AMD Navi 44 GPU size signals a true return to the budget market

Navi 44 is small, and that suggests that AMD has big plans for the budget GPU market

The hardware leaker @Olrak92_ has uncovered the package size of AMD’s upcoming Navi 44 RDNA 4 GPU. At 29mm x 29mm, it is much smaller than AMD’s Navi 23 (RDNA 2) and Navi 33 (RDNA 3) chips, which measure around 35mm x 35mm. These chips power AMD’s Radeon RX 6600 and RX 7600 series GPU models. Currently, Navi 44 is expected to power AMD RX 8600 series GPUs; and perhaps new RX 8500 series GPU models.

Sadly, package size does not directly correlate to a GPU’s die size (silicon size). That said, this package size signals that AMD’s Navi 44 GPU may be a small one, which is good for the budget GPU market.

Why is this a good thing? It signals that AMD has moved to a smaller transistor node. Furthermore, it may signal that AMD is targeting lower pricing for its Navi 44 GPUs. Unlike the higher-end RDNA 3 GPUs, AMD’s Navi 33 GPUs used TSMC’s older 6nm lithography node instead of 5nm. With Navi 44, AMD may have moved to 5nm or 4nm to create such a compact graphics card. This would result in a more efficient, transistor-dense GPU. In other words, a GPU that can get more performance from its silicon on a per-area basis.

(AMD Navi 44 – NBD – Via Videocardz)

Navi 44 is a huge opportunity for AMD, if they can deliver good value to gamers

Navi 44 is AMD’s opportunity to shake up the low-end GPU market. Currently, this area of the market is filled with compromised products. Sub-£300 GPUs tend to only feature 8GB of VRAM (barely enough for modern games), and most sub-£200 simply cannot be recommended for modern games. With Navi 44, AMD could transform this area of the market if they can deliver more performance and more VRAM.

It would be good to have a lower-cost GPU on the market that can be recommended without caveats if nothing else. AMD’s Navi 44 GPU could be that graphics card. That said, it remains to be seen what Navi 44 is, and if it can fill this niche.

Package sizes:

Navi 23: 35 x 35mm
Navi 44: 29 x 29 mm

— Everest (@Olrak29_) October 14, 2024

Navi 44 is small, and that can be a good thing or a bad thing. The GPU market is crying out for a cost-effective product that lacks the flaws of today’s offerings. Will AMD deliver this with RDNA 4? Maybe. Let’s just hope that AMD isn’t repeating its mistakes with Navi 24 and its RX 6500 XT.

You can join the discussion on AMD’s Navi 44 package size on the OC3D Forums.