AMD’s Navi architecture referenced in Linux drivers
AMD’s Navi architecture referenced in Linux drivers
Looking at AMD’s existing GPU roadmaps, we already know that the company plans to replace Vega with Navi, releasing on what is likely to be GlobalFoundries’ 7nm manufacturing process with significant performance per watt gains over Vega.
These driver references show that AMD is already working on their next generation of graphics hardware, which is likely to be released in late 2018 or early 2019 depending on how quickly Globalfoundries’ new 7nm process matures. AMD has already stated that they will be releasing more Vega GPUs in the future using Globalfoundries’ 14nm (now known as 12nm) manufacturing process, though at this time it is unknown what AMD plans to release outside of the APU space.
Back in 2016, AMD first mentioned Navi with the terms Scalability and Nexgen Memory, hinting at some significant changes to the way AMD designs their GPU hardware. Nexgen memory could be referring to GDDR6, HBM3 or some new memory type, with many considering “scalability” to be a reference to a multi-chip design, functioning in a similar way to AMD’s EPYC CPUs to combine several smaller chips into a more substantial processor.
This roadmap was released quite some time ago, so it is likely that Navi has changed over time, making the dates shown in the below roadmap unlikely to still be relevant.
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