AMD has just presented its Radeon 6000 series , also known by the nickname Big Navi or Navi 21. These cards are based on the RDNA 2 architecture and support Ray Tracing and Variable Rate Shading. At first glance, these cards are more efficient but less expensive than Nvidia's 30 series cards.
AMD hits very hard and leaves its rival Nvidia unmoved. AMD intends to repeat what it did with Intel in terms of CPUs by producing high-performance products at a lower price. AMD is increasingly gaining market share from its eternal rival Intel. The Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT cards will be released on November 18, 2020 while the RX 6900
Configurations and prices of new cards
The Radeon RX 6800 has 60 computing units and runs on a base frequency of 1.815 GHz, its boost frequency is 2.105 GHz. It has 16 GB GDDR6 memory and 128 MB Infinity cache. This card consumes 250 Watts.
The Radeon RX 6800 XT has 72 computing units and its transistors switch at 2.015 GHz. In boost mode, the frequency reaches 2.250 GHz. It has 16 GB GDDR6 memory, a 128 MB Infinity cache, for a TDP power of 300 Watts.
As for the Radeon RX 6900 XT , it has computing units It operates at 2.250 GHz in boost clock . The TDP power is 300 Watts. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128 MB Infinity cache .
AMD's 6000 series cards have more attractive prices. The Radeon RX 6800 costs $579, the Radeon RX 6800 XT is $649, and the Radeon RX 6900 XT is $999. As a reminder, here are the prices of Nvidia cards: the GeForce RTX 3090 costs 1549 euros, the GeForce RTX 3080: 719 euros and the GeForce RTX 3070 is priced at 519 euros.
The performance of these Radeon RX 6000 series cards
These cards are based on the RDNA 2 architecture , also used on Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S consoles and Sony's PS5. AMD introduces a so-called Infinity cache of 128 MB. The latter allows a memory speed up to 3.25 times faster with a 256-bit memory bus and makes the difference in 4K resolution. These cards support Ray Tracing and deliver frame rates that are close to or even exceed those of Nvidia. The 300 Watt RX 6800 XT is, for example, capable of delivering more FPS compared to Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3080 (320 Watts). Taking into account the TDP powers consumed, given that AMD cards consume less, we can say that AMD has produced cards capable of competing with those of Nvidia at reduced prices. However, we must wait for benchmarking from independent testers before confirming this data provided by AMD.
These Radeon 6000 series cards are based on the RDNA 2 architecture whose GPU is manufactured with a 7 nanometer manufacturing process. This explains the space saving of these cards and the lower consumption. It should be remembered that GeForce 30 series cards are at 8nm. These AMD graphics cards offer 50% more performance compared to the previous generation. They support Ray Tracing and VRS ( Variable Rate Shading ). Previous features are also present such as Fidelity FX, AMD FreeSync and Radeon Anti-Lag. The Fidelity Fx allows you to optimize visuals by displaying more details, colors and reflections without using a lot of GPU resources. AMD FreeSync allows you to have latency-free and smooth images. Which allows a 4K image format at 240 FPS or 8K at 60 FPS or even more. As for Anti-Lag , it allows for faster response times per click.
However, AMD did not focus on Ray Tracing. Which leaves a little doubt among connoisseurs. This performance data is in fact based on normally rendered games without Ray tracing enabled. We will know for sure when the cards are at hand so we can test them. In any case, AMD seems to be standing up to Nvidia with its brand new products.
