There’s a surprising new growth on this planet of GPUs. Apparently, AMD’s Radeon graphics division is finished with the RDNA 3 platform just eight months after introducing it. Except, no, that’s not what’s occurring in any respect.

As is so usually the case, an out-of-context quote surrounding the launch of the new Radeon RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT cards has developed a lifetime of its personal, and created some misconceptions (nudged together with some eye-catching headlines). So to place the matter straight: An AMD consultant didn’t say the corporate received’t make any new RDNA 3-based GPUs.

What AMD stated

The quote in query comes from Scott Herkelman, AMD’s Radeon chief (and an everyday visitor on PCWorld’s YouTube channel). Herkelman appeared on a panel in the course of the AMD Gaming Festival livestream at Gamescom on Friday. When requested if the most recent playing cards would “complete the RDNA 3 portfolio,” he answered, “The RDNA 3 portfolio is now complete. So of all products that we have planned to launch, that is, this is the last few products that we will launch.”

As all the time, extra context is extra useful. Herkelman continued, “We may have some different versions, but they are not a new ASIC.” (ASIC means “Application-specific integrated circuit” — mainly, a single chip design offered to suppliers.) So to interrupt down a little bit of this enterprise jargon into extra sensible phrases, Herkelman is saying that there aren’t any new base-level chips deliberate to be added to the present Radeon 7000-series lineup, which breaks down as follows:

• RX 7600 — $270
• RX 7700 XT — $$450 (releasing September sixth)
• RX 7800 XT — $500 (releasing September sixth)
• RX 7900 XT — $900
• RX 7900 XTX — $1000

The Radeon RX 7900-series makes use of numerous configurations of the Navi 31 GPU; the brand new Radeon RX 7800 XT and 7700 XT use Navi 32; and the Radeon RX 7600 makes use of Navi 31. What Herkelman means is there will likely be no new Navi chips launched within the RDNA 3 household going ahead.

There is a giant $400 hole in that lineup between the RX 7800 XT and the RX 7900 XT, so the information that there’s no GPU in between is a little bit of a shock. The RX 7900 GRE may need stuffed it, nevertheless it’s only available as a stand-alone retail card in China in the meanwhile.

What AMD didn’t say

What Herkelman didn’t say is, “There won’t be any new graphics cards based on the RDNA 3 chip design.” And anybody who’s accustomed to AMD’s graphics card technique over the previous few years is aware of it. Based on the Radeon 6000 series, we are able to count on mid-generation upgrades — hypothetically playing cards titled RX 7750 XT, RX 7950 XT, et cetera — to be launched twelve to eighteen months after the preliminary designs. These playing cards might have small boosts in clock pace, and maybe different upgrades like additional RAM or an expanded reminiscence bus, however nonetheless utilizing the identical underlying Navi 33, 32, and 31 chips at their core. It’s additionally not clear whether or not Herkelman was together with Radeon laptop computer GPUs in his assertion.

What all of it means

Of course AMD is engaged on next-generation merchandise, presumably RDNA 4 chips and a Radeon RX 8000 household of GPUs. But the final time it confirmed a public roadmap for its GPU growth was in the summer of 2022, and plans for 2024 weren’t made express. Combined with Herkelman’s assertion at Gamescom, you shouldn’t count on to see a brand new technology of AMD graphics playing cards till the top of 2024 on the very earliest…and doubtless a bit after that, to be trustworthy.