CES: AMD announces Radeon VII (Vega at 7nm)

AMD just announced the Radeon VII (as in Radeon Seven with the seven synonym for 7nm). The product is based on 60 Compute units which means times 64 shaders per cluster that is 3840 shader processors. 

That means this is a Vega 64 shrunk towards 7nm with some fewer shaders active. We talked about Vega 20 many times, it is the 7nm Vega iteration of the existing GPU.  The GPU is paired with 16GB of HBM memory and can Boost in the 1800 MHz ranges. Interesting to see is that the card PCB is quite long as the cooler is based on triple fans, which says a thing or two about thermals. AMD gets 25% more performance out of the product with the same amount of power (VEGA10). In some slides, it's shown that the card performance at a GeForce RTX 2080 performance level. If the numbers turn out to be right, then AMD might have a really good performing product at hand as the 2080 is also equal towards the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti performance level.

AMD has not shared any further information on architecture tweaks at this time. AMD will bundle Division2 with the card as well as select Ryzen 5 and 7 processors. 16GB of HBM2 memory, wowzers that is expensive, I believe I heard it is to be a 699 USD graphics card.  

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — January 9, 2019 — AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today unveiled AMD Radeon™ VII, the world’s first 7nm gaming graphics card. It was designed to deliver exceptional performance and amazing experiences for the latest AAA, esports and Virtual Reality (VR) titles, demanding 3D rendering and video editing applications, and next-generation compute workloads.

Built on the enhanced second-generation AMD ‘Vega’ architecture, AMD Radeon VII provides 2X the memory, 2.1X the memory bandwidth, up to 29 percent higher gaming performance on average, and up to 36 percent higher performance on average in content creation applications compared to the current top-of-the-line AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 graphics card^1,2,3,4. For gamers, AMD Radeon VII enables maximum settings for extreme framerates at the highest resolutions. It also provides seamless, high-refresh HDR⁵ gaming at 1080p, ultrawide 1440p and 4K, and enables next-generation photo and visual creation applications on razor sharp, vibrant 8K monitors.

Game Developers and Partners Embrace AMD Radeon VII

Leading game developers and partners are already embracing the incredible features, performance and experiences that the AMD Radeon VII graphics card provides. The Alienware Area 51 2^nd Generation Threadripper™ Edition will now combine the new AMD Radeon VII graphics cards with 2^nd Generation AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ processors to deliver powerhouse performance for superior gaming experiences in 4K. Also, the professional esports gaming team, Fnatic, will use AMD Radeon VII graphics cards in its high-performance gaming PCs for training and online competitions.

In addition, Ubisoft plans to bring AMD Radeon™ technologies to its upcoming AAA blockbuster, Tom Clancy’s The Division® 2. The Division® 2 will support the advanced features gamers demand including DirectX® 12 and support for AMD Radeon FreeSync™ 2 HDR technology⁶, as well as technologies such as shader intrinsics, rapid packed math, and asynchronous compute that help deliver superior gaming experiences.

Built to unleash performance, enable extreme gaming, and drive the most demanding 3D rendering, video editing and compute applications, key features of the AMD Radeon VII graphics card include:

• Exceptional capabilities: The Radeon VII graphics card is built upon 7nm process technology, delivering higher gaming performance than the AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 graphics card³. Equipped with 60 compute units/3840 stream processors running at up to 1.8GHz and 16GB of ultra-fast HBM2 memory (second-generation High-Bandwidth Memory), the Radeon VII graphics card enables high-performance gaming and ultra-high quality visuals. Ground-breaking 1 TB/s memory bandwidth and a 4,096-bit memory interface paves the way for ultra-high resolution textures, hyper-realistic settings and life-like characters.
• Enabling real-time 3D and compute applications: The Radeon VII graphics card delivers the performance required for demanding 3D rendering and video editing applications, and next-generation compute workloads. It provides up to 27 percent higher performance in the popular open source 3D creation application Blender⁷, up to 27 percent higher performance in the professional video editing, color correction and visual effects application DaVinci Resolve 15⁸, and up to 62 percent higher performance in the OpenCL™ LuxMark compute benchmark⁹ compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card.
• Extreme gaming performance: The AMD Radeon VII graphics card delivers exceptional performance in DirectX® 12- and Vulkan®-based games, including up to 35 percent higher performance in Battlefield™ V¹⁰, and up to 42 percent higher performance in Strange Brigade®¹¹, compared to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card. It also delivers up to 25 percent higher performance in the widely popular esports title, Fortnite®.¹²
• Smooth gaming with Radeon FreeSync: With the high speeds of today’s graphics cards, framerates often exceed the monitor refresh rate, causing stuttering and tearing. With AMD Radeon FreeSync¹³ technology, the popular, standards-based adaptive sync technology supported by more than 550 gaming monitors, gamers can experience smooth gameplay at every level. In addition, AMD Radeon FreeSync™ 2 HDR technology⁶ offers more than 2X better brightness and color volume compared to sRGB¹⁴.
• Unparalleled experiences with AMD Radeon software: AMD Radeon Software features Day-0 game driver support and up-to-the minute game optimizations for performance enhancements. Gamers can effortlessly capture, stream and share their memorable moments and clutch victories with Radeon™ ReLive; monitor performance and PC system info, and socialize with the AMD Link application; and fine-tune a range of settings to fit their needs with Radeon™ WattMan¹⁵ technology.

Three Games Included with AMD Radeon™ VII Graphics Card Purchase

With AMDs ‘Raise the Game Fully Loaded’ bundle, AMD plans to offer gamers complimentary PC versions of the highly anticipated Resident Evil™ 2, Devil May Cry™ 5 and Tom Clancy’s The Division® 2 with the purchase of an eligible AMD Radeon™ VII graphics card or Radeon™ VII powered PC, as well as with the purchase of other eligible Radeon™ graphics cards and Radeon™ powered PCs. Stay tuned for more information on the program and where to buy at: www.amd.com/raisethegame.