Recently, a respected leaker known as Kepler_L2 has provided some insight into the changes that AMD is planning to introduce with its upcoming RDNA 4 GPU architecture. While there are indications that certain aspects of the ray tracing capabilities will receive significant enhancements, it appears that a complete overhaul of the ray tracing units is not on the horizon. The leak suggests that one of the key updates is the introduction of a ‘Double Intersect Ray Tracing Engine,’ which could imply either a doubling of the RT units in RDNA 4 compared to RDNA 3, or the ability to process twice as many ray-triangle intersection calculations. The leak, however, does not provide specific details on the changes that have been made, leaving room for speculation on the actual improvements.
The potential boost in ray tracing performance is crucial for AMD to remain competitive with Nvidia, whose current RTX 40-series GPUs are known for their superior ray tracing capabilities. While AMD’s RDNA 3 already delivers decent ray tracing performance, there is room for improvement to match or exceed the performance levels of Nvidia’s offerings. Enhancements in handling ray-triangle intersection calculations are essential, but optimizing BVH acceleration structures traversal is equally important. The leak suggests that AMD is working on optimizations in this area, but the absence of details makes it challenging to gauge the significance of these enhancements. Notably, there is no mention of AMD incorporating ASICs to accelerate BVH traversals, which could potentially impact performance gains.
One of the potential challenges highlighted in the leak is the reliance on compute shaders for BVH traversals in RDNA 2 and 3. While this approach works on high-end GPUs with ample Compute Units, it may pose limitations on lower-tier GPUs. The lack of dedicated traversal units could hinder performance scalability across different GPU tiers. The leak speculates that AMD may be addressing this issue in RDNA 4, but concrete details are scarce. In contrast, Nvidia’s ray tracing units feature dedicated ray-triangle intersection engines and BVH traversal circuits, giving them a performance advantage.
According to Kepler_L2, the upcoming ray tracing updates are likely to be utilized in the rumored PlayStation 5 Pro. Previous reports have hinted at potential enhancements in BVH traversal capabilities for the PS5 Pro’s GPU, possibly aligning with the ‘Double Intersect Ray Tracing Engine’ mentioned in the leak. While these updates could improve ray tracing performance, it is essential to manage expectations as performance gains may not directly correlate to doubling the speed of ray tracing in games. As the industry continues to embrace ray tracing as a standard feature, it is crucial for AMD to deliver competitive solutions to match Nvidia’s advancements in RTX technology.
As the race for superior ray tracing capabilities intensifies, AMD faces the challenge of closing the gap with Nvidia and Intel in the GPU market. While initial skepticism towards ray tracing may exist among some PC gamers, the technology is here to stay, and its integration will continue to evolve. By the time RDNA 4 graphics cards hit the market, competitors may have already introduced their next-gen GPUs, making it crucial for AMD to offer compelling ray tracing solutions to remain competitive. The leaked details provide a glimpse into AMD’s plans for enhancing ray tracing in RDNA 4, but the ultimate test lies in the actual performance and capabilities of the GPUs once they are released to the public.
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