One thing gamers always want is more performance. So it comes as no surprise to learn AMD may have one last trick up its sleeve for the current generation of Radeon cards. According to recent rumors from WCCFTech and a leak from VideoCardz regarding the 6550 XT, the AMD Radeon 6X50 Series refresh may outright replace the existing lineup.
We know some basic info from previous leaks, and it appears the refresh will be mild in terms of revisions, and the only replacements coming are the 6650 XT, 6750 XT, and 6950 XT models. The main alleged upgrade to note is faster GDDR6 memory, but it’s also likely we’ll see faster GPU clock speeds for all models, something that’s noted in the 6650 XT leak.
Based on the leaked info for the Powercolor 6550 XT Hellhound, the refreshed model will feature about a 4.4% game clock boost and 3.7% boost clock increase along with VRAM that’s about 9.5% faster. This should result in an overall performance increase of about 3-5% based on this information for the 6650 XT.
We don’t know if the GPUs will be the same for the refreshed variants or if AMD has the manufacturing yields to pull a little more performance out of the refreshed models. For comparison, Nvidia released the RTX 3080 12GB version that featured more memory but also 3% more CUDA cores and a higher TDP for slightly better overall performance.
Pictured is he standard Powercolor 6600 XT Hellhound, which could be replaced soon. (Image credit: Powercolor).
Free fps?
Nvidia’s partners initially decided to launch the refreshed RTX 3080 12GB version at significantly higher prices than the standard RTX 3080. This was due to favorable market conditions that made it easier for companies to sell the graphics cards for more than usual. However, supply and demand are far closer together now, along with prices. Even Nvidia’s partners are slashing prices on popular models like the RTX 3080 12GB to keep sales going at this point.
This may force AMD to replace the current lineup with the refreshed variants at the same prices. Otherwise, the minimal performance gains won’t provide much reason for gamers to pay more. There’s no word on whether reference cards will be available or if production units will be limited to partner designs, such as Sapphire, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, and others. We should find out soon enough, as the AMD Radeon 6X50 refresh is expected on or around May 10.
It seems like AIBs will stop making 6600/6700/6900 XT cards and focus on the new 6650/6750/6950 XT series instead.
So RDNA 2 refresh is looking more like a replacement rather than a higher-end alternative to existing models.
— Hassan Mujtaba (@hms1193) April 19, 2022
