AMD may use a lot slower video RAM than Nvidia in relation to next-gen graphics playing cards, a brand new rumor contends.
This one is from common leaker Kepler on X (previously Twitter), who posted a really temporary snippet to the impact that with RX 8000 graphics playing cards, AMD will solely use GDDR6 VRAM operating at 18Gbps – slower than some present RX 7000 fashions.
Kepler additional clarifies that this may apply to all RDNA 4 GPUs – your complete line-up is ready to be geared up with 18Gbps GDDR6.
At the moment with the RDNA 3 household, AMD makes use of a mixture of 18-20Gbps GDDR6, so technically, locking all fashions for the next-gen collection to 18Gbps wouldn’t simply be a failure to maneuver ahead – it’d symbolize a small step backwards.
Cue flailing of arms, gnashing of tooth, and so forth from some GPU fans calling out AMD for what would absolutely be a daft transfer. Proper? Particularly when Nvidia is planning to make use of a lot sooner GDDR7 RAM for its next-gen Blackwell GPUs, or no less than with the higher-end boards anyway, or so runs the chatter from the grapevine.
Properly, let’s take into consideration all this a bit extra – and why possibly it may not be such a loopy transfer for AMD to provide GDDR7 a swerve with all of its next-gen GPUs.
Evaluation: Might all of it be within the pricing?
Firstly, that is only a rumor, so we must always at all times watch out about leaping to any conclusions. Kepler might be plain mistaken, and the plan is perhaps to stay to the identical manner of working as RDNA 3 with VRAM (18-20Gbps), or certainly AMD may up the ante – we don’t know for certain, by any means.
Nevertheless, assuming that this assertion is right, it’s additionally attainable Crew Purple is perhaps seeking to a design for RDNA 4 that makes up for any lack of velocity on the reminiscence entrance elsewhere (comparable to with beefier cache). Moreover, this GDDR6 rumor may really be a constructive trace of what’s to come back from AMD – type of. How so?
Let’s transfer again a bit from focusing purely on how briskly the VRAM might (or might not) be with RDNA 4 to soak up the larger image. Keep in mind, there’s been a really constant thread of rumors that RX 8000 GPUs will prime out on the mid-range – which means there received’t be an AMD high-end competitor to the likes of Nvidia’s RTX 5090 or 5080.
If that (plentiful at this level) hypothesis is right, the quickest RDNA 4 mannequin shall be a mid-range graphics card that’ll in all probability come shut to the velocity of the present RX 7900 XTX flagship (it’ll be sooner than the 7900 XT, however simply shy of the XTX, or that’s the speculation).
What AMD might want to do to make this graphics card work – no less than the way in which we see it – is assault on value. With RDNA 4 missing a powerhouse GPU Crew Purple can sit again and be pleased with to compete on the top-end, the agency might want to take a distinct angle – which, and that is simply our guess, makes probably the most sense as a comparatively highly effective mid-range GPU that is available in as a very tempting worth proposition.
If AMD is utilizing what can be the slowest VRAM it may get away with for next-gen graphics playing cards, possibly that’s a part of this technique. Keep in mind, that is additionally probably the most reasonably priced path to take, so might be a part of conserving the price of the invoice of supplies down – and in the end the value tag for shoppers.
Actually, pricing is essential, so for now, it doesn’t matter what rumors we see in regards to the spec of RDNA 4, we wouldn’t panic. AMD may nonetheless be sure that these sort of VRAM spec choices make sense relying on different specs (cache, for instance) and the way pricing is pitched – and its next-gen GPUs can nonetheless simply be compelling contenders for our roundup of the greatest graphics playing cards.
By way of Tom’s {Hardware}
