AMD RDNA 2 and Big Navi to PC before consoles

That AMD’s new graphics architecture RDNA 2 is on its way to the market before the turn of the year is already known. What has been less clear is the order in which the company’s future circuits will reach the market, as the next generation of game consoles is based on the architecture, but also “Big Navi”.

During a Bank of America event, none other than AMD’s CFO Devinder Kumar now takes the magazine by the mouth and promises that “Big Navi” will be the first RDNA 2 product on the market. As we already know that Playstation 5 and the upcoming Xbox will reach the market for Christmas shopping, during the month of November, is a likely launch window for “Big Navi” during September-October.

The RDNA 2 architecture goes through the entire stack, it will go from mainstream GPUs all the way up to the enthusiasts and then the architecture also goes into the game console products… as well as our integrated APU products. – Devinder Kumar

Furthermore, Kumar believes that even if RDNA 2 debuts with the giant circuit “Big Navi”, its philosophy will permeate an entire generation of graphics circuits from AMD. This means that, among other things, Zen 4-based APUs in the “Raphael” family will take the step away from today’s Vega-based graphics solutions, while a completely new series of graphics cards will replace the current Radeon 5000 series.

According to AMD, Navi 21, or “Big Navi”, will itself become a large and expensive circuit for discerning consumers. According to previous rumors, the circuit will be a doubling of the number of calculation units up to a full 80 from the RX 5700 XT and its 40 pieces. The circuit area also increases from 251 mm² to 505 mm², while the architecture RDNA 2 is said to increase performance per watt by 50 percent compared to its predecessor.

In other words, the graphics autumn will be an arms race between AMD and Nvidia’s Ampere in future consumer attire.