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AMD recently unveiled its highly anticipated Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics cards, powered by the groundbreaking RDNA 2 architecture. This launch marks a significant leap in performance and power efficiency, introducing the Radeon RX 6800, RX 6800 XT, and the flagship RX 6900 XT, touted as AMD’s fastest gaming GPU ever.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series Launch

Building upon the foundation of the previous RDNA architecture, which powered cards like the AMD RX 5700XT, RDNA 2 delivers a remarkable 30% improvement in power efficiency per compute unit (CU). This impressive boost is achieved through architectural enhancements and the introduction of the 128MB Infinity Cache, boasting 2.4 times the bandwidth of traditional GDDR6 memory, resulting in a 54% overall power efficiency gain.

RDNA 2: Powering Next-Gen Gaming

RDNA 2 is not just for PCs. This architecture also powers the next-generation consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. The launch of the RX 6000 Series positions AMD to compete directly with NVIDIA’s recently released GeForce RTX 30 Series, featuring the Ampere architecture.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series Close-up

A key feature of RDNA 2 is its hardware-accelerated ray tracing support. Dedicated Ray Accelerators (RAs) within each CU function similarly to NVIDIA’s RT cores, delivering real-time ray traced visuals. Each CU on the RX 6000 Series is paired with an RA, enabling impressive ray tracing performance.

Performance and Optimization

While the ray tracing market is currently dominated by NVIDIA’s RTX GPUs, the performance of the RX 6000 Series on existing ray tracing titles remains to be seen. However, future game releases in 2021, optimized for next-gen consoles, are expected to also benefit the RX 6000 Series. Titles such as DIRT 5 have already showcased the potential of this new hardware.

AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series Performance

Initial benchmarks suggest the RX 6800 XT outperforms the RTX 3080, while the flagship RX 6900 XT rivals the RTX 3090, potentially at a lower price point.

Availability and Pricing

The Radeon RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT are scheduled to launch on November 18, 2020, with MSRPs of $579 and $649, respectively. The RX 6900 XT is expected to arrive on December 8, 2020, with an MSRP of $999. These cards will be available from global retailers and directly from AMD.com.

Partner manufacturers, including ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE, and XFX, are also expected to release their custom RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT models starting in November 2020.

Conclusion: A New Era for AMD Graphics

The AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series marks a significant step forward for AMD in the high-performance graphics card market. With the RDNA 2 architecture, AMD offers a competitive alternative to NVIDIA, promising impressive performance, enhanced ray tracing capabilities, and competitive pricing. This launch sets the stage for an exciting new era in PC gaming.