AMD’s High-End Navi 4X “RDNA 4” GPUs Reportedly Featured 9 Shader Engines, 50% More Than Top Navi 31 “RDNA 3” GPU

AMD’s high-end Navi 4X GPUs, based on the RDNA 4 graphics architecture, were rumored to feature significant upgrades over their predecessors. According to patches spotted by Kepler_L2, these GPUs would have boasted 50% more shader engines than the Navi 31 “RDNA 3” chips.

AMD Radeon GPUs Sale

Shader Engine Count

The Navi 31 GPU, part of the RDNA 3 lineup, featured 6 shader engines. However, the Navi 4X or Navi 4C SKU was expected to have up to 9 shader engines – a substantial increase. The actual compute units for the top Navi 4 “RDNA 4” GPU die were reportedly over 200, indicating a true shift to chiplets for consumer-grade gaming GPUs.

Theoretical Configurations

While the exact configuration remains speculative, here are some theoretical setups based on Navi 31 and Navi 32 designs:

1. Navi 41 with Navi 31 configuration:

   • 9 Shader Engines
   • 16 Compute Units
   • 144 Compute Units (CUs)

2. Navi 41 with Navi 32 configuration:

   • 9 Shader Engines
   • 20 Compute Units
   • 180 CUs

3. Navi 41 with 200+ Compute Units (speculative):

   • 9 Shader Engines
   • 24 Compute Units (or more)
   • 216 CUs (or more)

What Could Have Been

These configurations suggest that AMD was working on a high-end chip capable of offering enthusiast-grade performance and capabilities. Unfortunately, plans for such a design were apparently scrapped for reasons we may never know – possibly due to design complications, yields, or cost considerations.

Renders based on the rumored die configuration of the Navi 4X (Navi 4C) chiplet GPU showcased what a powerful RDNA 4 GPU with multiple GCD chiplets might have looked like.

Other Navi 4 GPUs

In addition to the Navi 4X, there were rumors about other Navi 4 GPUs:

• Navi 48: Expected to feature 4 shader engines (similar to Navi 32).
• Navi 44: Likely to have 2 shader engines (similar to Navi 33).

Conclusion

While we won’t see these specific Navi 4 GPUs, AMD continues to innovate with its RDNA architecture. As we await official announcements, enthusiasts can only wonder about the performance potential that might have been.