AMD Radeon RX 8000 ‘RDNA4’ Series of GPUs Will Not Feature High-End SKUs, Situation Comparable to Polaris / RDNA1
It has been reported by Kepler that AMD will not launch any high-end products with its next generation of Radeon GPUs. RX 8000, codenamed RDNA4 is tipped to arrive in 2025 alongside NVIDIA’s Ada-Next. Multiple sources allege that AMD has decided to axe its higher-end SKU stack much like Polaris and RDNA1.
No High-End Radeon RX 8000 GPUs
Kepler, a renowned and well-known leaker in the industry claims that we will not see any top-of-the-line GPUs based on RDNA4. The situation is comparable to Polaris, or AMD’s RX 500 / RX 400 series of mid-range products and RDNA1.
GPUs based on RDNA4 should be based on the Navi4X series of GPUs. Apparently, there will be no Navi41 chip, which is supposedly the highest-end configuration. When asked about the legitimacy of this claim, Kepler replied:
RDNA4 is more than 1 year away from us, so plans may change if RDNA4 meets performance targets. Then again, maybe it’s not the performance that’s stopping AMD. This is just a rumor so take it with a grain of salt.
[UPDATE] Navi42 Cancelled As Well
Hardware leaker All_The_Watts confirms that only Navi43 and Navi44 will see the light of day. This means that AMD has scrapped all plans for a Navi42, which is technically a mid-range GPU. To put that into context, the RX 8000 series may only feature the RX 8600 and a possible RX 8600 XT alongside other low-end SKUs.
A Viable Strategy
AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 series of GPUs are still not widely used by gamers in contrast to their NVIDIA counterparts. If we go by the recent Steam Hardware Survey, AMD’s b comes in at the 93rd position. The RTX 4090, costing almost 60% more is in a better spot (37th Position).
AMD, despite being cheaper is just not convincing gamers to make the shift to Radeon. NVIDIA’s software stack has been growing since Turing. AMD has alternatives such as FSR, although they remain inferior to NVIDIA, which is not a subjective fact.
NVIDIA has been enjoying a consistent ~75% market share for the past year or so. With the introduction of Arc, AMD’s remaining market share will only deplete. So it makes sense for the company to cater to the budget segment.
Making halo products is not cheap and gets riskier if users are willing to pay more for your competitors. While AMD is not stepping out of the competition, the company is restructuring its position. The end result is a better product for you, the consumer.
Just like with Turing, NVIDIA did not focus on performance but on the architecture, the software, and whatnot. This was the baseline for Frame Generation, RTX I/O, VSR etcetera. Besides, AMD will simply drop its high-end offerings, which, let’s be honest, not everyone looks forward to buying.
Options from the budget segment like the RX 8600 / 8700 are more approachable. If you’re an AMD enthusiast, it is also entirely possible that AMD just stacks 2xNavi42 GCDs for the higher-end models.
Since most of this is just rumor and speculation, take it with a huge pile of salt.
[UPDATES]
Update 1: Added Information Regarding the Viability of this Strategy
Update 2: Added Confirmation from All_The_Watts Regarding the Cancellation of Navi42
