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Published: May 3, 2017 | Source: Phoronix | Author: Mark Campbell

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications

 
In a new update that has been submitted for the Linux 4.12 kernel, there has been a huge update to the Digital Rendering Manger (DRM) which includes support for AMD’s Vega architecture. 
 
These updates include clear references to Vega’s specifications, with entries like “gfx.config.max_shader_engines = 4,” which tells us that Vega has four shader engines and “Adev-> gfx.config.max_cu_per_sh = 16” which signified that Vega has 16 GCN (or in the case of Vega NCU) compute units. 
 
If Vega has the same number of stream processors per compute unit as Fiji (64), this will give Vega a total of 4096 shaders. Other entries indicate that each shader engine has two Asynchronous Compute Units, one render back-end and 16 Render Output Units, which will give Vega a total of 64 ROPs. 

When compared to AMD’s Polaris 10 RX 570, Vega 10 will feature 2x the Stream processors, texture mapping units and render output units, which when combined with Vega’s architectural changes should create a very powerful GPU.

 

  RX 570 RX 580 RX Vega
GPU Polaris 10 Pro Polaris 10 XT Vega 10
Process node 14nm 14nm 14nm
Shade Engines 4 4 4
CUs per shader Engine 8 9 16
Shaders Per CU 64 64 64 (expected)
Stream Processors 2048 2304 4096
Performance (FP32) 5.095 TFLOPs 6.175 TFLOPs 12.5 TFLOPs
Performance (FP16) 5.095 TFLOPs 6.175 TFLOPs 25 TFLOPs
Render Output Units 32 32 64
Texture Mapping units 126 144 256
Hardware Threads 4 4 8
Memory Interface 256-bit 256-bit 2048-bit
Memory 4/8GB GDDR5 4/8GB GDDR5 8GB HBM2

 

Looking at AMD’s previously announced Vega Instinct MI25, we see that AMD claims that the GPU offers around 12.5TFLOPs of FP32 compute performance given AMD’s MI naming scheme.   

If AMD’s new NCUs come with the same stream processor count as AMD’s GCN/Polaris GPUs, this will place Vega’s clock speeds at around  1526MHz, which is a significant boost when compared to both Polaris and Fiji.  As you can see below, AMD’s MI25 accelerator is said to be passively cooled, which means that Vega should run cool and that higher clock speeds should be possible if users are willing to increase Vega’s heat output. 

As you can see below, AMD’s MI25 accelerator is said to be passively cooled, which means that Vega should run cool and that higher clock speeds should be possible if users are willing to increase Vega’s heat output. 

 

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications  

At this time these specifications remain unconfirmed by AMD, but there is no reason for AMD to lie in their Linux submissions. For the most part, these specifications confirm what was already expected from Vega, which is a high GPU core count and clock speed that are higher than what is available with AMD’s existing Polaris offerings. 

 

You can join the discussion on Vega’s specifications on the OC3D Forums. 

 

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications

 
In a new update that has been submitted for the Linux 4.12 kernel, there has been a huge update to the Digital Rendering Manger (DRM) which includes support for AMD’s Vega architecture. 
 
These updates include clear references to Vega’s specifications, with entries like “gfx.config.max_shader_engines = 4,” which tells us that Vega has four shader engines and “Adev-> gfx.config.max_cu_per_sh = 16” which signified that Vega has 16 GCN (or in the case of Vega NCU) compute units. 
 
If Vega has the same number of stream processors per compute unit as Fiji (64), this will give Vega a total of 4096 shaders. Other entries indicate that each shader engine has two Asynchronous Compute Units, one render back-end and 16 Render Output Units, which will give Vega a total of 64 ROPs. 

When compared to AMD’s Polaris 10 RX 570, Vega 10 will feature 2x the Stream processors, texture mapping units and render output units, which when combined with Vega’s architectural changes should create a very powerful GPU.

 

  RX 570 RX 580 RX Vega
GPU Polaris 10 Pro Polaris 10 XT Vega 10
Process node 14nm 14nm 14nm
Shade Engines 4 4 4
CUs per shader Engine 8 9 16
Shaders Per CU 64 64 64 (expected)
Stream Processors 2048 2304 4096
Performance (FP32) 5.095 TFLOPs 6.175 TFLOPs 12.5 TFLOPs
Performance (FP16) 5.095 TFLOPs 6.175 TFLOPs 25 TFLOPs
Render Output Units 32 32 64
Texture Mapping units 126 144 256
Hardware Threads 4 4 8
Memory Interface 256-bit 256-bit 2048-bit
Memory 4/8GB GDDR5 4/8GB GDDR5 8GB HBM2

 

Looking at AMD’s previously announced Vega Instinct MI25, we see that AMD claims that the GPU offers around 12.5TFLOPs of FP32 compute performance given AMD’s MI naming scheme.   

If AMD’s new NCUs come with the same stream processor count as AMD’s GCN/Polaris GPUs, this will place Vega’s clock speeds at around  1526MHz, which is a significant boost when compared to both Polaris and Fiji.  As you can see below, AMD’s MI25 accelerator is said to be passively cooled, which means that Vega should run cool and that higher clock speeds should be possible if users are willing to increase Vega’s heat output. 

As you can see below, AMD’s MI25 accelerator is said to be passively cooled, which means that Vega should run cool and that higher clock speeds should be possible if users are willing to increase Vega’s heat output. 

 

Linux DRM driver update reveals Vega specifications  

At this time these specifications remain unconfirmed by AMD, but there is no reason for AMD to lie in their Linux submissions. For the most part, these specifications confirm what was already expected from Vega, which is a high GPU core count and clock speed that are higher than what is available with AMD’s existing Polaris offerings. 

 

You can join the discussion on Vega’s specifications on the OC3D Forums. 

 

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