AMD talks RDNA 2, 50% more performance per watt and RayTracing by hardware

AMD's financial call has given much of itself. Lisa Su, CEO of the company, has officially announced the second generation of graphics based on the RDNA architecture. The current iteration is a hybrid with GCN, but already RDNA 2 removes any trace of GCN and unleashing its potential. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the improved IPC thanks to the use of 7nm EUV.

RDNA 2 as indicated in the first slide offered by the company improves not only the CPI, but also the performance per watt. A significant leap in performance is achieved without affecting consumption. But perhaps the most important aspect of this new architecture is that it implemented RayTracing by hardware.

AMD will implement hardware RayTracing in RDNA 2

That the new AMD RDNA 2 graphics were going to have hardware RayTracing is something that we all must for granted. The first reason to be certain is that if you want to compete with NVIDIA, head-to-head, you need it. The second reason is that Microsoft has already confirmed that its Xbox Series X will have RayTracing.

AMD highlights that RDNA represented a 50% performance improvement compared to GCN. Personally, I especially like the jump in efficiency compared to GCN, something that for me has made the difference in Navi. RDNA 2 now offers a 50% increase in performance per watt consumed over RDNA.

This 50% increase in performance per watt consumed must be qualified. This does not mean that a 50% increase in gross performance is achieved, but rather that efficiency and performance are increased. We do not know by what percentage performance is improved and by what percentage consumption is reduced. But it is great news, no doubt.

The aspect of improving efficiency and performance will possibly benefit the gaming laptop market. Perhaps we will see in the future APUs already with iGPUs based on RDNA, since the current ones are based on Vega. The pity is that notebooks with RDNA 2021-based GPUs will not be released until 2.

Variable Rate Shading and Hardware RayTracing will be implemented in RDNA 2, which is very interesting. Now NVIDIA and AMD will compete on equal terms. The company does not talk about Raytracing Audio. although Microsoft has done it for its console.