AMD Radeon RX 8900 XTX Specs: 13000+ Cores for the Cancelled RDNA 4 Flagship
4/30/2024
AMD Radeon RX 8900 XTX Specs: 13000+ Cores for the Cancelled RDNA 4 Flagship
AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture promised exciting advancements, but unfortunately, the higher-end RDNA 4 GPUs were canceled late into development. Among these was the Radeon RX 8900 XTX, which would have been the flagship model.
Let’s dive into the specs and details of this intriguing GPU.
Complex Chiplet-Based Design
From previous rumors, we already know that the Radeon RX 8900 XTX was designed with a complex chiplet-based architecture. The Navi 4C SKU would have powered both the Radeon RX 8900 XTX and the 8900 XT.
Over 200 Compute Units
The RDNA 4 flagship was reportedly designed with over 200 Compute Units (100 Dual Compute Units) across three Graphics Compute Dies (chiplets). This translates to an impressive ~13,000 cores or stream processors, more than twice as much as the RX 7900 XTX.
Shader Engines and Stream Processors
The latest Linux patches reveal an RDNA 4 GPU with 9 Shader Engines (SEs). Each SE is equivalent to the Graphics Processing Cluster (GPC) found on NVIDIA GPUs. In terms of stream processors, the Radeon RX 8900 XTX (or at least the Navi 4C variant) was expected to pack over 200 compute units or 12,800+ cores. These shaders would have been spread across three Graphics Compute Dies (GCDs), each consisting of approximately 48 Compute Units.
Other RDNA 4 Dies
Apart from the flagship Navi 4C, there are two other RDNA 4 dies still in development:
- Navi 44: Expected to power the RX 8600 XT.
- Navi 48: Intended for the RX 8700 XT.
Both Navi 44 and 48 are monolithic designs with two and four shader engines, respectively. The RX 8600 XT is anticipated to deliver performance similar to the RX 7700 XT or 7800 XT, while the RX 8700 XT should perform at the level of the 7900 GRE or 7900 XT.
RDNA 3 Refresh?
Interestingly, the Radeon RX 8800 XT is rumored to be an RDNA 3 (Navi 31) Refresh, potentially offering performance on par with or even surpassing the RX 7900 XTX at a significantly lower price point.
AMD may unveil the RDNA 4 architecture alongside the Ryzen 9000 CPUs at Computex this June. While we won’t see the Radeon RX 8900 XTX in reality, it’s fascinating to explore the possibilities that were once on the horizon for AMD’s graphics lineup.