AMD RX 6000 Series/Big Navi Keynote Launch Discussion & FAQ (updated)

JS_MC

Updated: 11/17/2020 11:19am ET (FAQ added)

Today, AMD fully announced their upcoming RX 6000 series GPUs and they look amazing!  Advancements from RDNA2 make the upgrade to their new GPUs look insanely good!

In case you missed it, you can watch AMD's keynote here:

Here's what we know from today's keynote!

It's all about Big Navi! While there was some discussion of the new Ryzen 5000 CPUs, the RDNA 2 architecture and it's improvements really took center stage here.

RDNA 2 boasts 30% more energy-efficient and 30% frequency increase. This means that for the 6800 XT, an increase of 54% is achieved over the last generation RNDA and the 6900 XT achieves a 65% increase.

Scott Herkelman announced several new features for the new Radeon series. One of the said features for the RX 6000 series is called Rage Mode. Rage Mode - Allows one-click overclocking for your 6000 series card.

Smart Access Memory

Allows you to pair CPU and GPU to gain additional performance. AMD claims that you can see up to a 13% performance increase when enabling this feature with your paired Ryzen 5000 series processors and the RX 6000 series graphics cards.

Reduced latency reducing improvements

Several improvements were listed in regards to latency. AMD announced up to 37% lower latency in Fortnite at 4K.

He also mentioned that they are still working on a Super-resolution feature to give gamers an option for improved performance while using ray tracing. 

I'm thoroughly impressed by the performance metrics that Lisa Su shared with us regarding the 6900 XT and I can't wait for the 3rd party benchmarks to be released regarding the upcoming release of the RX 6000 series!

Specifications

RX 6900 XT - Now benchmarked!

• 80 Compute Units
• Game Clock 2015 MHz
  
• Boost Clock 2250 MHz
• 16GB GDDR6
• 256-bit
  
• 16Gbps
  
• 300w TBP
  
• Available December 8th
  

RX 6800 XT

• 72 Compute Units
• Game Clock 2015 MHz
  
• Boost Clock 2250 MHz
• 16GB GDDR6
• 256-bit Infinity Cache
  
• 16Gbps
  
• 300w TBP
  
• Available November 18th
  

RX 6800

• 60 Compute Units
• Game Clock 1815 MHz
  
• Boost Clock 2105 MHz
• 16GB GDDR6
• 256-bit Infinity Cache
• 16Gbps
  
• 250w TBP
  
• Available November 18th

Did today's event change any of the parts in your upcoming build? Will you be upgrading to the new RX 6000 series? Let us know!

FAQ

Q) Will you have the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series on launch?
A) Yes, we will have the new RX 6000 series cards from our AIB partners, including Sapphire and MSI.

Q) How many will you have in stock?
A) Quantities will be extremely limited at launch, however, we're expecting additional shipments of GPUs later on launch day and subsequent days. Please note that quantities and shipments vary by store.

Q) How much will the 6000 Series video cards cost?

A) Up-to-date pricing for our cards will be posted on the website upon launch. You can see the full assortment of AMD cards we carry, with up to date inventory and pricing in the AMD graphics cards category.

Q) Will I be able to reserve or buy them online?
A) We will not be offering reservations for in-store pick-up, or shipping for these video cards due to the high demand. 

Q) Can I buy more than one? 

A) We will be limiting purchases at this time to one per household. With limited availability, we want all of our customers to have a chance to be a part of this new product release.

McFly

Looks good. So does the RTX 3000 series. At this point it's an availability game. I'm a spectator at a race where I don't care who wins... but the race is taking FOREVER. All this hype with no availability is soul-crushing.

JS_MC

I think we're in a great place right now. From my perspective competition is always good for the customer. I'm hopeful at this point, and can't wait to see future benchmarks!

TSTonyV

Hope AMD doesn't have early driver issues like they did with the 5700/XT. I was an early adopter on the 5700XT but the driver issues pushed me back to NVIDIA and I ended up with a 2080 Super. If AMD has the availability and driver stability we might finally be back in an age where there's real competition in the GPU market. 

DreadPirateRoberts

I've heard that AMD are making it a prime focus because of the feedback from the last generation. It seems like AMD heard the complaints. Hopefully, they'll do it right this time. 

AlexS

If AMD turns the game around with their driver support, it'll still be a vast improvement as a whole.  I'm excited to see how this turns out.  

Krogroth

Will Microcenter have the RX 6800 XT in store on November 18th?

JS_MC

Yes, we're expecting to have the 6800 XT on the morning of release! 

Nick_C8

Do you also intend to have the normal 6800 in stock in stores on the morning of Nov 18th?

CHRONOBODI

i hail from Long Island.... im hoping the stock level of 6800XT will be decent on morning. then again, after the RTX 3000 series crapshow, i might have to consider camping the Westbury MC.   

not in the mood to compete with lots of bots and spamming f5. Braving the cold in a nice warm jacket on a chair seems like a comfier idea.

6800XT still going to make my titan x pascal look like an old gtx 1070 by comparison.

JS_MC

@Nick_C8 Yes, we expect to have them. However, the stock may be limited, so keep an eye out. I haven't heard anything about stock levels, personally but with recent launches for other products stock on release has been limited. So, again, I'd recommend keeping an eye out until we get closer to the date of release. Hopefully we'll know more then. If I learn anything, I'll be sure to share it.

CHRONOBODI

are you expecting more 6800xts than 6800? 

LandShark said:

@Nick_C8 Yes, we expect to have them. However, the stock may be limited, so keep an eye out. I haven't heard anything about stock levels, personally but with recent launches for other products stock on release has been limited. So, again, I'd recommend keeping an eye out until we get closer to the date of release. Hopefully we'll know more then. If I learn anything, I'll be sure to share it.

JS_MC

@CHRONOBODI Unfortunately, I'm not sure of the stock amount at this point. I've heard that we'll have them on release, but nothing about the amount.

CHRONOBODI

to be fair its 2 weeks from launch, so, we all are waiting to see til then. thank you.

JS_MC

We're all waiting to see! It's an exciting time to be a gamer 😊

BIGDADDY

Is the stock going  to be better the the 3000 series

TSTonyV

BIGDADDY said:

Is the stock going  to be better the the 3000 series

We just don't know yet. I HOPE it is, but until those cards are actually on the shelves we don't really know. 

Catboylilly

How early will you be able to wait in line for the launch? 

BIGDADDY

how early would the line start

TSTonyV

Catboylilly said:

How early will you be able to wait in line for the launch? 

BIGDADDY said:

how early would the line start

So this is going to depend on your store. Some stores for the RTX 3000 series launch we saw people showing up the evening before and camping overnight. Some you may not see that happen.

I don't know if people will do the same for the new AMD GPUs, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. 

bbnn

@TSTonyV

will we get updates from you guys on availability like you guys did for Ampere? really appreciated that

Catboylilly

Is there a good chance you will be getting a shipment of Rtx 3000 cards aswell? 

CHRONOBODI

i mean, rtx 3000 stock is pretty bad if you still can't get one normally 2 months after the launch.
which is why im hoping the "easier" manufacturing of RX 6000 on tsmc 7nm, (known to yield pretty good) as well as those cards being 256-bit bus as well, leads to lower memory modules per gpu needed. Also, gddr6 is plentiful to get vs gddr6x by comparison.

u can tell by 3070 having somewhat more stock than 3080 or 3090 ever did, by 256-bit bus cards and gddr6 being more manufacturable, if that's a word.

Millix

Will the cards be available to reserve online or will they have in-store exclusivity? 

JS_MC

@bbnn We'll do our best to with what information we have. Hopefully, the community will keep us up to date with in-store visits and updates!

@Millix They will be in-store only. If you're wanting one on release day, I'd guess that you'll have to arrive pretty early before launch. 😊 Hopefully, things are as @CHRONOBODI and we'll have quite a lot of inventory available. I havn't heard anything about stock levels yet though. 

Goreopsy

Hi! I don't know whether, even if the staff knows the answer to the following question, it is allowed to answer, but I'll try. Is there in any way that you guys would preemptively, before the launch day or on the day before opening hours, know if the stock that you'll receive will be in the quantity of several dozens, beyond a hundred, or even several hundreds? I'm asking because I think I'll be waiting before the store few hours before the opening hour and would like to ensure that, when I will count how many people are in the line before me, I'll know whether there's any point in me waiting in the line. This is the first time ever I'm considering waiting in line for an item before store hours (due to the pandemic and manufacturing shortages, y'know), so I'd like to know better what to expect. Pardon my lengthy explanation.

Millix

Will there be a limit to how many you can buy at once? 

acslater86

If I go wait in line at the door before opening, can we reserve a 6000 series card based on availability, or do we have to do a mad dash to the back to grab one?  

JS_MC

Goreopsy said:

Hi! I don't know whether, even if the staff knows the answer to the following question, it is allowed to answer, but I'll try. Is there in any way that you guys would preemptively, before the launch day or on the day before opening hours, know if the stock that you'll receive will be in the quantity of several dozens, beyond a hundred, or even several hundreds? I'm asking because I think I'll be waiting before the store few hours before the opening hour and would like to ensure that, when I will count how many people are in the line before me, I'll know whether there's any point in me waiting in the line. This is the first time ever I'm considering waiting in line for an item before store hours (due to the pandemic and manufacturing shortages, y'know), so I'd like to know better what to expect. Pardon my lengthy explanation.

Right now, we don't know what to expect for quantity. If I find out and I'm able to share, I'll let you know!

Millix said:

Will there be a limit to how many you can buy at once? 

There is a limit of one per customer.

acslater86 said:

If I go wait in line at the door before opening, can we reserve a 6000 series card based on availability, or do we have to do a mad dash to the back to grab one? 

The 6000 series will not be available for reservation upon release. I'd assume that it will be done in a similar fashion to our other recent releases. With vouchers that will be handed out to those in line as the store opens. I'm not 100% certain on this, as I know we are always looking for ways to improve our processes. I know it will not be a mad dash. 😊

Goreopsy

LandShark said:

Goreopsy said:

Hi! I don't know whether, even if the staff knows the answer to the following question, it is allowed to answer, but I'll try. Is there in any way that you guys would preemptively, before the launch day or on the day before opening hours, know if the stock that you'll receive will be in the quantity of several dozens, beyond a hundred, or even several hundreds? I'm asking because I think I'll be waiting before the store few hours before the opening hour and would like to ensure that, when I will count how many people are in the line before me, I'll know whether there's any point in me waiting in the line. This is the first time ever I'm considering waiting in line for an item before store hours (due to the pandemic and manufacturing shortages, y'know), so I'd like to know better what to expect. Pardon my lengthy explanation.

Right now, we don't know what to expect for quantity. If I find out and I'm able to share, I'll let you know!

Millix said:

Will there be a limit to how many you can buy at once? 

There is a limit of one per customer.

acslater86 said:

If I go wait in line at the door before opening, can we reserve a 6000 series card based on availability, or do we have to do a mad dash to the back to grab one? 

The 6000 series will not be available for reservation upon release. I'd assume that it will be done in a similar fashion to our other recent releases. With vouchers that will be handed out to those in line as the store opens. I'm not 100% certain on this, as I know we are always looking for ways to improve our processes. I know it will not be a mad dash. 😊

Thank you very much for clarifications!

LambChop69

LandShark said:

Millix said:

Will there be a limit to how many you can buy at once? 

There is a limit of one per customer.

Can I get a little clarification on this? Is it 1 total or 1 per type. I am building 2 PCs, one for me and one for my son. I, being the more avid gamer(IMHO) of the two, intend to purchase the 6900XT, but I would like to put a 6800 in his machine. The issue is the fact that I am not keen on allowing my son to skip school to stand in line all night to get our hands on 2 separate cards. I understand the reasoning behind purchase limits, just wanting clarification so I know what I am walking into the night of. BTW, super stoked about this, as I am making the switch from Intel/NVidia(I have built every PC I have ever owned for 28 years, and this is my first all AMD rig). Thanks for taking time to answer all these questions! I am so lucky I didn't grow up near a Micro Center. I would have spent every dollar I ever earned in that place. My wife can't keep me away now that I found the Overland Park store is just 15 minutes away!