The next generation of desktop AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs with 3D V-Cache are poised to hit the market in February. The inclusion of a 3D V-Cache drastically increases CPU performance in certain workloads, including gaming, as demonstrated by the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Interestingly enough, we may see 3D stacked cache make its way into future AMD Radeon desktop GPUs if a recent one discovery from Tom Wassick, a semiconductor packaging engineer, is any indication.
Tom used infrared (IR) imaging to examine the Navi 31 GPU inside an RX 7900 XT. The imaging revealed “spots” that he suggests “look remarkably like the keep out zones on X3D” prompting speculation that AMD might package 3D V-Cache on future Radeon boards.
Replying to the engineer’s tweet, SkyJuice from Angstronomics remarked that all Memory Cache Dies (MCD) have sites for 3D V-Cache printed on the board. SkyJuice has previously mentioned that AMD was preparing a Navi 31 SKU with a 3D stacked MCD that would have taken the total Infinity Cache on board to 192 MB. But we are yet to see such an RDNA 3 SKU.
In short, future revisions of RDNA 3 GPUs could feature 3D V-Cache provided AMD hasn’t canceled the RDNA 3+ refresh altogether as recent rumors claim.
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What else can you see? A linear array of “spots” that look remarkably like the keep out zones on X3D, and that are on the same 17-18 um pitch. Could they be considering stacked MCD functionality (or maybe they’re something else)?
— Tom Wassick (@wassickt) January 27, 2023
I am Fawad, a fellow tech nerd. As a tech junkie, my relationship with technology goes back to my childhood years. Getting my first Intel Pentium 4 PC was the start of the journey that would eventually bring me to Notebookcheck. Finally, I have been writing for tech media since 2018. From small no-name projects to industry leaders, I have worked with a number of tech publications.
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