What you need to know
- AMD previewed its next-generation graphics chips, based on its "Navi" architecture at Computex 2019.
- Called the Radeon RX5000 series, the graphics card lineup is named for AMD's 50th anniversary.
- The Radeon RX5000 series includes a ton of performance improvements over the previous Vega generation and even beat out NVIDIA's RTX 2070 in a head-to-head benchmark shown on stage.
- The Radeon RX5000 series is set to launch in July, but pricing remains a mystery for now.
Hitting the stage at Computex 2019, AMD let out some of the first official details about its best graphics cards for the next generation, based on its new Navi architecture. The new graphics cards will fall under the Radeon RX5000 series, which is named for AMD's fiftieth anniversary. And along with the new architecture comes plenty of enhancements when compared to the last-generation Vega architecture.
The Radeon RX5000 series will be based on a 7nm chip powered by a gaming engine dubbed Radeon DNA (RDNA). The engine is tweaked specifically for graphics performance and efficiency – something which AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su touched on on stage. When compared to Vega, the Navi architecture with RDNA features, on average, 1.25 times the performance per clock and 1.5 times higher performance per watt.
Radeon RX5000 series GPUs will also be the first gaming graphics cards to ship with PCIe Gen 4 enabled.
In a head-to-head benchmark against NVIDIA's RTX 2070 using the game Strange Brigade, AMD showed a Radeon RX5000 series card hitting around 10 percent better performance than NVIDIA's card. It's still early days for Navi, and real-world performance will tell the full story of how AMD stacks up to NVIDIA, but that's a solid increase if AMD can hit the right price point.
The Radeon RX5000 series is expected to launch in July, but pricing remains a mystery for now.
A neat package for AMD fans
This special Ryzen chip celebrates AMD's 50th anniversary, and if you've been thinking of getting a 2700X there are some nice keepsakes included with this version.
Cheap PC accessories we love
Take a gander at these awesome PC accessories, all of which will enhance your Windows experience.
Anker 4 port USB 3.0 hub ($10 at Amazon)
Whether on a desktop or laptop PC, you always need more ports to connect things to. This hub gives you an additional four USB 3.0 Type A ports.
Ikea Fixa Cable Management System ($11 at Amazon)
This IKEA cable management kit is your ticket to a clean setup. It's simple and functional.
NZXT Puck ($20 at Amazon)
This clever little accessory has powerful magnets on the rear to make it stick to any of the metal panels on your PC case or anything else. It's great for hanging accessories like headsets.
