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AMD Prepping 6nm Radeon RX 6000S Refresh For High-End Gaming Laptops

If the rumor mill is to be believed, AMD is currently working on a refresh of its Radeon RX... | 12. December 2021

If the rumor mill is to be believed, AMD is currently working on a refresh of its Radeon RX mobile graphics cards; this novel line-up will adhere to a wholly different nomenclature: it’ll be the RX 6000S series. This is basically an update of the existing RDNA 2-based series of mobile GPUs and a direct competitor to NVIDIA’s impending SUPER/Ti line-up.

The interesting thing here is that this will be a mobility-first kind of refresh. Desktop-class offerings might come further down the line but are less likely. There’s still a whole lot that we don’t know, and AMD is obviously keeping mum at the moment. What is for certain, however, is that a shift to TSMC’s stellar 6nm node is all but guaranteed.

This change will allow for a “density increase of 18% at the same power.” This, in addition to a series of process optimizations will yield higher clock speeds and performance-per-watt. Moreover, this refresh should only pertain to the higher end of AMD’s mobility spectrum. The RX 6500M and RX 6300M still haven’t been released, so they won’t be getting updated any time soon (if ever). The more expensive models, on the other hand, will shift to a more efficient node and will likely be found in the absolute best and most expensive gaming laptops on the market. (Navi 22 and Navi 23 GPUs)

AMD’s RX 6800M will, therefore, replaced by the RX 6800S. This fascinating refresh is expected to bring noticeable gains across the board and should be unveiled at next year’s CES 2022. While it might not take down NVIDIA’s own offerings, it’ll at least give “team red” a fighting chance and provide buyers with more “bang for their buck.”

A Highly Competitive Market

Interestingly enough, Intel will also employ TSMC’s 6nm node for its ARC Alchemist series of graphics cards. AMD’s decision to create a more powerful refresh isn’t any sort of benevolent urge but rather an indication that they feel pressured, primarily by NVIDIA but also by Intel, too. A new challenger has entered the fray and buyers will have a wider gamut of options to choose from than ever before.

The GPU market has never been this fierce, and we can expect all three companies to trade heavy blows over the coming months and years. NVIDIA is obviously favored, but AMD and Intel are trying their hardest to attract attention and should, by all means, stand a fighting chance.