Discussion: Polaris, AMD's 4th Gen GCN Architecture

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That's because the 980m is more like a gimped GTX 960 rather than a full on desktop GTX980 and a desktop GTX980 or 980Ti would drain a laptops battery flat in a matter of nanoseconds. :lol:
 


Someone posted this a bit earlier, maybe even in the nVidia thread, and debunked it as a "placeholder with wishful specs until the card gets released". It does look very promising and I'd love for it to have those specs.

Faster memory means better performance at high resolutions so, unless 1080ti blows out the cosmos, AMD could have a leg up for some time.

FreeSync is hissing louder and louder in my ear. 😀
 


Two GTX 980M in SLI still draw less power than a single GTX 980 Ti.

But it's true that two GTX 980 in SLI do draw a little more power than a single GTX 980 Ti. But presumably it's easier to make two large GPU coolers work in a laptop than a single huge cooler.
 


The fact that it says "Vega 10" and "490X" doesn't make sense to me. There is likely going to be a successor to the Fury X and considering that Polaris 10 is the 480, Polaris 11 is (supposedly) the 470. I would think that the Fury X replacement would be Vega 10 and the 490X would be Vega 11.

The "trickle out" approach could drive you crazy, but is great for getting interest in the upcoming products, lol.
 


Or unless you wanted your laptop to be the size of your briefcase. :)
 


That's a good idea: A lap case.
 


I really want to tun an old wooden briefcase into a laptop. as in like have an micro ATX motherboard and inverter in there.
 


Seems like a proper Fury successor but I doubt they would go back to making the X90 series being the top now that they have Fury at the top. Think of it like their Titan and Ti. The Fury X is their Titan, the Fury is their Ti.

So far all rumors though point to Furys successor being launched next year.

The specs though are odd. The SPUs/TMUs/ROPs are all the exact same as a Fury X. The only differences are the faster clock speed (1200MHz base vs 1000MHz base), the memory size (16GB vs 4GB) and of course 14nm vs 28nm.

The memory bandwidth is also the same as the big Pascal GP100, not double Fury X which is what everyone is banking on for HBM2 so that makes me wounder if there is not some issues with HBM2 that they cannot get the top clock speed to get double the bandwidth right now...
 


What I've heard is that there are two vega GPU's coming. The first (smaller) gpu is essentially a die shrink of Fiji (so same core counts and such) with HBM 2 and higher clock speed (+ other uArch enhancements to improve overall efficiency). That would be a much smaller gpu though compared to Fiji thanks to the process shrink, hence it taking a lower position in the product stack (being the new RX 490 to tackle the 1080). That is the one potentially on the cards for launch towards the end of this year.

Then in 2017, they would release the second much larger Vega gpu which would be similar area to Fiji using the extra area to bump up the shader count and so on to circa 6000 sps. That would be the answer to 1080ti / Titan 10 or whatever nV call it 😛

Can't remember where I read it now- and it's probably just speculation although it would make sense. 4 GPU's looks like a full product range, so Vega complementing Polaris instead of replacing it does ring true.
 
I believe the approach to how AMD is structuring stuff is kind of off in here.

They will be releasing mid-segment cards now, then mid-up/high-low with Vega and I would believe the next gen will try to scale up from there (another GCN refresh). In this light, we might be talking about what could be the GCN successor in 2018 after Vega's successor.

Re-phrasing:
Polaris -> 480
Vega -> 490
Unkown1 -> Fury2
Unkown2 -> 590 (GCN successor)
Unkown3 -> Fury3 (GCN successor)

And then either use Vega for the 580 or scale up Polaris a bit. The only thing I haven't been able to find, is any sort of light into the "when GCN will be changed" subject. I do remember (could be wrong) that Mr Butterhands Koduri said they would look to replace GCN in the mid term.

Cheers!
 


We already know the next GPU after Vega is 'Navi' and you've missed some:

Imo it looks like this:

Polaris 11 -> 470
Polaris 10 -> 480
Vega 10 -> 490
Vega 11(?) -> Fury 2

That takes us to the end of 2017.

In 2018 we have a range of 'Navi' gpu's and a new line up.
 


That is exactly why I said it's off. AMD is gonna change the nomenclature for the branded GPUs, so the Polaris family is akin to the 7870/7850 and 280X/280 siblings. That is what I meant.

So, to complete the chart in that way:
Polaris: 470 & 480
Vega: 490 & 490X (?) (could be 490 & Fury 2)
Navi: Fury2 & Fury2 X (?) (could be 590 and Fury 3, but it would mess the names IMO, that is why I don't like it)
Unknown2 (to keep the same idea XD): 590 & 590X
Unknown3: Fury3 & Fury3 X

Now, there is a lot of wish-thinking here and I admit the probability to see a GCN successor in 2018 is low.

And I didn't know Navi was the successor for Vega. Thanks for that.

Cheers!
 


A couple of interesting slides re Vega:

imgres


imgres


That first maybe hints at 2 gpu's for Vega (given the area covered compared to polaris, maybe that's straw clutching though haha).

The second is telling- the Vega 10 gpu isn't much bigger than polaris 10- that to me suggests a more minor increase in die area so not the Fury replacement but more a Hawaii class card.

Edit: Ugh image links not working 😛
 


I really don't think AMD wants to pull another Fury. I believe AMD suffered/bled a lot with each Fury out there. The GPU was just too expensive to make and couldn't live to a lot of expectations due to GCN; not a bad card, but fell short in a lot of important ways. I am willing to believe they will refuse on making a GPU that pushes the max size allowed for the manufacturing process unless they have a real winner this time. At least, that is the vibe Mr Butterhands Koduri gave me. That is why I am adjusting the roadmap to my own "gut feeling".

EDIT2: Another thing. Are we assuming there will be 2 Vega cards or is that from AMD itself? If that is the case, then Navi will carry on with the Fury sticker; or it would point that way like I said 😛

Cheers!

PS: I fixed the images.
EDIT: Added spoiler tags.
 


butter fingers is a term for someone who drops things all the time. ever try holding butter? or holding things after holding butter? it is like soap.
 
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