AMD Radeon RX 6000 "Big Navi" RDNA2 Graphics Card Launch Liveblog

btarunr · Oct 28, 2020

After thoroughly appetizing us with its "Where Gaming Begins: Episode 1" event announcing the Ryzen 5000 series "Zen 3" processors that offer up to 19% IPC gains, in the second Episode, we see the company announcing its next-generation Radeon RX 6000 "Big Navi" graphics cards based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture that introduce full DirectX 12 Ultimate readiness, including real-time raytracing hardware. In the run up to the RX 6000, NVIDIA is already reportedly preparing product-stack updates. In this liveblog, we uncover what has NVIDIA riled up, and whether AMD can pull off better pricing and availbility than the RTX 30-series.

Update 15:59 UTC: It is time! Welcome to the Radeon RX 6000 Series live blog.

Update 16:01 UTC: AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su takes centerstage, fresh off a good quarterly results announcement, and that big Xilinx acquisition announcement.

Update 16:03 UTC: FarCry 6 seems like an AMD optimized title.

Update 16:03 UTC: Possibly the flagship product.

Update 16:04 UTC: AMD is where gaming begins because next-gen consoles trust it. - Dr Su

Update 16:05 UTC: 50% generational improvement in perf/W.

Update 16:06 UTC: 26.7 billion transistors, almost as big as GA102

Update 16:07 UTC: RDNA2 has a breakthrough high-speed design.

Update 16:08 UTC: AMD RDNA2 compute unit 30% more energy efficient.

Update 16:09 UTC: InfinityCache works to significantly improve memory bandwidth, based on the Zen L3 cache. More than 2.17x bandwidth gain despite 256-bit.

Update 16:10 UTC: 30% higher frequencies on the same 7 nm node.

Update 16:10 UTC: DirectX 12 Ultimate and DirectStorage support.

Update 16:11 UTC: Over 2X performance gain over RX 5700 XT.

Update 16:11 UTC: The RX 6800 XT!

Update 16:12 UTC: 4K Gaming from AMD is here! Matches RTX 3080!!!

Update 16:13 UTC: Hello competition!

Update 16:14 UTC: Welcome back ATI Rage, as the AMD Rage Mode.

Update 16:15 UTC: When paired with Ryzen, you get a gaming performance boost, 13% perf increase.

Update 16:15 UTC: AMD introduces its take on the NVIDIA Reflex, announcing latest Radeon Lag and Radeon Boost. No special API needed.

Update 16:16 UTC: Full DX12 Ultimate support, including ray-tracing. Woirking on a DLSS-rival.

Update 16:18 UTC: AMD is leveraging studios working on Xbox Series X / PS5 devs to integrate its Radeon features on the PC.

Update 16:18 UTC: FarCry 6, DiRT 5, WoW Shadowlands (which gets raytracing), RiftBreaker, are AMD-optimized.

Update 16:21 UTC: Available Nov 18, starts, $649

Update 16:21 UTC: Also announcing RX 6800 : faster than RTX 2080 Ti, 4K + raytracing ready

Update 16:22 UTC: $579, November 18 availability for the RX 6800.

Update 16:22 UTC: Lisa gets ready for a "one more thing"

Update 16:23 UTC: Radeon RX 6900 XT: 80 CUs, 65% perf/Watt over 5700 XT.

Update 16:25 UTC: RTX 3090 BEATEN!!!!

Update 16:26 UTC: December 8 for the RX 6900 XT, priced $999.

Update 16:26 UTC: OOF, we cannot wait to test these cards out!

Update 17:08 UTC: The press-release can be found here.

Update 17:19 UTC: The complete AMD slide deck follows.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

The Youtube video already has almost 85000 viewers!

MxPhenom 216 · Oct 28, 2020

Come on AMD, you already got me believing in you again on CPUs. Now for GPUs

windwhirl · Oct 28, 2020

Man, the YT chat is going mad lmao

kapone32 said:
The Youtube video already has almost 85000 viewers!

130k+ by now!

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

Are you not impressed!!!!!

TheDeeGee · Oct 28, 2020

windwhirl said:
Man, the YT chat is going mad lmao

130k+ by now!

Where does one even find this link, why isn't it posted in this blog?

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

TheDeeGee said:
Where does one even find this link, why isn't it posted in this blog?

Youtube
AMD channel

windwhirl · Oct 28, 2020

TheDeeGee said:
Where does one even find this link, why isn't it posted in this blog?

MxPhenom 216 · Oct 28, 2020

Holy 300w board power for 6800XT

QUANTUMPHYSICS · Oct 28, 2020

All I'm concerned with is my AMD Stock share value.

kruk · Oct 28, 2020

It's really nice to see how a great leadership can rescue a struggling company. With a fraction of resources they managed to catch up with Intel and nVidia in the same year, which is kind of crazy. Can't wait to see if their product stack scales down to PCIE only powered GPUs. 2020/2021 looks really exciting for gamers

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

Where is that post that Cache had no influence on GPUs?

B-Real · Oct 28, 2020

If I was right in quick maths, it seems it may be faster than the RTX 3080 in the averaged games shown in the graphs. :O Or equal at worst.

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

kruk said:
It's really nice to see how a great leadership can rescue a struggling company. With a fraction of resources they managed to catch up with Intel and nVidia in the same year, which is kind of crazy. Can't wait to see if their product stack scales down to PCIE only powered GPUs. 2020/2021 looks really exciting for gamers

Not looks...will

MxPhenom 216 · Oct 28, 2020

B-Real said:
It seems it may be faster than the RTX 3080. :O

Trades blows based on their graphs. A little faster in a good chunk of them.

windwhirl · Oct 28, 2020

OK, so 6800 XT equal or better than RTX 3800? SHOTS FIRED

B-Real · Oct 28, 2020

MxPhenom 216 said:
Trades blows based on their graphs. A little faster in a good chunk of them.

Yep!

MxPhenom 216 · Oct 28, 2020

Radeon Anti-Lag/Boost = Nvidia Reflex

Turmania · Oct 28, 2020

I want that T-Shirt he is wearing.

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

MxPhenom 216 said:
Holy 300w board power for 6800XT

That includes memory and everything else

MxPhenom 216 · Oct 28, 2020

Show us Ray tracing performance for fuck sakes.

kapone32 said:
That includes memory and everything else

I'm aware. Wasn't expecting it that high for 6800XT. Thought the 6900XT would be around there.

Also that Godfall game is going to be good.

No one cares about Far Cry 6!

windwhirl · Oct 28, 2020

MxPhenom 216 said:
Show us Ray tracing performance for fuck sakes.

Saving the best for last? lmao

kapone32 · Oct 28, 2020

I am peeing my pants right now this is insane!

MxPhenom 216 said:
Show us Ray tracing performance for fuck sakes.

I'm aware. Wasn't expecting it that high for 6800XT. Thought the 6900XT would be around there.

Also that Godfall game is going to be good.

I can't wait to run one of these through it's paces. Godfall does look like it will get a run through. I can't wait to oh I said that already.

Cheeseball · Oct 28, 2020

MxPhenom 216 said:
Radeon Anti-Lag/Boost = Nvidia Reflex

The first implementation of Radeon Boost was not so good. It basically lowers the resolution of the entire screen when there is mouse/keyboard movement. It's pretty bad if you set it to max making everything extremely pixelated. Not too helpful in competitive shooters like PUBG.

Early implementation was causing Anti-Lag to crash when I enabled it on my RX 5700 XT. Hopefully they improved it with the next Adrenalin release.

EDIT: Sounds like $649 for the RX 6800 XT. Not bad.

B-Real · Oct 28, 2020

$649 with ~same performance, less power consumption, +6GB VRAM. Holy $hit.

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage	Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Best AMD Computer
Processor	AMD 7900X3D
Motherboard	Asus X670E E Strix
Cooling	In Win SR36
Memory	GSKILL DDR5 32GB 5200 30
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse 7900XT (Watercooled)
Storage	Corsair MP 700, Seagate 530 2Tb, Adata SX8200 2TBx2, Kingston 2 TBx2, Micron 8 TB, WD AN 1500
Display(s)	GIGABYTE FV43U
Case	Corsair 7000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Void Pro, Logitch Z523 5.1
Power Supply	Deepcool 1000M
Mouse	Logitech g7 gaming mouse
Keyboard	Logitech G510
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64 Steam. GOG, Uplay, Origin
Benchmark Scores	Firestrike: 46183 Time Spy: 25121

System Name	Ryzen Reflection
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master
Cooling	2x EK PE360 \| TechN AM4 AMD Block Black \| EK Quantum Vector Trinity GPU Nickel + Plexi
Memory	Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem 2x16GB B-Die 3600 @ 14-14-14-28-42-288-2T 1.45v
Video Card(s)	Zotac AMP HoloBlack RTX 3080Ti 12G \| 950mV 1950Mhz
Storage	WD SN850 500GB (OS) \| Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (Games_1) \| Samsung 970 Evo 1TB (Games_2)
Display(s)	Asus XG27AQM 240Hz G-Sync Fast-IPS \| Gigabyte M27Q-P 165Hz 1440P IPS \| Asus 24" IPS (portrait mode)
Case	Lian Li PC-011D XL \| Custom cables by Cablemodz
Audio Device(s)	FiiO K7 \| Sennheiser HD650 + Beyerdynamic FOX Mic
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850
Mouse	Razer Viper v2 Pro
Keyboard	Corsair K65 Plus 75% Wireless - USB Mode
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit

System Name	System V
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	Asus Prime X570-P
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212 // a bunch of 120 mm Xigmatek 1500 RPM fans (2 ins, 3 outs)
Memory	2x8GB Ballistix Sport LT 3200 MHz (BLS8G4D32AESCK.M8FE) (CL16-18-18-36)
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte AORUS Radeon RX 580 8 GB
Storage	SHFS37A240G / DT01ACA200 / ST10000VN0008 / ST8000VN004 / SA400S37960G / SNV21000G / NM620 2TB
Display(s)	LG 22MP55 IPS Display
Case	NZXT Source 210
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G430 Headset
Power Supply	Corsair CX650M
Software	Whatever build of Windows 11 is being served in Canary channel at the time.
Benchmark Scores	Corona 1.3: 3120620 r/s Cinebench R20: 3355 FireStrike: 12490 TimeSpy: 4624

System Name	Best AMD Computer
Processor	AMD 7900X3D
Motherboard	Asus X670E E Strix
Cooling	In Win SR36
Memory	GSKILL DDR5 32GB 5200 30
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse 7900XT (Watercooled)
Storage	Corsair MP 700, Seagate 530 2Tb, Adata SX8200 2TBx2, Kingston 2 TBx2, Micron 8 TB, WD AN 1500
Display(s)	GIGABYTE FV43U
Case	Corsair 7000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Void Pro, Logitch Z523 5.1
Power Supply	Deepcool 1000M
Mouse	Logitech g7 gaming mouse
Keyboard	Logitech G510
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64 Steam. GOG, Uplay, Origin
Benchmark Scores	Firestrike: 46183 Time Spy: 25121

AMD Radeon RX 6000 "Big Navi" RDNA2 Graphics Card Launch Liveblog

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

kapone32

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

windwhirl

kapone32

TheDeeGee

kapone32

windwhirl

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

QUANTUMPHYSICS

kruk

kapone32

B-Real

kapone32

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

windwhirl

B-Real

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

Turmania

kapone32

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

windwhirl

kapone32

Cheeseball

Not a Potato

B-Real

System Name	TheDeeGee's PC
Processor	Intel Core i7-11700
Motherboard	ASRock Z590 Steel Legend
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S
Memory	Crucial Ballistix 3200/C16 32GB
Video Card(s)	Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti 12GB
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 2TB / Crucial P3 Plus 2TB / Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
Display(s)	EIZO CX240
Case	Lian-Li O11 Dynamic Evo XL / Noctua NF-A12x25 fans
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster ZXR / AKG K601 Headphones
Power Supply	Seasonic PRIME Fanless TX-700
Mouse	Logitech G500S
Keyboard	Keychron Q6
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
Benchmark Scores	None, as long as my games runs smooth.

System Name	Titan
Processor	AMD Ryzen™ 7 7950X3D
Motherboard	ASRock X870 Taichi Lite
Cooling	Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO CPU
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 2x16GB DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	ASRock Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB GDDR6 (MBA) / NVIDIA RTX 4090 Founder's Edition
Storage	Crucial T500 2TB x 3
Display(s)	LG 32GS95UE-B, ASUS ROG Swift OLED (PG27AQDP), LG C4 42" (OLED42C4PUA)
Case	HYTE Hakos Baelz Y60
Audio Device(s)	Kanto Audio YU2 and SUB8 Desktop Speakers and Subwoofer, Cloud Alpha Wireless
Power Supply	Corsair SF1000L
Mouse	Logitech Pro Superlight 2 (White), G303 Shroud Edition
Keyboard	Wooting 60HE+ / 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard (N Edition) / NuPhy Air75 v2
VR HMD	Occulus Quest 2 128GB
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-bit 23H2 Build 22631.4317