Summary
- AMD might release a budget GPU with RDNA 3.5 graphics soon.
- The GFX 11.5.3 firmware files suggest a potential new GPU/APU under the RDNA 3.5 architecture.
- This release timing is unusual, possibly hinting at a new APU or budget graphics card.
We like budget GPUs, and that seems to be one of the things AMD is focusing on these days. Now, evidence has surfaced that yet another AMD budget GPU might be coming, and this one might be a bit on the older side.
A recent batch of AMD GPU firmware files has been merged into the main Linux firmware repository, signaling the imminent arrival of new hardware featuring the company’s RDNA 3.5 integrated graphics. This is after the first batch of RDNA 4 GPUs was already released, mind you, so it’s not the latest and greatest from AMD anymore. The newly upstreamed firmware enables several new AMD GPU IP blocks, including GFX/GC (Graphics and Compute) 11.5.3, PSP (Platform Security Processor) 14.0.5, SDMA (System Direct Memory Access) 6.1.3, and DCN (Display Core Next) 3.6. While AMD’s block-by-block enablement strategy makes it challenging to pinpoint the exact products these firmware files correspond to, the GFX 11.5.3 version points towards another revision of the RDNA 3.5 architecture.
This is particularly noteworthy for its timing. Typically, AMD releases new firmware binaries closer to, or even after, a product’s launch. So this strongly suggests that AMD might be about to release a product with RDNA 3.5 graphics—maybe a budget graphics card or an APU with integrated graphics. The RDNA 3.5 architecture is an incremental update to RDNA 3, and we’ve seen it on mobile GPUs and APUs so far, for the most part. The initial GFX 11.5.0 IP is found in the recently announced AMD Ryzen AI 300 series, codenamed “Strix Point.” Following that, GFX 11.5.1 is designated for the more powerful “Strix Halo” APUs, and GFX 11.5.2 is linked to “Krakan Point,” another Zen 5-based mobile processor.
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The emergence of GFX 11.5.3 could perhaps be intended for “Gorgon Point,” a rumored successor or refresh to the Strix Point line. “Gorgon Point” is anticipated to be the foundation for the upcoming Ryzen 9000G series of desktop APUs, which would have Zen 5 cores in addition to RDNA 3.5 graphics.
Still, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s notable that AMD isn’t using RDNA 4 other than on desktop GPUs until now, but it’s also not weird to see AMD use slightly older architectures on occasion, especially when it comes to lower-end products. We sadly don’t have any other details other than what we just reported on, so we’ll just have to patiently wait it out. If you were waiting for RDNA 4 APUs, though, it looks like you might have to hold your breath, at least for the time being.
Source: Phoronix
