AMD's CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, has announced that the company plans to unveil the "first" of its next-generation RDNA 4 GPUs “in early 2025.” The details are somewhat unclear, with no specific announcement or release date provided for the RDNA 4 GPUs. However, leaks from Chinese forums suggest that AMD aims to showcase several products during CES 2025, including the RX 8000 RDNA 4 graphics cards.
Confirmations and Speculations
Adding to the previous information, known leaker Moore's Law Is Dead has confirmed that an announcement for RDNA 4 is indeed on the horizon, along with a potential release for at least one of the RX 8000 series GPUs. According to MLID, AMD is set to fully unveil RDNA 4 during CES 2025, and at least one RX 8000 series GPU is expected to be made available for purchase before January 2025 ends. While MLID does not disclose further specifics about which RX 8000 model will launch in January, we can make some educated guesses.
Possible Releases and Competition
Initially, AMD might introduce the RX 8800 XT, or whatever the top RDNA 4 Navi 48 card is named, before progressing to lower-tier models. This approach mirrors the release strategy seen with the RDNA 3-based RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT cards in December 2022. Following this, mid-range and entry-level GPUs such as the RX 7800 XT and RX 7600 will likely be released later. Additionally, Nvidia is anticipated to announce the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and, potentially, the RTX 5070 Ti at CES. The lower and entry-level cards like the RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 are not expected in the near future, which might prompt AMD to hold off on revealing their Navi 44-based models until Team Green shows their cheaper options.
Focus on Mid-Range Segments
It's important for gamers to note that this time, AMD isn't directly competing with Nvidia's high-end flagship models like the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080. Instead, Team Red is concentrating on the entry-level and mid-range markets. Therefore, RDNA 4 GPUs such as the RX 8800 XT are unlikely to outperform the upper end of the RTX 50 series. Nevertheless, the RDNA 4 cards are expected to deliver solid performance. According to leaks, the rasterization capabilities of the Navi 48 GPU found in the RX 8800 XT are positioned between the RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX. The less capable Navi 44 is said to fall somewhere between the RX 7600 XT and RX 7800 XT (Available on Amazon).
Expectations for Ray Tracing
As for ray tracing performance, RDNA 4 is anticipated to be a significant improvement over RDNA 3, with rumors suggesting that RDNA 4 features a "completely different" ray tracing architecture compared to its predecessor.
Ultimately, if the RDNA 4 cards deliver impressive performance and come at a reasonable price, they could be well-received by the gaming community. Fortunately, we won't have to rely solely on speculation regarding the RX 8000 and RTX 50 GPUs, as CES is just a little over a month away. Until then, it's wise to approach any leaks with a bit of skepticism.
