AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture is known to be coming with its Radeon 7000 GPUs however we didn’t have any official announcement from AMD specifying the specs of these next-gen NAVI graphics cards. We did have a leak exactly a month ago, but it seems that new information has been revealed regarding these GPUs.
Angstronomics has shared new information about AMD’s latest Navi 3x GPU series, claiming that the specifications were finalized in 2020 and that no changes have been made since.
The outlet revealed information about three NAVI 3x chips, Navi 31, Navi 32, and Navi 33, among other improvements that RDNA 3 brings to the table over its predecessor.
The Flagship “Plum Bonito” NAVI 31
Navi 31 is the flagship silicon and is touted as the world’s first GPU with a chiplet design. Codenamed Plum Bonito reportedly features one Graphics Chiplet Die (GCD) with six accompanying Memory Chiplet Dies (MCD). The GCD is on TSMC’s 5nm process node, while the MCD is a product of the 6nm process node.
Infinity cache, which was previously rumored to be 192MB, is actually just 96MB. This is even lower than the 128MB of Infinity Cache in Navi 21. It is alleged that AMD made a 1-hi (3D stacked) variant with twice the capacity, but the performance benefits were not substantial given the increase in cost.
Hence, the mainstream Navi 31 will stick to 96MB. In fact, a beefed-up version with 288MB Infinity Cache (2-hi) was previously in AMD’s plans, but the chipmaker may have canceled it due to the very high benefit-to-cost ratio.
The NAVI 31 die features 96 legacy CUs, 12288 ALUs, along with a 384-bit GDDR6 memory interface. There will also be a cut-down version offering 42 WGP and 5x MCD (80MB Cache, 320-bit GDDR6).
Coming to the design changes, the Navi 31-based reference appears to have an updated 3-fan design that is slightly taller than the previous generation, with a distinctive 3 red stripe accent on a section of the heatsink fins near the dual 8-pin connectors.
“Wheat Nas” NAVI 32
A smaller version of NAVI 31, NAVI 32, will be the next in line of this RDNA 3 lineup. Navi 32 will also be coming to mobile as a high-end GPU offering in AMD Advantage laptops. The GPU codenamed Wheat Nas(GFX1101) features GCD and MCD that measure 200 mm² and 37.5 mm², respectively.
The GCD only has 30 WGPs, amounting up to 60 CUs (7,680 ALUs). The Navi 32 only has four MCDs, limiting the Infinity Cache to 64MB. This continues the trend of having lower IC than the predecessors, as even the NAVI 22 had 96MB. The GDDR6 memory bus will be 256-bit.
The Workgroup processor count is lower than the previously speculated 32 WGPs, and even the Stream Processor count is lower than the rumored 8192 ALUs. There were plans for a 128MB (1-hi) version, however, it might not be productized due to the high costs.
“Hotpink Bonefish” NAVI 33
AKA GFX1102, the NAVI 33(Hotpink Bonefish) sticks to a monolithic design, measuring around 203 mm² in die size. Apparently, AMD had planned to make Navi 33 a chiplet die with 18 WGPs and 2 MCDs. Since the volume and cost didn’t meet AMD’s goals, they reportedly stuck with a monolithic die.
The GPU features 16 WGP (32 legacy CUs, 4096 ALUs), a 128-bit GDDR6 memory, and an Infinity Cache size of 32MB. Navi 33 is the mobile-first push for AMD. They expect robust sales of AMD Advantage laptops with it, as the design is drop-in compatible with Navi 23 PCBs, minimizing OEM board re-spin headaches.
Angstronomics mentions that the NAVI 33 GPU will outperform Intel’s top-end Alchemist GPU while having less than half the cost to make and pulling less power.
AMD has repeatedly highlighted that their RDNA 3 architecture brings out a substantial increase in performance; hence, these NAVI 3x GPUs shouldn’t see many problems settling in the graphics card market.
AMD’s RDNA 3 NAVI 3x GPUs will launch towards the end of this year as a part of the Radeon 7000 series and will compete with NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace RTX 40 series.
About Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
AMD develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. AMD’s main products include microprocessors, motherboard chipsets, embedded processors and graphics processors for servers, workstations, personal computers and embedded system applications.
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