AMD is expected to use Samsung's 4nm process for its low-end Radeon APUs and GPUs

The above rumor comes from tech blogger @Tech_Reve, citing "reliable sources", predicting that AMD will rely more on Samsung foundries in the future. This is most likely related to the fact that TSMC's factories are now completely overloaded due to extremely high demand from other segments, especially AI processors.

No specific product information has been mentioned at this time, but it is stated that Samsung's 4nm process will be used for low-end AMD APUs. 'Team Red' now plans to launch a range of new APU options this year and next, such as the Strix Point (Monolithic and Chiplet) product line, Kracken Point and Fire Range processors for the passionate customer segment. These 4nm chips can be made for compact devices, which are a key growth driver in the global gaming market, and continue to see notable innovations over time. With the entry of Intel Core Ultra chips into this segment, we can expect AMD to make the market even more competitive with upcoming APU lines in the near future.

Previously, it was also suggested that the Samsung 4nm process will be used by AMD for the Sonoma Valley APUs, which are specifically designed for the next generation Steam Deck variant.

Additionally, there have also been discussions about the next generation Radeon GPU lines also taking advantage of Samsung's 4nm node. For now, AMD has only confirmed that the company's optimized RDNA 3+ architecture is coming to the Strix Point APU lines. It's possible we'll see certain discrete GPU options use Samsung's same 4nm RDNA 3+ architecture, while the RDNA 4 series will use a 4nm TSMC process node. The AMD RDNA 4 series itself is targeting the entry-level and low-end segments, so according to rumors, we are unlikely to see any high-end GPU products in the upcoming lineup.

Tech_Reve also previously mentioned that AMD initially planned to produce an APU for the Sony PS5 Pro but that plan was canceled. Currently on the market, the most popular product line developed on Samsung's manufacturing process for gaming purposes is NVIDIA's Ampere "GeForce RTX 30" series, built on the 8nm node and separate from the Ampere HPC series based on TSMC's 7nm node.

Marvin Fry

Update 26 March 2024