Skip to main content

AMD’s RDNA 2 GPU refresh may be just around the corner

The rumored refresh of the RDNA 2 Radeon RX 6000 series of GPUs may be set to launch as soon as next month, according to a new report.

Enthusiast Citizen’s sources indicate that the updated AMD Radeon RX 6950XT, RX 6750XT, and RX 6650XT video cards will launch on either April 20 or April 21.

An AMD Radeon RX 6000-Series graphics card in front of a black and red background.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Strengthening the validity of today’s leak is another tipster mentioning the flagship model of the lineup (RX 6950XT) being scheduled for a mid-April release as well.

As reported by Wccftech, the leak also suggests a fourth card, the Radeon RX 6500 (Non-XT),  is also in the works and will launch alongside the three aforementioned GPUs. It is said to bear similarities with the Radeon RX 6400, but will be geared toward the DIY market exclusively.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

The report also reiterated previously rumored performance details for the cards. Specifically, all three graphics cards have seen their memory boosted to 18Gbps. Furthermore, the leaker states the refreshed boards will be “a little more expensive” than the current Navi-based lineup, but that’s to be expected due to the upgraded components.

As for improvements other than the memory upgrade, another reliable industry insider, Moore’s Law is Dead, stated last month that the RDNA 2 Radeon RX 6000 series refresh will not move away from the 7nm node technology that the standard variants utilize. As such, it appears that these upcoming graphics cards will not offer much beyond memory speed enhancements.

However, despite retaining the 7nm node process, “that still leaves room for an above 10% boost when combined with 18Gbps memory.” The tipster therefore believes this performance upgrade is enough to make the 6950XT a “far better product” than Nvidia’s highly anticipated flagship GPU, the RTX 3090 Ti.

Although it seems the previously expected change to the 6nm process node won’t come to fruition, clock speeds for the Radeon RX 6950XT will reportedly exceed 2.5Ghz. Comparatively, as pointed out by Wccftech, current Navi 21 XT & XTXH silicon sport a boost clock of 2250MHz.

In addition to the RX 6950XT, RX 6750XT, and RX 6650XT, the RDNA 2 lineup will also be bolstered with the arrival of upcoming budget GPUs.

Looking beyond RDNA 2, AMD is set to introduce its next-gen RDNA 3 graphics cards in the coming months with its RX 7000 series. These boards will inevitably go head-to-head against Nvidia’s equally powerful RTX 40-series, which is rumored to be launching during September 2022.

Editors' Recommendations

Zak Islam
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Zak Islam was a freelance writer at Digital Trends covering the latest news in the technology world, particularly the…
This underrated AMD GPU beats the RTX 4070 Ti Super
RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT on a pink background.

The RTX 4070 Ti Super and RX 7900 XT are unlikely rivals when shopping for the best graphics card in 2024. Price shifting and market repositioning have placed these two GPUs in direct competition, both targeting gamers looking for a premium 4K gaming experience without spending over $1,000.

Both graphics cards hit the mark, offering a smooth frame rate at 4K with all the settings cranked up. The differences between them lie in features and pricing.

Read more
AMD’s RX 7600 XT might be dead on arrival — but there’s a catch
rx 7600 xt sales report review 4

AMD's new RX 7600 XT graphics card isn't off to a great start, at least according to sales data shared by 3DCenter. The new video card launched on Wednesday alongside Nvidia's RTX 4070 Ti Super, and even with a relatively poor reception, Nvidia sold nearly 10 times as many graphics cards as AMD did in a sampling at a German retailer.

There are a few caveats to that, however. 3DCenter takes data for the number of sales from Mindfactory, a German hardware retailer, 12 to 14 hours after release. According to the data, weaker GPUs like the RTX 4060 and RX 7600 sell considerably less than more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4070 Super and RX 7800 XT. It indicates some bias in this data, perhaps showing that this retailer caters to a crowd willing to spend more money on a graphics card.

Read more
Here’s how AMD counters Nvidia’s big RTX Super launch
RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT on a pink background.

Well done, AMD. Today is a big day for Nvidia -- after all, today is when the RTX 4070 Super hits the shelves. So what does AMD do? It serves up a huge price cut on one of its top graphics cards in this generation to strike back at Nvidia and counter its big release. Coincidence? No way. But will this price tag be low enough when Nvidia launches the RTX 4070 Ti Super?

AMD's RX 7900 XT is the GPU that's now a lot cheaper, with an official price of $750, but some models are as cheap as $710. It initially launched at $900 and was never the most popular option out of AMD's two flagships. The RX 7900 XTX, priced at just $100 more, often made more sense due to its greatly improved performance. As such, the RX 7900 XT was a bit of a forgotten entry in AMD's lineup. Its price quickly plummeted to $800 and even lower at certain retailers.

Read more