AMD's RDNA 5 will be a complete re-design, a 'clean sheet,' and a 'Zen moment' for Radeon

According to WJM47196, a source of AMD leaks over on the ChipHell forums (via Videocardz), AMD's next-gen RDNA 4 GPU line-up will "merely be a bug fix for RDNA 3," bringing improvements to ray-tracing and incremental updates in other areas. Without a flagship, the top RDNA 4 card is expected to deliver raw performance, albeit more efficient performance, on par with the Radeon RX 7900 XT.

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The source claims that RDNA 3, which powers the current Radeon RX 7000 Series, "didn't meet its performance expectations," leading to problems with the core frequency power curve. Throw in the R&D costs associated with developing a multi-chip GPU, a fast on-chip interconnect, and dealing with related issues - RDNA 4 is a stopgap before the main course - RDNA 5.

RDNA 5 "will be a clean sheet design," an overhaul of AMD's Radeon architecture similar to the arrival of Zen and Ryzen. The difference is so big that RDNA 5 could ditch the Radeon branding for something completely new.

AMD has not released a flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX successor with RDNA 4, but this doesn't mean that the company is exiting the GPU market. Even though the latest Steam data for April 2024 indicates that RDNA 3 has disappointed and failed to find an audience, RDNA 5 could be the course correction that AMD fans have been waiting for.

There's no current release date or window for when RDNA 5 will reach PC gamers, but based on the current timeline for RDNA 3 and the upcoming RDNA 4 mid-range refresh, late 2025 would probably be the soonest we can expect to see a new AMD flagship.

As for the name change, with AMD changing its desktop Ryzen lineup to become the Ryzen AI 100 Series, RDNA 5 probably won't end up being called the Radeon RX 9000 Series. Here's hoping we find out more about RDNA 4 and the company's plans for Radeon's future next month at Computex 2024.