AMD Announces Ryzen "Zen 3" and Radeon "RDNA2" Presentations for October: A New Journey Begins
by Ryan Smith on September 9, 2020 5:30 PM ESTAMD today has announced that they will be making a pair of consumer product presentations in October. The chipmaker, who has been fairly quiet since the spring, will be holding events for both their consumer Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU product segments. Dubbing the events “A New Journey Begins”, the company will be announcing the first products based on their eagerly anticipated Zen 3 CPU architecture and RDNA 2 GPU architecture.
Leading the charge will be AMD’s CPU division. On October 8th at noon Eastern, the company will be presenting their Zen 3-based Ryzen desktop processors. AMD’s CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, will be among the presenters.
Following that up just under 3 weeks later will be AMD’s Radeon presentation, which again is at noon Eastern. There the company will be showing off its first products based on the company’s forthcoming RDNA 2 GPU architecture. Meanwhile, tipping their hand a bit early on naming, AMD has confirmed that this will be called the Radeon RX 6000 series.
Next Generation Ryzen Desktop Processors – 10/8, 12 p.m. ET
We are incredibly excited to invite you to learn more about the next wave of Ryzen desktop processors with “Zen 3” architecture, taking our PC gaming and content creation leadership to new heights. Dr. Lisa Su and other AMD senior executives will kick-off this new journey for “Zen 3” and AMD Ryzen at 12 p.m. ET, October 8th.
Next Generation Radeon Graphics – 10/28, 12 p.m. ET
Preparing to delight gamers globally with the next horizon of Radeon Graphics, we invite you to learn more about our RDNA 2 architecture, Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards, and our deep collaboration with game developers and ecosystem partners who will help us bring the best of Radeon to gamers. Tune in for the reveal of the future of Radeon PC gaming at 12 p.m. ET, October 28th.
AMD hasn’t disclosed any other details about these events at this time, but over the last several months the manufacturer has shared bits and pieces of information relating to its upcoming chip architectures. Based on AMD’s roadmaps, Ryzen Zen 3 processors will be built on an improved version of TSMC’s 7nm process, most likely TSMC’s N7P process given AMD’s comments clarifying that they aren’t committing to EUV for 7nm. Otherwise, for the moment AMD is remaining tight-lipped on the Zen 3 architecture itself, though given that AMD isn’t going to get the benefits of a full node shrink, we’re expecting Zen 3 to deliver some interesting and meaningful architectural improvements over Zen 2.
Meanwhile on the graphics front, AMD and partners have previously confirmed that RDNA 2 will be a DirectX 12 Ultimate (feature level 12_2) compliant GPU architecture, meaning that AMD will be making significant changes to the graphics side of their GPU designs. The Navi 2x family of GPUs will gain support for ray tracing, variable rate shading, and other features that will put AMD’s new GPUs at parity with the competition, both for consoles and PCs. Meanwhile from a performance standpoint, AMD is aiming for a hefty 50% jump in performance-per-watt, which could potentially eliminate the efficiency gap with NVIDIA. As well, the company has previously promised a high-end "top-of-stack" GPU for 4K gaming, so we're expecting some ambitious performance goals from AMD.
Be sure to check in on October 8th and October 28th for more details on AMD’s next generation of consumer parts!
It’s going to be an exciting fall for gamers... time to start a new journey with @AMDRyzen Zen3 and @Radeon RDNA2 pic.twitter.com/O9SXvLo4y0
— Lisa Su (@LisaSu) September 9, 2020
Source: AMD
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dotjaz - Saturday, September 12, 2020 - link
You'd have to be an idiot not to buy *this time* before supply dries out. It's simply a no brainer if want to spend the money. Waiting a few weeks literally doesn't do you any good.Lord of the Bored - Sunday, September 13, 2020 - link
Only if you gotta have it at launch. NVidia will make more chips, the supply will stutter. It isn't like you won't be able to get a card ever again if you miss the launch window.Spunjji - Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - link
Obvious shill is obvious. When an account pops up and starts yammering about nebulous AMD driver issues "every day" and then says to buy a card before it's even been reviewed, you're not left with a lot of leeway in interpretation.Waiting a few weeks literally doesn't do you any harm. Nobody buying these for games *needs it now*.
They tried this "just buy it" crap when Turing lunched. I didn't buy it then, I won't now.
Kigerone - Thursday, September 10, 2020 - link
Ampere is using Samsung 8nm node which has absolutely horrendous yields meaning Nvidia's 3080 and 3090 will have more restricted stock than the AMD's own past Radeon VII at launch. Especially when pushing the power envelopes like they are, one must question stability and longevity. Many RMA's to come.AMD is using TSMC's 7nm enhanced node which is yielding above 90% already. AMD, despite a later launch will have far more cards out by end of year than Nvidia and psooibly for the foreseeable future. As long as AMD doesn't shoot itself in the foot (or face, let's be honest) with bad drivers again, they have a good shot at effectively competing in market share.
I think the 3070 will be a far more dangerous comeptitor if they launch an additional sku with more video memory. That would be the sweet spot for PC gamers for sure. We will have to see what AMD's answer is. I hope it's good. Let's get some good hardware for good prices.
lmcd - Thursday, September 10, 2020 - link
That 90% number is apples to oranges because the 90% yield is NOT for GPU-sized chips.NeuralNexus - Thursday, September 10, 2020 - link
I'll like to add that AMD as Lisa Su has stated...likes to package performance in smaller packages. I'm quite sure that AMD can get equal performance out of smaller dies. The 5700XT was a small chip and packed as much performance as 2070 Super/2080. I think you need to stop underestimating AMD.Spunjji - Friday, September 11, 2020 - link
That comparison's not really valid, though, because they're manufactured on very different processes. A die-shrunk TU106 would likely be smaller than Navi 10, while the TU104 that the 2070 Super/2080 uses has a higher performance ceiling than Navi 10.Spunjji - Friday, September 11, 2020 - link
I'm not really convinced that Samsung 8nm is *that* bad - but I guess we'll see, when the time comes.I'm definitely prepared to believe that AMD will be going for a more conservative design that's guaranteed to yield well. The good competition should happen in the 3070 / 2080 range. Fingers crossed we finally see some significant price adjustments.
TEAMSWITCHER - Thursday, September 10, 2020 - link
Stringing AMD fans along... I know many are about to jump ship and buy an RTX 3000 series card.Qasar - Thursday, September 10, 2020 - link
based on the prices rtx 3000 could be in canada, 3070 and for sure 3080 and higher, could be out of reach for some people.