There are new rumors surrounding AMD RDNA 3 GPUs that will power the next-generation Radeon RX graphics card. It looks like AMD will also be taping out its first Navi 3X GPUs later this year which will surprisingly be more power-efficient than the gaming architecture powering NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX GPUs.
AMD RDNA 3 'Radeon RX' GPU Rumors: More Power Efficient Than NVIDIA Ada Lovelace, First Tape Out of MCM Design This Year
Just a few days ago, we got to know that NVIDIA is expecting its first tape out of its next-generation Hopper MCM GPUs soon. The Hopper GPU is presumably going to be fabricated on TSMC's brand new N5 (5nm) process node whereas AMD will mix-match TSMC's 5nm and 6nm process nodes for their next-generation chiplet and monolithic RDNA 3 GPU dies.
AMD RDNA 3 'Radeon RX' Navi 3X GPU Tape Outs
The main difference lies within the production segmentation with NVIDIA Hopper aiming the server segment & AMD RDNA 3 aiming the consumer segment. The NVIDIA product line to compete with AMD's RDNA 3 GPUs will be Ada Lovelace and those are expected to feature a monolithic design. This means that AMD with its RDNA 3 GPUs will be the first to offer an MCM graphics architecture to gamers but the actual launch isn't expected until the very end of 2022.
Navi31は6x10になると確信していますが、どのように構築されているのかわかりません。
Navi33については、今年の第4四半期にテープアウトする— Elysian Realm (@KittyYYuko) July 22, 2021
31 MCD Soon!
32 Maybe 2022Q1?— Elysian Realm (@KittyYYuko) July 22, 2021
According To KittyYYuko, a very reliable leaker with multiple correct information regarding NVIDIA & AMD GPUs posted in the past, AMD is expected to tape out multiple Navi 3X GPUs based on its RDNA 3 graphics architecture later this year. As per his latest tweet, AMD will be taping out its first MCD (Multi-Compute Die) GPU, the Navi 31, soon! In addition to Navi 31, AMD is also expected to tape out its Navi 33 GPU in the fourth quarter of 2021 while Navi 32 is expected to tape out by Q1 2022. Do remember that Navi 31 and Navi 32 are the only two chips that are said to utilized MCD while Navi 33 will feature a traditional monolithic design.
With the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series, AMD first introduced its flagship Navi 21 'Big Navi' GPUs with RDNA 2 architecture. It looks like AMD is planning to repeat the same with its next-gen 'Radeon RX 7000' series cards which would first launch in enthusiast flavors followed by mainstream offerings.
AMD RDNA 3 'Radeon RX' Navi 3X GPU Design, Power Efficiency & Memory Layout
Moving on, we have a series of really interesting tweets from Greymon55 who has been discussing the architectural upgrades and what to expect from RDNA 3 GPUs in general. The leaker states that while both NVIDIA Ada Lovelace and AMD RDNA 3 GPUs are going to be really power-hungry as the existing GPU lineup, AMD will have the more efficient offerings. As per current rumors, the MCD on RDNA 3 chiplet based GPUs is turning out to be very power efficient and it will take NVIDIA at least one generation to catch up to them in the gaming segment.
https://twitter.com/greymon55/status/1415977882526961670
https://twitter.com/greymon55/status/1416108295362781184
Also what's interesting is that both KittyYYuko states that AMD RDNA 3 'Navi 31' flagship could feature 60 WGPs which equals 120 Compute Units while Greymon55 states that the chip could reach up to 160 Compute Units. However, Kopite7kimi clarifies that 120 Compute Units per die should be the correct configuration and the full chip should reach 15,360 cores. It could be likely that the 80 WGP (160 CU) variant is a more high-end part that we haven't heard about yet like the Big Navi 21 XTX rumors.
There's also speculation regarding a very different CU design for chiplet based GPUs and the standard monolithic offerings such as Navi 33. There are also significant improvements to the front-end shader engine
15360
— kopite7kimi (@kopite7kimi) July 22, 2021
Do 31/32 use different CU design than 33? like will n31 be higher than the 10240 SP that's expected or is the CU design set in stone and just tweaked as far as core density is concerned?
— Aldebaran (@AldebaranPRD) July 16, 2021
The memory design gets more interesting as AMD RDNA 3 GPUs are going to go insane on the Infinity Cache solution. The Navi 31 'Radeon RX' GPUs are expected to feature up to 512 MB of Infinity Cache, almost quadruple the amount featured on Navi 21 but retain the 256-bit bus interface. The cards are expected to retain GDDR6 memory dies but with faster & optimized frequency/power specs.
https://twitter.com/greymon55/status/1415837736943054856
https://twitter.com/greymon55/status/1418130096959885319
https://twitter.com/greymon55/status/1411989878598819842
There have been several rumors stating that the upcoming RDNA 3 GPUs are going to outperform whatever NVIDIA has to offer in terms of rasterization performance. It looks like AMD will take the lead by offering the first MCM-powered GPUs under its Radeon RX graphics card lineup. But at the same time, NVIDIA is expected to quickly transition to its MCM GPU lineup which will offer over 3x performance boost over Ampere GPUs. Following is the expected performance increase:
NVIDIA / AMD Next-Gen Rumored GPU Performance Estimates
NVIDIA / AMD / Intel GPU Roadmap (Rumor)
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD (RDNA 1) | AMD (RDNA 2) | N/A | AMD (RDNA 3) | N/A | AMD (RDNA 4)? |
| NVIDIA (Turing Refresh) | NVIDIA Ampere | N/A | NVIDIA Ampere Refresh NVIDIA Ada Lovelace | N/A | NVIDIA Hopper |
| N/A | Xe-LP | N/A | Xe-HPG (ARC Alchemist) | TBC | TBC |
The AMD RDNA 3 'Navi 3X' GPU-powered Radeon RX graphics card lineup is expected to offer up to 3x performance improvement over existing RDNA 2 offerings. It would mark a major leap forward for graphics evolution and now that AMD is already onboard with next-gen technologies such as FSR and Raytracing, expect a very heated next-gen competition between the red and green teams.
