A new report from a well-known leaker in the PC industry, Kepler @Kepler_L2, says AMD will continue to use its aging RDNA 3.5 iGPUs until 2029. Team Red already has a better graphics IP in the form of RDNA 4 and will also have RDNA 5 long before 2029. Therefore, this decision of sticking with RDNA 3.5 may feel baffling until you understand the reason behind it.
This article briefly discusses the new report and explains the possible reason behind it.
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AMD’s new APU roadmap reportedly showcases plans to use RDNA 3.5 iGPUs till 2029
In response to a post from another leaker about AMD possibly using RDNA 3.5 for 2028 and beyond, popular tipster Kepler @Kepler_L2 on X wrote that AMD will have two different iGPU lineups for its future APUs. The one targeting low-end and budget laptops will continue to use the older and dated RDNA 3.5 architecture until 2029.
Kepler went on to clarify that only low-end and budget laptop APUs will have RDNA 3.5 iGPUs, but more premium and high-end chips will include RDNA 5 integrated graphics, thereby skipping RDNA 4 altogether.
It’s possible that RDNA 4 architecture was designed primarily for dedicated graphics cards, so an ultra-low-power variant of RDNA 4 for integrated graphics is simply out of question. It explains why AMD would reportedly be jumping from RDNA 3.5 to RDNA 5 directly for future iGPUs.
However, the question of AMD’s continuous use of RDNA 3.5 still remains. After all, it’s an old architecture that doesn’t even support FSR 4 or Redstone. If it is indeed used for low-end and budget APUs, then it is excusable. Most of these APUs/processors are used by office users and students, who don’t need the more updated RDNA 4/5.
After all, they are not gamers. Even if they decide to play some casually, the games should run fine on the RDNA 3.5 iGPUs, provided they are not graphically heavy. Therefore, it would have been a waste of resources for AMD to update it. If users really need a great iGPU, then AMD’s upcoming premium APUs with RDNA 5 integrated graphics should serve them very well.
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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan