
I´m not natively english speaking, but she said:
"In 2019, we launched our new architecture in GPUs, it’s the RDNA architecture, and that was the Navi based products.
You should expect that those will be refreshed in 2020 – and we’ll have a next generation RDNA architecture that will be part of our 2020 lineup. (...)"

The Navi20, seen in multiple places, could be the Navi10 Refresh. Maybe nobody found any name pointing to the Ray-tracing RDNA2, yet.
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#10
R0H1T
bugOnce again, I was right: Navi in its first incarnation, does not scale beyond 5700XT.
How so?
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#11
bug
R0H1THow so?
Wait for the big Navi, if you can't figure it out yet.
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#12
R0H1T
If you're talking about a "big" Navi based on RDNA being untenable then sure your prediction could be right, that of course doesn't mean that AMD tried (or didn't try) to get one out to the market. In terms of prototype or potential designs, we have no basis to confirm or deny either way. The only thing that is confirmed though is that RDNA2 will likely launch later this year.
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#13
bug
R0H1TIf you're talking about a "big" Navi based on RDNA being untenable then sure your prediction could be right, that of course doesn't mean that AMD tried (or didn't try) to get one out to the market. In terms of prototype or potential designs, we have no basis to confirm or deny either way. The only thing that is confirmed though is that RDNA2 will likely launch later this year.
Based on power scaling between 5700 and 5700XT, I said the initial iteration will not scale properly past that. ANd now we know big Navi will not be based on the initial iteration.
Nothing big, initial silicon often has rough edges/low hanging fruits. It just shows that I was right when many others were like "dude, don't upgrade now, wait for the big Navi". That's all. (fwiw, you can't play this waiting game if a part is not officially confirmed to land in a couple of months, otherwise you'll be waiting forever. but that's another story)
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#14
Gmr_Chick
lynx29I hope you are aware that Freesync still does not work properly on Navi even 6 months after release. Reading lots of crashes on Reddit as well still a common thing after 6 months of release date. I'm leaning towards Ryzen 4800x CPU and RTX 3080 for my next PC build. Nvidia is just stable and works, sadly I am willing to pay a premium for that.
That's my biggest concern about going the RX 5000 series route over the RTX 20 series route at the moment. I've used Radeon GPUs in all my builds since the HD 7790 and never had a problem with them -- my current GPU is an RX 580 and I haven't had any problems with it *knocks on some wood*. I know AMD has a reputation for having wonky GPU drivers, but my personal experiences have been good thus far. But having read about all the issues people are still having with Navi (or rather, the drivers) even 6 months into its life is rather troubling to say the least. That's why I'm leaning towards an RTX card at the moment
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#15
Dave65
DROOLS all over myself... Can't wait:clap:
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#16
Unregistered
Gmr_ChickThat's my biggest concern about going the RX 5000 series route over the RTX 20 series route at the moment. I've used Radeon GPUs in all my builds since the HD 7790 and never had a problem with them -- my current GPU is an RX 580 and I haven't had any problems with it *knocks on some wood*. I know AMD has a reputation for having wonky GPU drivers, but my personal experiences have been good thus far. But having read about all the issues people are still having with Navi (or rather, the drivers) even 6 months into its life is rather troubling to say the least. That's why I'm leaning towards an RTX card at the moment
I'm still an ATI (AMD) fan boi....but only in spirits these days.
2.5 years later from my last GPU purchase and their best is only about 6% faster....but when they initially launched they were 20% faster...not sure what kind of fuckup causes that but it makes me think they aren't going to have their shit together until at least q2 2021.

This reminds me of Phenom gen 1....I hope so anyways.
#17
bug
jmcslobI'm still an ATI (AMD) fan boi....but only in spirits these days.
2.5 years later from my last GPU purchase and their best is only about 6% faster....but when they initially launched they were 20% faster...not sure what kind of fuckup causes that but it makes me think they aren't going to have their shit together until at least q2 2021.

This reminds me of Phenom gen 1....I hope so anyways.
As long as you can think objectively, you're not a fanboy. We all root for AMD because they're the underdog (even if we buy Intel/Nvidia), that alone does not make one a fanboy ;)
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#18
Exceededgoku
I'm just not getting my hopes up, AMD has hurt me before... But, I am VERY excited for some competition at the right end finally!
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#19
gridracedriver
HIMO
Rdna1 refresh 7N and Rdna2 (with RT) to 7N+ in SKU 2020:
Rdna2 series 6900 - 6800, 700 ~ 350 $
Navi10 series 6700 - 6600, 250 ~ 150 $
Navi14 series 6500, 100 - 75 $

I don't think they throw rdna1 after just 1 year
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#20
IceShroom
AMD will release Big GPU When they can sell all the Big GPU they can produce at resoanable price. AMD just dont want to pull another Hawaii/Fiji.
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#21
Slizzo
This is hardly news. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be launching this year with RDNA2 graphics. Not surprised that they'll be launching cards with it too considering that NVIDIA is still eating their lunch in that segment.
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#22
Mr.Mopar392
lynx29I hope you are aware that Freesync still does not work properly on Navi even 6 months after release. Reading lots of crashes on Reddit as well still a common thing after 6 months of release date. I'm leaning towards Ryzen 4800x CPU and RTX 3080 for my next PC build. Nvidia is just stable and works, sadly I am willing to pay a premium for that.
I love my 5700XT you will never catch a nvidia card in my rig ever, and I will never convince someone on what to buy, let the man buy what the hell he wants.
bugAs long as you can think objectively, you're not a fanboy. We all root for AMD because they're the underdog (even if we buy Intel/Nvidia), that alone does not make one a fanboy ;)
The irony
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#23
moproblems99
Mr.Mopar392let the man buy what the hell he wants
What if it isn't a man?
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#24
efikkan
_FlareI´m not natively english speaking, but she said:
"In 2019, we launched our new architecture in GPUs, it’s the RDNA architecture, and that was the Navi based products.
You should expect that those will be refreshed in 2020 – and we’ll have a next generation RDNA architecture that will be part of our 2020 lineup. (...)"

The Navi20, seen in multiple places, could be the Navi10 Refresh. Maybe nobody found any name pointing to the Ray-tracing RDNA2, yet.
We currently know about Navi 21, 22 and 23 from drivers, but we don't know the specs of these yet.
Unfortunately, yet again we see many people and the a lot of the tech press drive expectations too high, as they did with Navi12 as "big Navi", "Arcturus", big Vega and big Polaris.

I do expect AMD will launch a refreshed and tweaked Navi, possibly one with more than 40 CUs. But we have to remember that even a 2nd gen Navi will still fundamentally be a Navi, it will scale like Navi, and set your expectations accordingly. Also, it will be facing the next generation from Nvidia. I would love to see AMD pull out a card that beats by a good margin RTX 2080 Ti, draws way less than 300W and that is affordable, but that would require a major architectural improvement to achieve, unless AMD have stumbled across fix that radically changes performance characteristics.
R0H1TIf you're talking about a "big" Navi based on RDNA being untenable then sure your prediction could be right, that of course doesn't mean that AMD tried (or didn't try) to get one out to the market. In terms of prototype or potential designs, we have no basis to confirm or deny either way. The only thing that is confirmed though is that RDNA2 will likely launch later this year.
If there ever was a plan for a bigger Navi 1x, then it was scrapped long before tapeout.
Posted on Reply
#25
windwhirl
gridracedriverHIMO
Rdna1 refresh 7N and Rdna2 (with RT) to 7N+ in SKU 2020:
Rdna2 series 6900 - 6800, 700 ~ 350 $
Navi10 series 6700 - 6600, 250 ~ 150 $
Navi14 series 6500, 100 - 75 $

I don't think they throw rdna1 after just 1 year
steve360"Expect those will be refreshed"

Interesting.

2 sets of Navi GPUs in 2020.
No.

When Dr. Su said "refresh" she didn't mean new iterations of the currently available GPUs, but rather completely new products.

This according to a news article from Tom's, since they asked AMD for clarification on this.
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