AMD Goes Fishing for Navi 24, Catches a 'Beige Goby'

[harlan4096]

From stars to fishes

AMD has begun to enable support of its smallest GPU in the RDNA2 family (aka Navi 20-series) in Linux, which revealed its internal codename, the Beige Goby, reports Phoronix. Not the most exciting of fish names, but let's continue.

The enablement means that the entry-level RDNA2 graphics processor is on track to be released in the coming months and find its home inside inexpensive desktops and notebooks. At this point it's not completely clear which model numbers will be adopted by the Beige Goby, and its codename is just as mysterious as its future.

AMD's RDNA-based family of GPUs is codenamed Navi after the informal name of the Gamma Cassiopeiae star that's located roughly 550 light-years away from Earth. For internal codenames for its Navi 20-series GPUs, AMD decided not to go that far and named them after… fishes. Or at least, AMD's own driver team refers to the company's Navi 20-series GPUs using rather odd fish codenames, as we can see from their Linux driver enablement.

The Radeon RX 6800/6900 (Navi 21) was called Sienna Cichlid. There are also Navy Flounder (Navi 22), Dimgrey Cavefish (presumably Navi 23, though it's not out yet), and now Beige Goby (which should be Navi 24).

With four different GPUs, AMD's RDNA2 / Navi 20-series family of GPUs will cover a wider spread than any other Radeon lineup in recent years. Vega for example only targeted the high-end market, while Polaris went after budget and maisntream. Last generation's Navi 10-series likewise had budget to mainstream offerings, while Navi 20 covers the entire gamut from entry-level PCs all the way to high-end gaming desktops.

AMD's Radeon RX 6000-Series Family of GPUs

---

Navi 21 Sienna Cichlid Radeon RX 6800/6900
Navi 22 Navy Flounder Radeon RX 6600/6700 (?)
Navi 23 Dimgrey Cavefish Radeon RX 6500/6600 (?)
Navi 24 Beige Goby Radeon RX 6400 (?)

Based on various leaks, it looks like AMD's entry-level Navi 24 GPU for cheap PCs is known internally as Beige Goby. Since this is a low-end graphics processor, it will likely power AMD's Radeon RX 6400-series graphics products (something that AMD yet has to confirm, of course). We can speculate that the new GPU is scheduled to be launched by the back-to-school (BTS) season in a bid to address users that prefer discrete GPUs, though we have no idea about actual launch dates.

Keeping in mind that AMD continues to use the rather outdated GCN5-based architecture (Vega) for its integrated GPUs, many OEMs might prefer to use entry-level Radeon RX 6000-series discrete graphics boards to differentiate themselves from their rivals. To that end, making Radeon RX 6400-series products available as soon as possible is in AMD's best interests.
...

Continue Reading