PowerColor Preparing Custom AMD Radeon VII Designs

[Raevenlord]

PowerColor, one of AMD's foremost AIB (Add-in-Board) partners, is preparing at least as many as five different SKUs based on the latest, upcoming AMD graphics chip. While AMD did say that initial availability of the new, shrunk-down Vega graphics card would be limited to base design models, it's clear that at least PowerColor wants to bring its years of R&D on cooling solutions to bear.

The product codes for PowerColor's in-development SKUs stand as AXVII 16GBHBM2-3DH (reference model), AXVII 16GBHBM2-2D2H (RedDragon Triple Fan), AXVII 16GBHBM2-2D2HD (RedDevil Triple Fan), AXVII 16GBHBM2-2D2H/OC (RedDragon Triple Fan OC, and AXVII 16GBHBM2-2D2HD/OC (RedDevil Triple Fan OC). Whether PowerColor is moving the fastest, has the best relations with AMD, or is just the one company whose beans have been spilled is uncertain for now, but you can expect other brands to join in on the SKU development, if they aren't doing so already (highly, highly doubtful at that).



Update (30/01): A PowerColor representative on Reddit stated that the company is not planning to launch any custom-design Radeon VII in the immediate future. "We did clarify to the media, that at this moment we will only carry AMD reference design and at the moment we do not have custom model planned in the immediate future," they said. PowerColor didn't completely shut off the possibility of a "Red Devil" branded Radeon VII. "Obviously there's quite of you guys out there wanting our Red Devil series on the Vega VII and we will always consider the option. Just not at this point," the statement read.

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[Joss]

Good news but I really hope Sapphire gets in it as well.

 

[Casecutter]

I'm sure there will be cards based around existing Vega 64 customs. Not an issue they pretty much already exist.

 

[moproblems99]

Good news but I really hope Sapphire gets in it as well.

Sapphire will definitely get in on this.

@EarthDog Here goes one of those cons. AI[B/C]s will have custom cards after all.

 

[EarthDog]

Sweet! Choices are good!!!

 

[xkm1948]

Do you guys think there will be bios mods that unlock the 4 closed CUs?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Nope, there's likely something very wrong with one of those CUs.

 

[xkm1948]

Nope, there's likely something very wrong with one of those CUs.

Would be interesting if CU unlocking is still a thing. Well at least it was a thing around Fiji era.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Nope, there's likely something very wrong with one of those CUs.

It would be interesting if there were'nt. You know someone is going to try..

 

[Casecutter]

Please anyone thinks AMD is going to geld "perfectly good chips" that they have strong orders for as $5000 dollar Instinct MI60 to gamers. I think they see normal fall-out (2-3-4 bad CU's), and a the only logical to make proper yield volume is to fuse off up to 4CU. Are there chips with more surely, but right now that might not yet be a volume to release a new SKU. What I think the reason these aren't used for MI50 cards (as they would again go there first) is they're probably a "power threshold" that Instinct MI50 cards need to achieve, and there's enough of those to forge ahead with this a Gamer version.

 

[MrGenius]

Not a snowball's chance you'll be able to get 4 CUs for free. You guys need to get with the program on the fact that VBIOS mods are not ever happening again. It's all over since Vega(I) and Pascal. Period. Done. Kaput. End of story. Get the silly idea out of your heads already.

I'm still betting on a flash to MI50 though...for reference cards at least. Haha...NO! It wasn't the worst idea I've ever had though...

 

[Deleted member 158293]

Good news! Since Sapphire is probably already making the reference version, so barring AMD preventing their AIBs it's not a stretch to put on their custom revised Vega coolers on it.

 

[EarthDog]

I'm still betting on a flash to MI50 though...for reference cards at least.

Ehhh.. doesn't the MI50 have those 4 CUs enabled? Sooooooo wouldn't flashing to an MI50............? Or if it didn't open the CUs, is it really an MI50? What makes it an MI50 (driver support?)? A mustang isn't suddenly a camaro if I switch badges (though I suppose to a PC a device ID it is, LOL!

 

[MrGenius]

Ehhh.. doesn't the MI50 have those 4 CUs enabled? Sooooooo wouldn't flashing to an MI50............? Or if it didn't open the CUs, is it really an MI50? What makes it an MI50 (driver support?)?

No...it does not have the 4 CUs enabled. BUT(AND IT'S A BIG FAT BUT) I did overlook a more important aspect. No display outputs on the MI50. No fans either(but that's not the real deal breaker).

So...yeah...never mind. Just talking out of my ass again. It happens...

 

[EarthDog]

KK.. wasn't sure if it did or not. I see the differences (outside of it being a headless horsemen).

Working at AWS for a bit, I got to see a lot of these machines with headless GPUs for HPC etc.

 

[Vycyous]

I hope PowerColor doesn't overdo the "gamer aesthetic" for their cards, but I'm not getting my hopes up. It's one reason, among many, that I prefer Sapphire over PowerColor, XFX, and especially Gigabyte and MSI (both of whom I still despise for their participation in Nvidia's "GPP" shenanigans... and neither has since produced anymore of their "premium" branded AMD cards). Asus is probably my second choice for AMD cards, and at least they have resumed producing ROG branded AMD cards, despite their newly (at the time) introduced and presumably discontinued "Arez" lineup.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Not a snowball's chance you'll be able to get 4 CUs for free. You guys need to get with the program on the fact that VBIOS mods are not ever happening again. It's all over since Vega(I) and Pascal. Period. Done. Kaput. End of story. Get the silly idea out of your heads already.

I'm still betting on a flash to MI50 though...for reference cards at least. Haha...NO! It wasn't the worst idea I've ever had though...

People like you were also shitting out this hot take when Vega came out, when Polaris came out, when Hawaii came out, when Pitcarn came out, ece.

 

[Ruru]

Not a snowball's chance you'll be able to get 4 CUs for free. You guys need to get with the program on the fact that VBIOS mods are not ever happening again. It's all over since Vega(I) and Pascal. Period. Done. Kaput. End of story. Get the silly idea out of your heads already.

I'm still betting on a flash to MI50 though...for reference cards at least. Haha...NO! It wasn't the worst idea I've ever had though...

IIRC GeForce 6 series were the last ones from Nvidia where you could open pixel/vertex pipelines via softmod.

But AMD has been very overclocker friendly for over a decade, so I'd not be 100% sure that the extra shaders couldn't be unlocked.

 

[danbert2000]

If the rumors are true and this is going to be a limited release based on failed 7 nm Instinct GPUs, then I could see the effort for making a Radeon VII custom board just not being worth it. Why would they do all the engineering work for a stopgap card? Would it even improve the performance if the Radeon VII is already way past its optimum voltage curve?

 

[Casecutter]

^ Well I'm not positive how much effort AIB's would have to invest, if much at all. By all indications a 7nm on the interposed should be pin compatible to existing Vega 64 interposer PCB designs, and those boards and power sections appear beefy enough to use as the 295-300 TDP both are told to be in the ballpark of.

 

[Th3pwn3r]

Didn't AMD say there wouldn't be any custom designs at CES?

 

[EarthDog]

Didn't AMD say there wouldn't be any custom designs at CES?

Yes, but then something came out showing a different cooler (and we are guessing VRM underneath).