AMD’s Navi 4x Series: The Shift in High-End GPU Strategy

Previously, there were claims suggesting that AMD’s Navi 4x GPU series, constructed upon the RDNA 4 architecture, would eschew high-end models, evoking reminiscences of prior RDNA or Polaris frameworks. This insinuates a conspicuous absence of offerings analogous to the Radeon RX 8000 series graphics cards that were integrated with the likes of Navi 21/31.

Recently, the acclaimed Moore’s Law Is Dead intimated that, beset by an abundance of unpredictable quandaries during the development process, AMD resolved to abandon the Navi 41 and Navi 42, retaining solely the Navi 43 and Navi 44 chips. Informed sources articulate that the RDNA 4 architecture did not fully actualize performance enhancements in stacking, leading to the potentially inelegant architecture lineup of RDNA 3, thereby compelling AMD to rededicate its resources with a renewed strategic focus.

Balancing the imperatives, AMD is committed to ensuring the unerring progression of the existing RDNA 4 architecture while simultaneously allocating prodigious resources to expedite the evolution of the RDNA 5 architecture, aiming to mitigate prospective product line voids stemming from the cessation of Navi 41 and Navi 42. Word has it that the RDNA 4 architectural GPUs are slated for a debut in the ensuing year, with the RDNA 5 architecture’s advancement proceeding apace, manifesting noteworthy performance augmentations in its preliminary stages.

Further insights shared by Moore’s Law Is Dead unveil a design christened “Navi4C,” illustrating a sizable encapsulated board encompassing three Active Interposer Dies (AID) and a singular Multimedia and I/O Die (MID). Intriguingly, each AID is poised to host three Shader Engine Dies (SED). However, this representation does not furnish a holistic design of the RDNA 4 architecture, evident from the palpable absence of a memory controller.

Scrutiny has also unveiled an AMD patent titled “Die stacking for modular parallel processors,” elucidating virtual computing modules interconnected by bridging chips. Evidently, juxtaposed with the extant RDNA 3 architecture, the multi-chip blueprint of the RDNA 4 architecture is decidedly intricate, presenting monumental challenges. Given the escalated developmental intricacies coupled with circumscribed performance enhancements, it becomes lucid why AMD might opt for abdication.

Moreover, apart from Navi4C, there exist entities such as Navi4X and Navi4M. However, their precise relationship with the Navi 4x series remains enshrouded in mystery.