No GDDR7? AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs reportedly use slower GDDR6 memory
AMD’s reportedly sticking to GDDR6 with their RDNA 4 graphics architecture
AMD are expected to launch their next generation RDNA 4 GPU architecture later this year. Now, the hardware leaker Kepler_L2 has stated that all of AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs will use GDDR6 memory. Specifically, they will use 18Gbps GDDR6 memory.
With this new GPU architecture, AMD is expected to deliver a huge boost to their ray tracing performance. Even so, it is rumoured that AMD not be releasing any ultra-high-end RDNA 4 products.
If today’s reports are true, AMD will not be using GDDR7 memory with their RDNA 4 GPUs. GDDR7 memory is due to be available later this year, with Samsung revealing 32 Gbps and 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory modules. By sticking to GDDR6 memory, AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs will need more memory chips to achieve the same bandwidth as an equivalent GDDR7-based GPU. This could be good news for gamers, as this (hopefully) means that RDNA 4 CPUs will have plenty of GDDR6 memory.
Only 18Gbps 🤔
— Kepler (@Kepler_L2) April 23, 2024
Will GDDR6 memory be bad for RDNA 4?
Sticking with GDDR6 memory isn’t necessarily a bad thing for AMD’s next-generation graphics cards. RDNA 4 could feature more than enough memory bandwidth without GDDR7. Assuming that AMD has a wide enough GDDR6 memory bus, their next generation GPUs will have plenty of bandwidth to work with.
With 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory, AMD will not be using the fastest GDDR6 modules available. After all, AMD uses 20 Gbps GDDR6 memory on their highest-end RDNA 3 GPUs. Even their RX 7800 XT features faster 19.5 Gbps GDDR6 memory. Only AMD’s RX 7600/7600 XT GPUs use slower GDDR6 memory with their 16 Gbps modules.
Yep
— Kepler (@Kepler_L2) April 23, 2024
Currently, we do not know much about AMD’s RDNA 4 graphics architecture. Leaked specifications for Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro suggest that the console features “ray tracing improvements from RDNA4“. This suggests that ray tracing performance is a major focus for AMD. Beyond that, we are likely to see a new generation of Infinity Cache, and improved dual issue support. We expect to hear more about RDNA 4 from AMD later this year, likely at Computex 2024.
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