Mojave hints at new & unannounced Vega GPU chips coming to Mac soon

MacBook Pro with Vega 20 GPU

AMD could be extending its lines of Radeon Pro Vega GPUs that could be used in a future Mac refresh early in 2019, according to identifiers in a recent macOS Mojave update.

AMD's Vega 16 and Vega 20 GPUs arrived on the MacBook Pro on November 14, offered as discrete graphics upgrades replacing the Radeon Pro 555X and Radeon Pro 560X. While the recent availability of the GPUs from Apple are welcomed by those wanting more performance, it appears that Apple may already be looking towards using other unannounced Vega GPU variants.

Patches to Linux kernel drivers were found on Friday to include references to a number of PCI IDs that don't correspond to currently-available Vega GPUs, reports Phoronix. One more PCI ID accompanied five existing Vega 20 PCI IDs in the Linux driver, while six more new PCI IDs are said to relate to Vega 10.

It is noted that the only other references to the PCI IDs in question were as part of the most recent macOS Mojave update, as well as GPUOpen's GFX9 parts list.

The existence of the new PCI IDs strongly implies that AMD is preparing to produce more in the notebook-oriented Vega range in the near future, possibly variants of the existing chip releases or upgraded versions. It is also plausible the references could relate to products undergoing internal testing for compatibility purposes, rather than for actual consumer release.

The new Vega 20 PCI ID is defined as 0x66A4, while the Vega 10 versions are 0x6869, 0x668A, 0x686B, 0x686D, 0x686E, and 0x686F.

In the case of Apple, it seems unlikely that it would proceed with adding another GPU option to the existing MacBook Pro lineup so soon after refreshing the lineup. Apple has used laptop-centric parts in iMacs in the past, and the existing line hasn't been updated recently.

The Vega 16 and Vega 20 used in the current high-end MacBook Pro models has what AMD describes as "Vega next-generation compute units," with the number in the name relating to the number of units each have. The GPUs include a feature called Rapid Packed Math to accelerate workloads in realtime and cut down the required amount of resources for repetitive tasks.

The use of second-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM2) offers some extra benefits over the previously-used GDDR5 memory in other graphics systems, including providing more memory bandwidth per chip and consuming less power. Also beneficial to notebook producers is the inclusion of HBM2 on the GPU package, allowing for it to take a smaller overall footprint, saving space inside the notebook for other components.

Those in the market for a Vega 16 or Vega 20-equipped MacBook Pro can save $225 instantly on every configuration with coupon.

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15 Comments

bobolicious

said about 5 years ago

...I would ask if the 'new' mini would benefit from more balanced internal cpu-gpu options as well...

Mike Wuerthele

said about 5 years ago

bobolicious said:

...I would ask if the 'new' mini would benefit from more balanced internal cpu-gpu options as well...

I'd think so. The 16/20 line makes sense for the Mac mini form factor.

tht

said about 5 years ago

If ths Vega 10 follows the convention where the number indicates the number of compute units a la Vega 16, 20, 56, 64, where is this Vega 10 going to go? It’s going to be about as fast as Intel processor graphics, right?

MBP13TB? (Is there room?)
iMac smaller display model? (Vega 16, 20 should go here at minimum)
MBA13 new model? (Is there room?)
Mac mini? (Is there room?)

Don’t understand how this will benefit the lineup if it is half as fast as the Vega 20.

madan

said about 5 years ago

AppleInsider said:

AMD could be extending its lines of Radeon Pro Vega GPUs that could be used in a future Mac refresh early in 2019, according to identifiers in a recent macOS Mojave update.

MacBook Pro with Vega 20 GPU

AMD's Vega 16 and Vega 20 GPUs arrived on the MacBook Pro on November 14, offered as discrete graphics upgrades replacing the Radeon Pro 555X and Radeon Pro 560X. While the recent availability of the GPUs from Apple are welcomed by those wanting more performance, it appears that Apple may already be looking towards using other unannounced Vega GPU variants.

Patches to Linux kernel drivers were found on Friday to include references to a number of PCI IDs that don't correspond to currently-available Vega GPUs, reports Phoronix. One more PCI ID accompanied five existing Vega 20 PCI IDs in the Linux driver, while six more new PCI IDs are said to relate to Vega 10.

It is noted that the only other references to the PCI IDs in question were as part of the most recent macOS Mojave update, as well as GPUOpen's GFX9 parts list.

The existence of the new PCI IDs strongly implies that AMD is preparing to produce more in the notebook-oriented Vega range in the near future, possibly variants of the existing chip releases or upgraded versions. It is also plausible the references could relate to products undergoing internal testing for compatibility purposes, rather than for actual consumer release.

The new Vega 20 PCI ID is defined as 0x66A4, while the Vega 10 versions are 0x6869, 0x668A, 0x686B, 0x686D, 0x686E, and 0x686F.

In the case of Apple, it seems unlikely that it would proceed with adding another GPU option to the existing MacBook Pro lineup so soon after refreshing the lineup. Apple has used laptop-centric parts in iMacs in the past, and the existing line hasn't been updated recently.

The Vega 16 and Vega 20 used in the current high-end MacBook Pro models has what AMD describes as "Vega next-generation compute units," with the number in the name relating to the number of units each have. The GPUs include a feature called Rapid Packed Math to accelerate workloads in realtime and cut down the required amount of resources for repetitive tasks.

The use of second-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM2) offers some extra benefits over the previously-used GDDR5 memory in other graphics systems, including providing more memory bandwidth per chip and consuming less power. Also beneficial to notebook producers is the inclusion of HBM2 on the GPU package, allowing for it to take a smaller overall footprint, saving space inside the notebook for other components.

Those in the market for a Vega 16 or Vega 20-equipped MacBook Pro can save $225 instantly on every configuration with coupon.

God, I hope not. Vega just needs to go. Keep in mind that the 2200g has a Vega chip on die with 8 CU and the 2400g has 11 CU. That 11 CU component matches a 1030 pretty much pound for pound. That means a 16 CU part would trade with a 1050 and the new MBP 20 CU unit matches up with a 1050 Ti. Which also produces low 3 in TF, just like the Vega 20. So it all matches up. What that means is that by calling it "Vega" instead of "Radeon RX", the average computer uninitiated think they're getting a much faster "work" part, than they actually are. To put things in perspective, the next set of Ryzen APUs will ship with between 11 to 16 CUs. That means a 150 dollar APU part will match the firepower of a 2500 dollar laptop GPU that Apple is offering right now.

Apple is better off pushing the next gen 7nm Radeon RX components: 3080, 3070 and 3060 across its lineup. 7nm means far lower TDP, as well as higher performance for cost. Especially since NVidia is stuck on higher process notes.

With a Vega 56 being equivalent to a 1070 in both TF and practical, real-world performance, and the 20 CU Vega in the MBP. What possible iMac could they release based on Vega in between those counts? Vega 32? Vega 48? Guess what? AMD already makes those parts. They're called the RX 570 and RX 580. They'd have the SAME PERFORMANCE. The iMac would move laterally in GPU and just hide that fact by couching it with a "pro" Vega name.

So no...go away Vega. You served your purpose. All hail the HBM2 equipped 3080 series that rumors indicate AMD is waiting to drop in March-April. That would be perfect. You could have a 3050/5 shipping in the low end iMac 27/32 and a 3070/80 in the high end. The iMacs would catapult from RX 580 performance up to Vega 56 and 64. And then they'd just move the iMac pro to something else.