[FZ] AMD Fiji 390x Model Now Packed With 8GB HBM Video RAM

[artivix]

AMD Fiji is definitely an exciting chip, and many AMD fans are on their toes, eager to see AMD’s first interposer 2.5D High Bandwidth Memory HBM chip.

After extensive research about what is possible with 2.5D interposer and 2.5D stacking, we concluded seems that a 4GB card would be the easiest thing to do. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) uses a super fast 1024-bit wider interface and 1Gb/s per pin data-rate. This results with 128GB/s bandwidth per memory chip.

...

In order to put 8GB on the card you need eight 8Gbit chips (1GB per chip) with 1024GB/s bandwidth. This does sound like a beast and this is what an ultra-high-end card from AMD should look like. The downside is that the yield of 8GB cards is probably lower than with 4GB of cards and that they are more expensive to produce. The benefits are clear, as you get more bandwidth for super high settings at 4K and UHD (3840x2160), or 5K and beyond.

The decision to go for an 8GB Fiji rather than the planned 4GB version was in part attributed by Nvidia’s Titan X 12GB card announcement. This is just the first part of the story. One of the main reason is that the card is expected to perform so well in 4K gaming, that the 4GB frame buffer could impose a serious limitation.

Our sources are confident that the card is coming this summer, or early summer to be precise, but we don’t have a better date than that. It could be as early as Computex that starts in early June...

The best thing that can happen is that AMD gives consumers multiple choices to choose what memory size configuration they want. So AMD could have models of Fiji XT with 4GB and another model Fiji XT+ with 8GB for a higher price.

End result is that with Fiji 4GB and 8GB options, AMD will really have a "King of the Hill" graphics cards that have performance across a range of resolutions and for a price that dominates the market through 2015 and well into 2016.

http://fudzilla.com/news/graphics/37258-fiji-radeon-390x-comes-with-8gb

 

[exar333]

The best thing that can happen is that AMD gives consumers multiple choices to choose what memory size configuration they want. So AMD could have models of Fiji XT with 4GB and another model Fiji XT+ with 8GB for a higher price.

End result is that with Fiji 4GB and 8GB options, AMD will really have a "King of the Hill" graphics cards that have performance across a range of resolutions and for a price that dominates the market through 2015 and well into 2016.

http://fudzilla.com/news/graphics/37258-fiji-radeon-390x-comes-with-8gb

Woohoo!!

 

[frozentundra123456]

So has AMD officially announced that it will have HBM? The article strongly implies it, and says AMD fans are "eager to see it" (of course), but I dont see official confirmation anywhere.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Hynix would need a new unreleased HBM product with twice the density before this could happen.

Seems like nothing more than a clickbait article made around the fact that Titan X got 12GB, hence AMD then must need more now.

 

[gradoman]

More rumors, can't wait for the official word so we can either be in awe or disappointed, lol.

 

[FatherMurphy]

I agree with Shintai on this one. Like many Fudzilla articles, the "news" is thinly veiled speculation and clickbait. "After extensive research...." Right.

 

[therealnickdanger]

"However, our sources who like to remain unnamed (for decades) are now telling Fudzilla that..."

They claim to have a historically reliable source saying that AMD is making an 8GB version. In my opinion, this is significantly more newsworthy than anything else we've seen to date - compared against the endless guesstimation, speculation, alleged purchase orders, etc.

Also, it makes sense. If you're going to make a high performance 4K-class GPU, you need more than 4GB VRAM.

 

[Phynaz]

I still think quoting Fudzilla should be an automatic one day ban

 

[flash-gordon]

If this is true we're talking 1TB/s bandwidth!!

 

[raghu78]

Hynix would need a new unreleased HBM product with twice the density before this could happen.

Seems like nothing more than a clickbait article made around the fact that Titan X got 12GB, hence AMD then must need more now.

AMD know better than you how to develop a flagship GPU product with > 4GB HBM. AMD have been pushing VRAM on their flagships for the past 3 generations. AMD also designed both the consoles with 8 GB RAM. They would have foreseen the trend towards higher VRAM requirement on PC graphics cards even before Nvidia. So its naive to think AMD do not have a solution to increase VRAM capacity on their next gen flagship GPU. AMD co-developed HBM with Hynix and proposed it to JEDEC who adopted it as a standard JESD235 in Oct 2013. AMD must have been well aware of the limitations of 1st gen HBM chips.

btw you do not need a higher density HBM chip. All you need to do is double the number of HBM stacks. Each 1st gen HBM stack with 4 HBM chips (4 Hi) has a capacity of 1GB. so for 8GB you need 8 stacks instead of 4. Thats not impossible. Maybe you have not heard the concept of memory interleaving. It has been used for many years on CPUs. How do you think a dual channel 128 bit CPU memory controller is connected to 4 memory slots. Each 64 bit memory controller is connected to 2 memory slots (or banks) in an interleaved fashion. AMD can similarly connect 8 HBM stacks to 4 x 1024 bit HBM controllers.

I am not bothered about this particular article but to presume that AMD cannot equip their flagship gpu with > 4GB HBM is ridiculous.

 

[Headfoot]

I think its more likely they interleaved more chips than that Hynix sped up its higher density HBM timeline

Edit: raghu78 beat me to it by a smidge!

I can't imagine the extra memory comes cheap though...

 

[ShintaiDK]

If this is true we're talking 1TB/s bandwidth!!

That would require a 8192bit memory controller.

 

[ShintaiDK]

btw you do not need a higher density HBM chip. All you need to do is double the number of HBM stacks. Each 1st gen HBM stack with 4 HBM chips (4 Hi) has a capacity of 1GB. so for 8GB you need 8 stacks instead of 4. Thats not impossible. Maybe you have not heard the concept of memory interleaving. It has been used for many years on CPUs. How do you think a dual channel 128 bit CPU memory controller is connected to 4 memory slots. Each 64 bit memory controller is connected to 2 memory slots (or banks) in an interleaved fashion. AMD can similarly connect 8 HBM stacks to 4 x 1024 bit HBM controllers.

So you place what, HBM stacks on each side of the chip package? GDDR/DDR methods isnt going to work the same way.

HBM already does it in the stack. So you need more stacks(wider memory controller) or a bigger stack.

 

[raghu78]

So you place what, HBM stacks on each side of the chip package? GDDR/DDR methods isnt going to work the same way.

You realize the silicon interposer has multiple metal layers for connecting other chips. So it would not be impossible to have a design where 4 HBM chips are on each side of the GPU. the 4 chips on each side are laid out in vertical rows of 2 chips each such that any 2 chips have either the same X or Y axis spatial positioning. The first 2 chips nearer to the GPU are connected in a different metal layer than the next two which are farther from the GPU die. But the chips on same vertical alignment (Y axis) are connected to the same 1024 bit memory controller in an interleaved fashion.

 

[DiogoDX]

Fuad weak rumors as always. Even Videocharz have more credibility.

 

[Creig]

Much rumors, many speculations in of 390X.

It's like we've hit the perfect storm for rumor milling. On one side we have AMD with possibly an entirely new lineup, AIO water cooling and HBM memory and on the other side we have Nvidia with Titan X, 12GB of VRAM and a possible $1,000 to $1,350 pricetag.

I'll be glad when both cards are finally released and actual reviews put this silly season to rest.

 

[DarkKnightDude]

Even if they were able to somehow pull it off, the price will be ridiculous.

 

[Despoiler]

Even if they were able to somehow pull it off, the price will be ridiculous.

Thanks to Nvdia's historically ridiculous Titan pricing I think AMD has more than enough room to recoup costs with healthy margins.

 

[Kenmitch]

Interesting....On another note isn't FUD short for fudzilla?

 

[exar333]

Even if they were able to somehow pull it off, the price will be ridiculous.

Define 'ridiculous'.

More than $999? More than $600? More than $1300?

If Fiji can be 'competitive' with Titan X, it will give us enthusiasts a choice and hopefully keep the high-end innovating.

 

[DownTheSky]

I'm thinking $799 for the 8gb vers and $649 for the 4gb one.

 

[Daedalus685]

Interesting....On another note isn't FUD short for fudzilla?

Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD)

I'm not sure why Fuad called his site that, likely supposed to be cheeky.

 

[Gikaseixas]

I'm thinking $799 for the 8gb vers and $649 for the 4gb one.

If performance is that good yes, $799 for the fastest sounds about right. Nvidia will most likely charge $999 for Titan.

 

[destrekor]

I suspect 8GB for the 390X has been the plan all along, however, I don't see evidence that it is happening at launch of the card nor is it in response to Nvidia's 6GB/12GB GM200.

The current design for the memory interface, based on the leaks, calls for 4x 4Hi stacks, with each stack having 1GB. Each stack consists of 4x2Gb dies. Last I checked, they haven't begun shipping HBM with higher density stacks, be they taller stacks or increased RAM on each individual die.
If the design calls for 4 stacks, I doubt it is all that simple to produce an 8 stack design.

GPUs have always increased storage (or decreased it) based on using more or less dense memory packages on the card, but always the same number of individual packages. The original leak of the first GM200 card had 12 packages, and the part number showed they were 512MB packages, which would make a 6GB card. Yet the Titan has 12GB, and it too clearly has 12 packages. I fully expect that trend to continue for HBM, even if it is a new memory standard, the memory controller configuration is still essentially the same.

 

[exar333]

If performance is that good yes, $799 for the fastest sounds about right. Nvidia will most likely charge $999 for Titan.

If this is the case, I like the 390's chances here, assuming similar performance. I would take 8GB + HBM > 12GB. Plus better scaling with CF too.