AMD and Nvidia could launch new graphics cards in September just ahead of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, potentially giving PC gaming a shot in the arm before the next-generation consoles come out.
We already know that Nvidia has its Ampere next-gen graphics architecture slated for future GeForce graphics cards, and AMD has long been rumored to have a powerful Navi graphics card based on is RDNA architecture in the works. But Digitimes reported that next-generation GPUs will be coming in September with the graphic card giants expected to cut the prices of their current cards before the new ones launch.
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There was no mention of a clear source to Digitimes' report, but it often has solid insight into the machinations and production lines of chips and graphics cards. So take such claims with a pinch of skepticism, but also note that they track with other rumors and leaks that have new Nvidia and AMD GPUs scheduled for the second half of 2020.
No next-generation graphics cards were mentioned by name, or what we expect them to be called at least.
Green machine
We’d not be surprised to see Nvidia reveal a high-end Ampere GeForce graphics card or two come September time.
We’d expect such GPUs to be the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080, and potentially an RTX 3070 as well. That’s going by Nvidia’s previous naming conventions and how it approached the reveal of its current-generation Turing graphics cards.
So far, the Ampere graphics cards are looking to bring in a decent performance hike over their Turing predecessors, as well as offer improved ray-tracing performance. But we don’t expect them to have quite the same impact as the Turing graphics cards, which brought in real-time ray-tracing capabilities running on a single GPU — a first for desktop graphics cards.
Seeing red
As for AMD, rumors have been circulating for a while that it would reveal a high-end Navi Radeon graphics card to take on Nvidia’s premium GeForce RTX GPUs.
While the company has its powerful Radeon RX 5700 XT, Radeon 5700, and Radeon RX 5500 graphics cards, these can’t compete with the top-end GeForce RTX cards. So August or September have been slated for AMD to reveal its Nvidia-killing Radeon graphics card.
AMD will have to really tap into the power of its new RDNA architecture, which will also power the graphics chips at the heart of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, if it’s to take on the best GeForce RTX cards.
Nvidia’s cards have hardware support for ray-tracing built into them, while AMD’s Navi Radeon cards don’t. This means the next Navi GPU will really have to deliver something special in terms of graphics features or bring a mammoth amount of power to the table for a competitive price that blows away Nvidia’s graphics cards.
Enter the PC
If Digitimes’ sources and predictions are on the money, then we could see new GeForce and Radeon graphics cards arrive some two months ahead of the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s estimated November launch.
Now, these graphics cards are probably not going to be cheap, likely costing as much as the next-generation consoles. But for people weighing up whether they want to pay for the power and flexibility of a gaming PC against the short lifespans and closed systems of games consoles, the new graphics cards could prove enticing.
It worth noting that the new consoles will use hardware that’s derived from AMD processors and graphics chips, which should mean that an AMD-based PC could do rather well at running next-generation games designed for the new consoles. And while the PS5 is likely to have console-only exclusive games, Microsoft has committed to bringing its first-party games to Windows 10 PC, which helps make the PC a compelling alternative to the Xbox Series X.
Either way, the second half of 2020 should be a very interesting time for the gaming world, whether you’re a PC fan or desperately waiting for the next-generation games consoles.
