AMD Radeon RX 8000 “RDNA 4” GPUs To Utilize 18 Gbps GDDR6 Memory Across Entire Lineup

AMD might be sticking to the good old-fashioned 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory solution for its next-gen RDNA 4 "Radeon RX 8000" GPUs, alleges @Kepler_L2.

AMD Is Not Doing A Memory Spec Upgrade On Its RDNA 4 "Radeon RX 8000" GPUs As Rumor Alleges 18 Gbps GDDR6 For All Cards

While memory manufacturers are talking about their newest solutions for consumer graphics cards such as Samsung's GDDR6W or the truly next-gen GDDR7 standard which will ship with 28 Gbps die speeds in the start, it looks like AMD is planning to stick with the existing GDDR6 memory solution to power its upcoming Radeon RX 8000 graphics cards based on the RDNA 4 GPU architecture. The move may sound a bit odd at first but it might make sense which we will get to in a bit.

Only 18Gbps 🤔

— Kepler (@Kepler_L2) April 23, 2024

The AMD RDNA 4 GPU family which is expected to power the Radeon RX 8000 line of discrete cards has seen various developments. The lineup was initially expected to feature high-end GPU SKUs till they got canceled and replaced with two SKUs in the mid-tier and low-tier segments. We know the two SKUs as the Navi 48 and Navi 44. The Navi 48 GPU is reportedly the higher-end SKU of the two while the Navi 44 chip is an entry-level SKU. These GPUs are part of the GFX12 family and they have already been listed in patches within ROCm as GFX1200 and GFX1201.

Now based on the latest rumor from @Kepler_L2, it looks like the AMD Radeon RX 8000 "RDNA 4" GPUs will be utilizing GDDR6 memory and no special or faster variant. They will stick with the just 18.00 Gbps speeds which are slightly lower than the current fastest models such as the 7900 XTX or the 7800 XT. The Radeon RX 7900 GRE, RX 7700 XT, RX 7600 XT & the RX 7600 feature 18 Gbps dies. The current lineup features the following:

• Radeon RX 7900 XTX: 384-bit / 20 Gbps / 960 GB/s
• Radeon RX 7900 XT: 320-bit / 20 Gbps / 800 GB/s
• Radeon RX 7900 GRE: 256-bit / 18 Gbps / 576 GB/s
• Radeon RX 7800 XT: 256-bit / 19.5 Gbps / 624 GB/s
• Radeon RX 7700 XT: 192-bit / 18 Gbps / 432 GB/s
• Radeon RX 7600 XT: 128-bit / 18 Gbps / 288 GB/s
• Radeon RX 7600: 128-bit / 18 Gbps / 288 GB/s

Considering that, we can expect similar bus interfaces which should give us the following memory configurations across the RDNA 4 GPU SKUs:

• Radeon RX 8000: 256-bit / 18 Gbps / 576 GB/s
• Radeon RX 8000: 192-bit / 18 Gbps / 432 GB/s
• Radeon RX 8000: 128-bit / 18 Gbps / 288 GB/s

Now while this might sound a bit disappointing, it looks like AMD's rationale behind using 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory for its RDNA 4 lineup could happen to be making these cards a better value within their respective segment. GDDR6 memory has already been in mass production for years now & is widely available, unlike the newer solutions which might have limited supply in the beginning.

As such, the memory vendors may hike prices, making the resultant discrete products pricier. Another factor could be power draw, these next-gen solutions will consume more power despite being a bit more efficient. Since AMD is targeting the mainstream and low-end segment with its RDNA 4 GPU family, it makes sense to incorporate an 18 Gbps solution.

Yep

— Kepler (@Kepler_L2) April 23, 2024

It is also reported that all RDNA 4 GPUs will make use of the GDDR6 18 Gbps memory dies so that includes both desktop and laptop offerings. The bandwidth is still enough for mainstream solutions and there might also be Infinity Cache that can eliminate some of the memory bottlenecks that the GPUs might encounter. Early rumors have stated that the Navi 48 GPU will offer performance close to Navi 31 chips while Navi 44 will sit between the Navi 32 and Navi 33 "RDNA 3) GPUs.

Overall, it looks like NVIDIA might once again be the first to the new GDDR solution (GDDR7) later this year when it launches Blackwell for gaming in the form of the GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 but these cards. Meanwhile, AMD will try to refocus its market share in the mainstream gaming segment before moving into the high-end segment again like it did previously with Polaris (RX 400/500) and Navi 1 (Radeon RX 5000) GPUs.

AMD RDNA Generational GPU Lineup