AMD Vega videos sketch out more GPU features

Though many were hoping for a livestream and some GPU dates, AMD’s Vega CES ‘reveal’ is more of an overview of aspects of the chip architecture. That means there aren’t any specific benchmarks (some DOOM footage provides a vague idea), but lots of tech talk about things like ‘High-Bandwidth Cache’.

From what I can gather from the released videos, Vega’s High-Bandwidth Cache removes the constraints of VRAM (video memory). Instead of having to store data for games in VRAM, it can be streamed in from “system memory, or even an SSD” on demand. The ‘High-Bandwidth Controller’ on the chip will (AMD state) keep the data flow from stalling, meaning the render players are seeing on-screen should not stutter.

That’s all fairly hypothetical stuff until people see the Vega cards in action, and the closest thing AMD has released so far is the aforementioned DOOM footage (below). It shows the game running on a Vega GPU at 4K, with Ultra settings, using the Vulkan API. Frame-rates go as high as the lower 70s, but they also dip to 37 or so during one of the glory kills.

Here’s the DOOM video, followed by a developer-aimed video (talking about High-Bandwidth Cache), and one that’s more gaming-focused (though this one is largely just making the usual promises about amazing performance). AMD’s Vega cards haven’t been given a specific release date, but are due in the first half of 2017.