The latest leaks from a trusted source have shed some light on the potential changes AMD is planning to introduce in its upcoming RDNA 4 GPU architecture. While some of the updates appear to enhance certain aspects of the ray tracing algorithms, there are doubts about a complete overhaul of the ray tracing units. The leaker, known as Kepler_L2 on X, has a track record of accurate predictions related to future GPUs. The leaked information hints at a ‘Double Intersect Ray Tracing Engine’ which could imply a doubling of RT units or the ability to process twice as many ray-triangle intersection calculations. This upgrade is crucial for AMD to compete with Nvidia’s RTX series, which currently outperform AMD’s GPUs in ray tracing capabilities.

Improving ray tracing performance goes beyond just increasing the number of ray-triangle intersection calculations. Traversing through BVH acceleration structures is also a time-consuming process that heavily relies on the GPU’s cache system. While AMD is making optimizations to address this issue, the lack of detailed information makes it challenging to assess their significance. Notably, there is no mention of AMD utilizing ASICs to accelerate BVH traversals, which could impact the overall efficiency of the ray tracing process.

In current RDNA architectures, BVH traversals are handled by compute shaders running on the GPU cores, which could limit their availability for other tasks such as ray shading. While high-end GPUs have ample Compute Units to handle these tasks efficiently, lower-tier GPUs may face performance challenges due to the absence of dedicated traversal units. It remains unclear whether AMD plans to add dedicated traversal units in RDNA 4, as this crucial detail is concealed in the leaked information. Nvidia’s ray tracing units, with independent engines for ray-triangle intersection and BVH traversal, offer superior performance in this regard.

The leaked information also suggests that the upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro may benefit from the majority of the RT updates expected in RDNA 4. Previous speculations about the PS5 Pro’s GPU supporting BVH8 traversal shaders indicate a potential improvement in ray tracing capabilities. However, doubling the number of intersect ray tracing engines may not directly translate to a twofold increase in performance, as other bottlenecks may exist in the rendering pipeline. While some PC gamers still view ray tracing as a gimmick, its integration into gaming experiences is inevitable, highlighting the importance of AMD’s advancements in this technology.

As AMD prepares to launch RDNA 4 graphics cards, it faces competition from Intel and Nvidia, who are also planning to introduce their next-generation GPUs. Nvidia’s fourth iteration of RTX technology is anticipated to further enhance ray tracing performance, posing a challenge for AMD to match up to its rival’s capabilities. The evolving landscape of ray tracing technology underscores the need for AMD to innovate and deliver significant improvements in its upcoming GPUs to remain competitive in the market.

The leaked details about AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture updates hint at promising advancements in ray tracing capabilities. While the specific changes and optimizations remain ambiguous, it is clear that AMD is striving to narrow the performance gap with Nvidia in terms of ray tracing. The future of ray tracing in AMD’s GPUs holds potential for exciting developments that could shape the gaming industry’s visual standards. As competition in the GPU market intensifies, it will be crucial for AMD to leverage innovation and technological advancements to position its GPUs as viable alternatives to Nvidia’s offerings.

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