AMD Goes Fishing for Navi 24, Catches a 'Beige Goby'

AMD
(Image credit: AMD)

AMD has begun to enable support of its smallest GPU in the RDNA2 family (aka Navi 20-series) in Linux, which revealed its internal codename, the Beige Goby, reports Phoronix. Not the most exciting of fish names, but let's continue.

The enablement means that the entry-level RDNA2 graphics processor is on track to be released in the coming months and find its home inside inexpensive desktops and notebooks. At this point it's not completely clear which model numbers will be adopted by the Beige Goby, and its codename is just as mysterious as its future.

AMD's RDNA-based family of GPUs is codenamed Navi after the informal name of the Gamma Cassiopeiae star that's located roughly 550 light-years away from Earth. For internal codenames for its Navi 20-series GPUs, AMD decided not to go that far and named them after… fishes. Or at least, AMD's own driver team refers to the company's Navi 20-series GPUs using rather odd fish codenames, as we can see from their Linux driver enablement.

The Radeon RX 6800/6900 (Navi 21) was called Sienna Cichlid. There are also Navy Flounder (Navi 22), Dimgrey Cavefish (presumably Navi 23, though it's not out yet), and now Beige Goby (which should be Navi 24).

With four different GPUs, AMD's RDNA2 / Navi 20-series family of GPUs will cover a wider spread than any other Radeon lineup in recent years. Vega for example only targeted the high-end market, while Polaris went after budget and maisntream. Last generation's Navi 10-series likewise had budget to mainstream offerings, while Navi 20 covers the entire gamut from entry-level PCs all the way to high-end gaming desktops.

AMD's Radeon RX 6000-Series Family of GPUs

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Row 0 - Cell 0 Row 0 - Cell 1 Row 0 - Cell 2
Navi 21Sienna CichlidRadeon RX 6800/6900
Navi 22Navy FlounderRadeon RX 6600/6700 (?)
Navi 23Dimgrey CavefishRadeon RX 6500/6600 (?)
Navi 24Beige GobyRadeon RX 6400 (?)

Based on various leaks, it looks like AMD's entry-level Navi 24 GPU for cheap PCs is known internally as Beige Goby. Since this is a low-end graphics processor, it will likely power AMD's Radeon RX 6400-series graphics products (something that AMD yet has to confirm, of course). We can speculate that the new GPU is scheduled to be launched by the back-to-school (BTS) season in a bid to address users that prefer discrete GPUs, though we have no idea about actual launch dates.

Keeping in mind that AMD continues to use the rather outdated GCN5-based architecture (Vega) for its integrated GPUs, many OEMs might prefer to use entry-level Radeon RX 6000-series discrete graphics boards to differentiate themselves from their rivals. To that end, making Radeon RX 6400-series products available as soon as possible is in AMD's best interests.

Anton Shilov
Freelance News Writer

Anton Shilov is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • Metal Messiah.
    A quick google search of the "Beige Goby" codename takes me to some boots/shoes/sneakers websites and stores for men and women as well, LOL. :D:p

    Anyway, on a serious note, Navi 24 was already rumored before, and I think it did appear in some leaks before as well. Can't recall those articles though. These might land up as iGPUs, and entry-level discrete desktop cards as well, imo.
    Reply
  • LolaGT
    The really odd one is flounder, why anyone would want a floundering product is beyond me.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    Metal Messiah. said:
    Anyway, on a serious note, Navi 24 was already rumored before, and I think it did appear in some leaks before as well. Can't recall those articles though. These might land up as iGPUs, and entry-level discrete desktop cards as well, imo.
    In the current climate of chip shortages and a large chunk of TSMC possibly shutting down for summer due to Taiwan's water shortages, we may be done with new product launches for the rest of the year on AMD's side.
    Reply
  • Third-Eye
    InvalidError said:
    In the current climate of chip shortages and a large chunk of TSMC possibly shutting down for summer due to Taiwan's water shortages, we may be done with new product launches for the rest of the year on AMD's side.
    I would think that AMD could get far more chips on to the market with the smaller dies from Navi 23/24 while using about the same or fewer resources. So although they will be less than ideal GPUs for future games, they could help with the shortage by at least giving people a "fighting chance" at a "decent" GPU that may be about the same performance as an RX 570/580 up to 5700xt performance. That's "progress" for ya...
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    Third-Eye said:
    I would think that AMD could get far more chips on to the market with the smaller dies from Navi 23/24 while using about the same or fewer resources.
    While it would enable AMD to get 25-30% more dies out of every wafer, each chip would likely net AMD less than half as much gross profit. That's why high-end SKUs usually launch first, collect as much of that juicy early adopter enthusiast tax as possible.
    Reply
  • spentshells
    Well to be perfectly honest as someone who plays @ 1080P and is fine with 50-60 fps on high these cards might be fine for me even the 1024 shader models 64xx. I'll put the 570 in the mines and dial the settings back to medium.

    If I could actually buy one.
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    So basically a RX580 replacement that will MSRP for $350 and sell for $700

    I'll keep my RX580 8 gig for $130 thank you.
    Reply
  • arcreactor81
    Here, beige goby stands for a cauliflower.
    Beige = Colour of the vegetable
    Goby = Name of the vegetable in India is Gobi
    It cannot be related to the desert since the desert is not beige coloured...
    Reply