AMD's graphics circuit Navi 22 "Navy Flounder" gets details revealed in Linux code

AMD’s fall is filled with confirmed launches of new generations of architectures, both for processors in the form of Zen 3 and Ryzen 4000 “Vermeer” and graphics cards in the form of RDNA 2. The latter is the basis for the next generation of gaming consoles Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X, but also a number of graphics circuits that are collectively called Navi 2X. The members of the family are the large circle Navi 21 which is expected to form the basis for this autumn’s flagship “Big Navi”, as well as Navi 22 and Navi 23.

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SC/Navi 21 SDMA Controller = 4.
NF / Navi 2X SDMA Controller = 2.
ex Arcturus SDMA = 8.
— Tohsaka Komachi @Komachi (@KOMACHI_ENSAKA) July 14, 2020

Where Navi 21 is to be the basis for performance cards and Navi 23 represents the middle segment, Navi 22 should, according to previous reports, instead be used for specially designed graphics cards in Apple computers. Now the diligent Twitter profile Komachi reports that recently added code in the Linux kernel reveals new details about Navi 22, including what functions are scaled down compared to sibling circles based on in Navi 21 “Sienna Cichlid”.

Some functions that are scaled down are related to the circuits’ ability to encode and decode video, in the form of hardware circuits for VCN 3.0 (Video Core Next) and DCN 3.0 (Display Core Next). Navi 22 is equipped with only one VCN 3.0 circuit, compared to two in Navi 21. It also has a halved number of memory control units (SDMA) with two units, down from four in Navi 21.

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Previous speculation has indicated that the Navi 22 will be a special circuit intended for use in Apple computers, similar to the Navi 12-based graphics card Radeon 5600M which was introduced in a revised model of Macbook Pro 16-inch. However, the Linux code does not reveal any details about any custom features, like the HBM 2 memory previously mentioned Radeon 5600M is equipped with.

AMD has on several occasions confirmed that the first graphics cards on the RDNA 2 architecture will be released in 2020, which also includes the “Big Navi” performance cards. As the products will reach the market before the next generation of gaming consoles, the launch hatch will be close to September, as most reports indicate that Nvidia will release the graphics cards in the Geforce RTX 3000 “Ampere” series.