RDNA

RDNA
Name	RDNA
Designer	Advanced Micro Devices
Manufacturer	TSMC
Produced	From 2019
Predecessor	Graphics Core Next
Successor	RDNA 2
Variant	RDNA 3

RDNA. RDNA is a GPU microarchitecture designed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for its Radeon graphics products, succeeding the long-running Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. First introduced in 2019 with the Radeon RX 5000 series, it marked a significant redesign focused on improving performance per watt and gaming efficiency. The architecture forms the foundation for graphics in AMD's Zen 2-based PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles and has evolved through subsequent generations.

Overview

The development of RDNA was driven by AMD's need to increase competitiveness in the consumer graphics market against rival Nvidia. Key goals included a major uplift in instructions per cycle (IPC) for gaming workloads compared to Graphics Core Next. The architecture debuted in the Navi 10 GPU, powering the Radeon RX 5700 XT, and was fabricated by TSMC using its 7 nm process. A major strategic shift was its dual use in both discrete Radeon cards and custom system on a chip (SoC) designs for Microsoft and Sony.

Architecture

RDNA introduced a new compute unit design that decouples shader arrays from the render back-ends, allowing for more flexible workload distribution. It employs a multi-level cache hierarchy, including a redesigned L1 cache and a large, fast L2 cache to reduce latency. The architecture features an enhanced geometry engine and a new primitive shader pipeline to improve geometry processing efficiency. Key changes from Graphics Core Next include a streamlined wavefront execution model and support for the PCI Express 4.0 interface.

Generations

The first generation, RDNA 1, launched in 2019 with products like the Radeon RX 5600 XT. It was followed by RDNA 2 in 2020, which introduced hardware-accelerated ray tracing via Ray Accelerators, Infinity Cache, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate; this generation powered the Radeon RX 6900 XT and the PlayStation 5. The third generation, RDNA 3, launched in 2022 with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, featuring a chiplet design, an advanced 5 nm process from TSMC, and enhanced AI acceleration through new AI accelerators.

Performance and features

RDNA offered a substantial generational leap in performance per watt over Graphics Core Next, with AMD claiming up to a 50% improvement. It introduced support for GDDR6 memory and the DisplayPort 1.4 standard with Display Stream Compression. The architecture also brought features like FidelityFX, a suite of open-source image quality tools, and support for Variable Rate Shading (VRS). Gaming performance was highly competitive in titles like Borderlands 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, particularly at 1440p resolutions.

Software and API support

RDNA is fully supported by AMD's Radeon Software driver suite on Microsoft Windows and Linux via the open-source AMDGPU kernel driver. At launch, it supported key graphics APIs including DirectX 12, Vulkan, and OpenGL. Subsequent generations added support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan Ray Tracing, and OpenCL. The architecture is also central to AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling technology and works with industry standards like FreeSync.

Market position and competition

Upon release, RDNA-based products like the Radeon RX 5700 series competed directly with Nvidia's GeForce RTX 20 series, offering strong rasterization performance but lacking hardware ray tracing. Its integration into the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X solidified AMD's dominance in the console market. Later generations, such as RDNA 2, challenged Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30 series in the high-end segment, while RDNA 3 contends with the GeForce RTX 40 series. The architecture has been crucial for AMD's competitiveness against rivals like Intel with its Intel Arc lineup.

Category:AMD microarchitectures Category:Graphics processing units Category:2019 in computing