6nm is delivering impressive GPU clock speeds!
Published: 3rd January 2022 | Source: Videocardz | Author: Mark Campbell
AMD's 6nmm RX 6500 XT has a reported boost clock of over 2800 MHz
It looks like AMD's about to launch new entry-level gaming graphics cards, bringing RDNA 2 to the low-end GPU market with their Radeon RX 6500 XT and Radeon RX 6400 graphics cards.
Using TSMC's refined 6nm lithography techn0ology, AMD's newest RDNA 2 graphics cards may be their most efficient to date, and with the RX 6500 XT (according to Videocardz ) AMD us using TSMC's advanced lithography technology to deliver higher clock speeds than any other reference RX 6000 series graphics card. With a reported game clock of 2610 MHz and a boost clock of 2815 MHz, AMD's RX 6500 XT has clock speeds that are almost 200MHz higher than their RX 6700 XT.
Leaks spec sheets for AMD's RX 6500 XT have also listed support for 16 Gbps and 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory modules, suggesting that AMD has been tweaking the specifications of their Radeon RX 6500 XT ahead of its rumoured CES launch. Faster GDDR6 memory will help enable higher performance levels in bandwidth-limited workloads, with 18 Gbps memory giving AMD's RX 6500 XT a 12.5% GDDR6 bandwidth boost.
With 1024 shaders 32MB of Infinity Cache and clock speeds in excess of 2.5 GHz, AMD's RX 6500 XT is expected to outperform AMD's RX 5500 XT despite its use of fewer compute units (CUs) and its smaller memory bus. That's the power of AMD's RDNA 2 architecture and TSMC's 6nm lithography technology.
Below are the leaked specifications of AMD's RX 6500 XT and OEM-only RX 6400.
Radeon | Radeon RX 6500 XT (leaked) | Radeon RX 6600 (Reference) | Radeon RX 6600 XT (Reference) | Radeon RX 6700 XT (Reference) | |
| Compute Units | 12 | 16 | 28 | 32 | 40 |
| Shaders | 768 | 1024 | 1792 | 2048 | 2560 |
| Game Frequency | ? | 2610 MHz | 2044 MHz | 2369 MHz | 2424 MHz |
| Boost Frequency | ? | 2815 MHz | 2491 MHz | 2589 MHz | 2581 MHz |
| VRAM Size | 4GB | 4GB | 8GB | 8GB | 12GB |
| Memory Bus Size | 64-bit | 64-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit | 192-bit |
| VRAM Speed | 14 Gbps | 16 Gbps (or 18 Gbps?) | 16 Gbps | 16 Gbps | 16 Gbps |
| Infinity Cache | 32 MB | 32 MB | 64MB | 64MB | 96MB |
| Power Inputs | ? | ? | 8-pin | 8-pin | 8-pin & |
The RX 6500 XT is going to be a hard sell
AMD's RX 6500 XT is going to be a hard sell for AMD. It's 4 GB frame buffer is small by today's standards, and AMD's prior marketing efforts have already highlighted the benefits of graphics cards with larger frame buffers.
The good news is that a 4 GB frame buffer is too small for the most profitable cryptocurrency mining operations, and that factor alone should help keep the pricing of these graphics cards low. That said, this 4 GB frame buffer will be a problem for gamers, not just miners.
This graphics card will require many gamers to lower the texture settings of their games, or make other settings changes that will reduce the load on this GPU's VRAM. With tweaking, this GPU should be a solid performer, but it is hard to not see this GPU;s frame buffer as a huge compromise.
You can join the discussion on AMD's rumoured 6 nm RX 6500 XT and RX 6400 graphics cards on the OC3D Forums .