AMD’s RDNA 3 Radeon RX7900 is faster, rooted and cheaper than Nvidia

The GeForce RTX 4090 is an absolute beastThe graphics card can be used to display but The battle for the next generation of GPUsJust begun. AMD announced its 4K gaming champion on Thursday, the Radeon RX7900 XTX, and 7900XT, aiming to defeat Nvidia’s goliath through a series of clever tricks that could make David blush.

These first RDNA 3-architecture GPUs offer enhanced ray-tracing abilities, AI cores and plenty of memory. They are also the first cards to feature a multidie “chiplet” design. AMD’s epic Ryzen success.

Best yet? Best yet? The RTX 4090 chest retails for $1,599 and will be replaced by the GeForce RTX 4080 in $1199. However the new Radeon RX7900 XTX 24GB will launch on December 13th at a cost of $999 and $899 respectively.

Even if major AMD can’t quite tackle Nvidia’s beast when the benchmark dust finally settles, it’s bound to be insanely fast — and a much more affordable price tag.

Let’s dig.

Meet the AMD RDNA 3 chipset

It is particularly interesting to compare AMD and Nvidia’s strategies with David or Goliath. Nvidia pushed the pedal hard with its new “Ada Lovelace” geometry for the RTX4090. It boasts a massive 4,090 608mm block²The GPU is packed with 76.3 billion transistors. These components contain all you would expect in a GPU block. It’s truly a GPU’s goliath.

AMD

Adam Patrick Murray / IDJ

AMD took a different route with the Radeon RX7900 XTX and the RDNA 3. It still has a central GPU chip, but it measures only 300mm.²It was constructed using a 5nm TSMC fabrication notde, similar to Nvidia. AMD split the GDDR6 memory interface and the 2nd generation memory interface. Infiniti cashSix molds were made with a 6nm node that is more mature and more cost-effective. This is a significant change in the GPU’s design and helps AMD keep its costs down. The Radeon RX7900 XTX also has 58 billion transistors.

AMD

The Radeon RX7900 XTX, 7900XTX, and 7900XT come with 96MB each of Infinity cache. This cache is an L3 cache which allows for faster memory transfer and gaming speeds. Each block also has 64-bit memory controllers. This is less than the Radeon RX6900 XT and 6800 series RDNA-based 2, which contains 128MB. However, AMD product technology engineer Sam Naffziger explained to us that this Infinity Cache version can do more with less. It’s paired with 24 1GB GDDR6 memory over a 384 bit wide bus (or a 20GB/320bit bus on the 7900 XT).

“We tuned the Infinity Cache to enable better data reuse with less ability to get many things done for us,” said Naffziger. “With high access rates, it is a direct source for most memory requests. This delivers data to the engine in less time and uses less power than going out to DRAM.” In summary, he said, the Infinity Cache in RDNA 3 provides 2.7x the peak bandwidth of its successor, It offers up to 5.3 terabytes per second For instructions that remain in the GPU and Infinity Cache

Bottom line: You won’t be disappointed with the Radeon RX7900 XTX or 7900XT memory.

Radeon RX7900 XTX: Inside RDNA 3’s GPU Upgrades

However, don’t be fooled by the introduction of discrete memories: The RDNA core GPU has also been upgraded.

AMD

AMD’s architecture modifications, the move towards a 5nm TSMC advanced node, and memory division into its own postnode chip have all helped to exceed efficiency goals. CEO Lisa Su claimed that RDNA 3 delivers 54% more performance per watt over RDNA 2. AMD can continue to use its 2×8-pin power connector design while elegantly edging out the side. 12VHPWR Transformer Melting ControversyNvidia is ensconced with the RTX 4090.

AMD was able to reduce its carbon footprint by 54 percent using RDNA 3. More To improve the overall density of transistors, RDNA 2 uses a smaller area.

Adam Patrick Murray / IDJ

While it’s all great and all, players are more interested in the new RDNA3 dies. An act. AMD shared some interesting information today.

RDNA 3 switches over to a new “unified arithmetic unit” that uses a 32 bit dual-issue waveform. AMD can issue integer and float instructions depending on the workload. This, Naffziger claims, can speed up AI tasks as well as game frame rates. It is unclear whether The improved general-purpose register coil has 50 percent more capacity than RDNA 2, which helps keep all tasks fed.

AMD

Yes, I did say AI tasks. AMD is now following Nvidia’s footsteps two generations ago. Nvidia introduced Tensor AI Cores for DLSS in its GeForce RTX-20 series GPUs. Each RDNA 3 computation unit contains a pair AI cores. Additionally, each CU has an improved ray tracer core that supports new custom instruction, 1.5 times more ray-on the-fly, new traversal and ray box sorting capabilities.

AMD

AMD claims RDNA 3 has up to 50% higher performance per CU that RDNA 2. This is not likely to catch up with Nvidia’s choppy RTX-40-series performance, but it could make ray tracing games more scalable. RX7000 series graphics cards are required in order to really play. And you have to assume these AI cores will be running in resampling games before you know it — especially since Radeon chief Scott Herkelmann teased FSR 3 for a 2023 release during this event, with a twofold increase in frame rates versus FSR is really great 2.

RDNA 3 has more computing units than the previous RX 6900 XT, although it may have a smaller die. The Radeon RX 6900 XT topped that list with 80 CUs. The Radeon RX7900 XTX has 96 processors running at 2.3 GHz, while its 7900 XT counterpart has 84 processors running at 2 GHz.

AMD

AMD

AMD’s new flagship should deliver significantly higher performance than its predecessor, in all areas, including traditional gaming, ray tracing, and AI tasks. AMD has provided slides to demonstrate this. (However, as always, independent benchmarks should wait before judging a new graphics card—especially since these lack any RTX 4090 comparisons that could give us insight into how the Radeon RX 7900 XTX compares to Nvidia’s latest and greatest.)

AMD

AMD

AMD

AMD also teased a new Hypr-RX feature with one click that can dramatically increase frame rates by activating FSR and Radeon Boost. It will be available in 2023, specifically the first half.

The initial performance is only one part of the package. AMD has also upgraded RDNA 3’s media and display engine.

AMD

Radeon RX 7900XTX and 7900XT DisplayPort 2.0, UnlikeGeForce RTX4090. It can support 4K monitors up to 480Hz and 8K at 165Hz. The 12-bit color per channel unlocks 68 billion colors. This is great, but it makes it look more like porn than anything content creators should worry about.

AMD

Nvidia, Intel and AMD have the greatest influence on content creators. However, AMD has significantly upgraded its media engine using RDNA 3. It supports AV1 encoding/decoding, joining Intel’s Arc series and Nvidia’s RTX40 series. A CPU can also Graphics Play synchronous encoding/decoding HEVC and AVC video. Naffziger explained that the media engine can run at a faster pace, which helps reduce export times and improves RDNA 2 performance. Naffziger also promises to improve conference calls quality and video encoder quality using AMD’s new AI cores.

Battle brewing

Adam Patrick Murray / IDJ

After years of frustrating price hikes and shortages, PC gamers finally find something to look forward too. Although the GeForce RTX4090 was a great game, its $1,600 price tag makes this a 0.1 percent luxury title. The Radeon RX7900 XTX 7900XTX and 7900XTX 7900XTX are certainly not cheap at $999 and $899, respectively. Much lessNvidia’s first offerings are a good indication of their ability to deliver a magical 4K+ gaming experience, thanks to many innovative innovations and enhanced Ray Tracing capabilities.

AMD’s presentation was not only exciting, but also left us with many questions. How does the Radeon RX7900 XTX and 7900XT compare to the GeForce RX4090 and 4080, if they are not their RDNA 2 predecessors. Are there performance anomalies when switching between multiple templates? RDNA 3 will finally offer a compelling raytracing experiment. To find out, we’ll have to wait for independent benchmarks on the new graphics cards when they hit the streets on December 13.