AMD RDNA 5 “Radeon” Gaming GPUs Expected to Feature 12,000+ Cores and 128 Cores Per Compute Unit

Recent developments regarding AMD’s forthcoming RDNA 5 “Radeon”gaming GPUs reveal a significant increase in core counts, boasting 128 cores per compute unit and exceeding 12, 000 total cores in their flagship configuration.

AMD’s RDNA 5 Gaming GPUs: A Leap Forward with 128 Cores Per Compute Unit

Newly surfaced information from a member of Chiphell’s forum, ZhanZhongHao, highlights that AMD’s RDNA 5 GPUs will support 128 cores per compute unit. This marks a remarkable enhancement compared to the RDNA 4 generation, which offered 64 cores per compute unit.

Insider reports suggest that AMD plans to release at least four die configurations leveraging the RDNA 5 architecture, which will cater to both the Radeon and Radeon PRO product families. The proposed configurations include:

Top-tier Die: 96 compute units, resulting in 12, 288 cores
Mid-tier Die: 40 compute units, amounting to 5, 120 cores
Low-end Die: 24 compute units, leading to 3, 072 cores
Entry-level Die: 12 compute units, generating 1, 536 cores

AMD RDNA 5 GPU Core Configuration — Source: Chiphell Forums

In contrast, the current AMD RDNA 4 family features only two GPU die types: the Navi 48 with up to 64 compute units and a variant that scales down to 48 compute units, and the Navi 44, an entry-level model that starts with 32 compute units and can drop to 28 units.

By opting for a monolithic design in the RDNA 4 series, AMD streamlined the manufacturing process, leading to greater availability compared to the previous RDNA 3 models, which faced supply issues due to their chiplet architecture. While the chiplet design offered some economic advantages, it mandated advanced packaging techniques that occasionally caused manufacturing delays.

Interestingly, the RDNA 5 architecture resembles the RDNA 2 generation, which also featured four dies ranging from 80 CUs down to 16 CUs. When compared to Navi 31—the last flagship GPU featuring 6, 144 cores—RDNA 5 effectively doubles the core count, showcasing a threefold increase over the Navi 48 (RDNA 4).

It is worth noting that RDNA 2 was the last generation where AMD competed effectively against NVIDIA in the ultra-enthusiast segment, especially with the RX 6900 XT going head-to-head with NVIDIA’s RTX 3090. However, AMD’s latest ultra-enthusiast offering, the 7900 XTX, fell short in performance compared to NVIDIA’s offerings, as AMD targeted the performance bracket of the 80-series cards.

Despite not fully pursuing the ultra-enthusiast market this generation, AMD has captured significant ground, often matching the RTX 5080 in various titles. With the promising advancements in RDNA 5, AMD has the potential to further bridge the performance gap between its GPUs and NVIDIA’s high-end lineup, particularly by emphasizing improvements in ray tracing and artificial intelligence capabilities. Thus, RDNA 5 seems poised to signal AMD’s resurgence in the high-performance gaming GPU sector.

Expected AMD RDNA 5 GPU Configurations (via Kepler_L2)

GPU The	Max Compute Units	Core Count	Max Memory Bus	Max VRAM Capacity
Flagship-Tier	96 CUs	12, 288 Cores	512-384 bit	24-32 GB
Mid-Tier	40 CUs	5, 120 Cores	384-192 bit	12-24 GB
Low-Tier	24 CUs	3, 072 Cores	256-128 bit	8-16 GB
Entry-Tier	12 CUs	1, 536 Cores	128-64 bit	8-16 GB