AMD’s upcoming RDNA 3 graphics cards might be chiplet based like Zen, implying unprecedented performance gains

According to tipster @KOMACHI_ENSAKA, RDNA 3 (the architecture likely to power AMD’s purported third-generation Navi graphics cards) will feature GCDs (graphics complex dies) and MCDs (memory complex dies) as key functional units. The nomenclature strongly suggest that Navi 31 and the RDNA 3 architecture itself, is chiplet-based, unlike existing monolithic GPU architectures. 

If AMD is able to deliver a viable chiplet-based solution, addressing latency issues as they did with Zen on the CPU side of things, RDNA 3 might deliver truly unprecedented levels of performance. GPU cost increases exponentially with die size, while yields take a hit. A chiplet-based GPU with small individual components could stack efficiently, delivering 2-3 times the performance of top Navi parts out right now, without driving prices through the roof. 

It’s important to note here, though, that Intel and NVIDIA are also working on chiplet GPU designs. Intel’s Xe HP high performance parts are purportedly built around Foveros 3D Stacking. Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s Hopper parts - the successors to Ampere - will also be built using MCMs (multi-chip modules). 

With all three major GPU players working on multi-chip architectures, we expect to see a major uplift in GPU performance in the next couple years