AMD readying to launch new Radeon RX 590 Polaris GPU?

A new PCI ID has been spotted in a recent AMD Linux graphics driver. Titled 0x6FDF, this is a Polaris 10-based PCI ID, hinting that AMD is probably gearing up to launch another re-branded Polaris GPU. Or in other words, we might see an updated version of the company’s mainstream graphics architecture in the form of a Radeon RX 590.

Ever since the release of the RX 400 series, there had been speculation that AMD would launch a top-tier RX 490 graphics card that would sit above the RX 480 and RX 470. Unfortunately though, that never happened.

With that said, AMD almost did release an RX 490, but that effectively powered the Microsoft Xbox One X. While not exactly identical to a desktop Polaris chip, the Scorpio GPU inside the One X uses the same GCN 4.0 tech with 40 Compute Units (CUs) versus the 36 similar CUs in the RX 480 and RX 580.

This new 0x6FDF PCI ID was reported by Phoronix, which states that they have never seen it referenced in previous driver databases or elsewhere on the Internet either.

It’s possible that this new graphics card ID simply represents a slight maintenance update to an existing Polaris reference in the Linux drivers. But an update coming nearly two years after the debut of RX 400 series cards?

Well, the fact is this 0x6FDF ID closely resembles the previously used code, indicating it might be the Radeon RX 570 and RX 580 getting a fresh rebrand.

As per the roadmap, AMD is not expected to release any new consumer card before the end of this year. The 7nm Vega Radeon Instinct GPU is set to arrive at the end of the year, but that is designed specifically for machine learning and AI applications. It will be followed by the company’s brand-new Navi architecture planned for the first half of 2019.

It would be a surprise for AMD to launch a Polaris based Radeon RX 590 card at this point. But, that might be a smart move given the fact that Nvidia won’t have a new mainstream GPU this year.

Team green is set to launch the RTX 2070 in October, but it will be an expensive option at $500, followed by an RTX/GTX 2060 in the start of next year. So with no fresh competition in the mainstream segment, AMD will have an opportunity to capture decent sales over the holidays period.