AMD's RDNA 4: Elevating ray tracing performance for next-gen gaming

AMD’s ray tracing performance is poised for a significant upgrade with the introduction of their RDNA 4 graphics cards. Twitter user @Kepler_L2 has disclosed a list of ray tracing enhancements that are expected to be featured in AMD’s next-generation GPUs. These improvements are also anticipated for the PlayStation 5 Pro, making them crucial for both PC and console gaming markets.

Below is a list of the reported changes with RDNA 4 and how they might impact the ray tracing performance of future AMD GPUs. Note that detailed descriptions of these changes were not included in the leak, so this analysis is speculative.

The enhanced ray tracing capabilities of RDNA 4 will reportedly include:

• Double Ray Tracing Intersect Engine
• RT Instance Node Transform
• 64B RT Node
• Ray Tracing Tri-Pair Optimization
• BVH Footprint Improvement
• RT support for OBB and Instance Node Intersection

These advancements aim to narrow the gap between AMD and NVIDIA in terms of ray tracing performance. While AMD introduced ray tracing with its RDNA 2 GPUs in 2020, NVIDIA had already set the benchmark with its Turing GPUs in 2018. Despite AMD’s progress, NVIDIA’s current Ada GPUs still surpass AMD’s RDNA 3 GPUs.

The PlayStation 5 Pro is expected to incorporate these ray tracing enhancements, offering a significant performance boost over the standard PS5. This is critical as Sony and Microsoft continue their fierce competition in the console market. The PS5 Pro will feature custom RDNA GPU elements, including BVH8 traversal, an upgrade from the BVH4 traversal supported by current RDNA GPUs.

According to reports, AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs are projected to debut in early 2025. The flagship Navi 48 GPU might be unveiled at CES 2025, with the Navi 44 GPU following in Q2 2025. This timeline positions AMD to compete robustly with NVIDIA’s next-gen GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs, which are also expected to be released around the same period. Until then, while waiting for the next big thing for your gaming machine, you can also check out on our comparator to secure the finest deal on your next favourite game.