AMD's next-gen RDNA 2 'major leap forward' up to 225% faster than RDNA

The new rumors for AMD Big Navi, or RDNA 2 aka NVIDIA Killer have it up to 225% faster than RDNA which powers Radeon RX 5700 XT.

@anthony256

Published Jul 19, 2020 11:44 PM CDT
Updated Nov 3, 2020 11:42 AM CST

8 minutes & 7 seconds read time

A bunch of hot RDNA 2 information dropped today from Tom on Moore's Law is Dead, with his sources telling him that AMD's next-gen Big Navi will offer up to 225% more performance over RDNA... the GPU that powered the Radeon RX 5700 XT.

According to these sources estimates are that RDNA is a "major leap forward for them 195% to 225% of the current available cards. But their internal estimates are still projecting the performance per dollar cards up to the upper end of the range".

Another tease is that the "top RDNA 2" would feature 72 compute units, which is where the leaks on the flagship RDNA 2 graphics card being 40-50% faster than NVIDIA's current-gen flagship GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card.

AMD uses 40 compute units in the Navi 10 GPU that powers the Radeon RX 5700 XT, so in raw compute units alone the upgrade to 72 CUs on the flagship RDNA 2 card is impressive. On top of that, we're looking at an estimated 7% improvement in IPC performance, with these numbers possibly being "much higher" than this.

Mix into that higher GPU clocks of somewhere in the 20-25% range and we could have a card that wouldn't just beat NVIDIA's best GeForce RTX graphics card right now -- that would be the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti -- but it could throw some serious blows at NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards.

AMD's next-gen RDNA 2 'major leap forward' up to 225% faster than RDNA 502

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Latest Big Navi / RDNA 2 highlights:

RDNA 2 = 40-50% faster than GeForce RTX 2080 Ti: We have rumored performance improvements inside of RDNA 2 that would make it 40-50% faster than the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. This is impressive, as the flagship Radeon RX 5700 XT is nowhere near the RTX 2080 Ti in raw performance. You can read more on that here.
RDNA 2 = 195-225% faster than RDNA aka RX 5700 XT: RDNA 2 being a huge 195-225% faster than RDNA means that it will be a truly kick ass 4K gaming card, as well as being able to pump away at 1080p and 1440p resolutions at 120/144/165FPS much easier than the Radeon RX 5700 XT.
7% IPC improvement: AMD is bound to have at least 6-7% IPC improvement in RDNA 2 over RDNA, I would say 10% and above, but lowering estimates now will only improve what we think when AMD unleashes in November 2020.
NVIDIA Killer? Maybe: If the rumors are true, then like what Jason Momoa said when he was asked if he thought the Snyder Cut of Justice League (now known and confirmed as Zack Snyder's Justice League releasing in 2021 as a HBO Max exclusive) then I have the following answer to the question is Big Navi an NVIDIA Killer: f*ck yeah.
November 2020 launch: This is the key. November gives AMD a couple of months to see how Ampere does, and launch it when the next-gen consoles are launching in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. More on the November 2020 launch of RDNA 2 here.

Big Navi / RDNA 2 launching in November key points

November 2020 launch: Firstly, AMD aiming for November means it puts the next-gen Radeon a couple of months behind NVIDIA is the rumors (and my sources) are true about an "August 2020 launch, September 2020 release" for the next-gen Ampere-based GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards.
How AMD benefits from a November launch: It will allow the company to have a couple of months to see where NVIDIA has priced its next-gen cards, and to gauge how performance is once it hits the hands of customers. AMD would then have a couple of months to be ready for a possible KO blow (at least for 2020) with Big Navi.
Thanksgiving launch: This is big for obvious reasons, but AMD being able to be inside of the next-gen Xbox Series X, the next-gen PlayStation 5, and have an NVIDIA Killer with Big Navi -- all for thanksgiving? What better gift can AMD bring to the table for Thanksgiving than that?!
Launching alongside PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X: The stars have truly aligned for AMD to make this happen, and if performance of Big Navi is truly double that of RDNA1 and a 40-50% boost over the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti? Well, we could see AMD take out the end of 2020 with Intel and NVIDIA destroying products. Amazing.
Lisa Su did say Big Navi was coming in 'late 2020': You can read more about that here, but November is pretty damn spot on with "late 2020", right?!