The core specs for the next generation of AMD Radeon GPUs have just appeared in a leak, and if it’s true, these GPUs look decidedly uninspiring unless AMD has some major architectural tweaks up its sleeve. This leak concerns both the new AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT and Radeon RX 8600, with the former looking like it’s going to represent the top peak of the new RDNA 4 lineup.
This leak follows shortly after rumors appeared that the AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT ray tracing performance could be in line with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080. However, this latest specs rumor puts the new AMD GPU in the same category as the Radeon RX 7800 XT, but with hopefully some improvements to ray tracing performance from the new RDNA 4 architecture.
The information comes courtesy of regular tech leaker Kepler_L2, who claims to know the configuration of the compute units in the two new GPUs in a thread on X (formerly Twitter). Bear in mind that none of this has been officially confirmed by AMD, but Kepler_L2 has good form for AMD leaks.
For example, in September 2024, it was confirmed that AMD is abandoning high-end GPUs for this generation, but Kepler_L2 first revealed there would be no high-end AMD RDNA 4 GPUs back in August 2023.
AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT specs estimate
These are the expected specs of the Radeon RX 8800 XT, based on rumor and leaks, as AMD hasn’t made an official announcement.
| AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT | |
| GPU | Navi 48 |
| Compute units | 64 |
| Stream processors | 4,096 |
| RT cores | 64 |
| VRAM | 16GB GDDR6 |
| Architecture | AMD RDNA 4 |
| Die size | 300mm² |
Back to the leak, Kepler_L2 claims that the new Radeon RX 8800 XT will have 64 compute units, which are the main building blocks of AMD’s Radeon GPUs. That’s a drop in eight compared with the Radeon RX 6800 XT, and an increase in four compared with the Radeon RX 7800 XT.
That doesn’t mean the new GPU will necessarily be slower than the 6800 XT. In the tests for our Radeon RX 7800 XT review, we found the new GPU was still faster than the 6800 XT, despite having fewer compute units, thanks to the improvements made with the new RDNA 3 architecture, for example.
If we assume AMD sticks to the same number of stream processors per compute unit as its last two generations, that would mean the Radeon RX 8800 XT has 4,096 stream processors, compared with 3,840 on the 7800 XT. Kepler_L2 also claims the Radeon RX 8800 XT will have the same 16GB of VRAM as its two predecessors as well, along with 64MB of Infinity Cache, matching the cache spec in the 7800 XT, while the 6800 XT had 128MB of Infinity Cache.
AMD Radeon RX 8600 specs estimate
These are the expected specs of the Radeon RX 8600, based on rumor and leaks, as AMD hasn’t made an official announcement.
| AMD Radeon RX 8600 | |
| GPU | Navi 44 |
| Compute units | 32 |
| Stream processors | 2,048 |
| RT cores | 32 |
| VRAM | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Architecture | AMD RDNA 4 |
Meanwhile, the leaker claims the new Radeon RX 8600 will have 32 compute units, which with the same assumptions as above would give it 2,048 stream processors – the same core spec as the current Radeon RX 7600. Kepler_L2 also claims the Radeon RX 8600 will have the same 8GB of VRAM as the 7600, which is a disappointment for a new GPU in 2025 if it’s true, particularly when the new Intel Arc B580 already comes with 12GB.
All in all, this looks like a pretty unadventurous retread through AMD’s last few GPU generations with a new architecture. The memory configs look the same, and the numbers of compute units are either the same or in the same ballpark. If these specs are genuine, and AMD really wants to compete against the Nvidia RTX 5000 series with them, then the ray tracing performance from RDNA 4 will need to not only beat the RTX 4000 series, but also be in line with Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs, such as the RTX 5070.
Even if the ray tracing performance is competitive, AMD will also have to price the new GPUs aggressively to compete against Nvidia, which after the last few years has developed an extremely strong brand among PC gamers. If AMD really wants to capture “40 to 50 percent” of the GPU market by focusing on the mid-range, as AMD senior VP Jack Hunyh has stated, then it’s going to have to nail the pricing.
If you’re looking to upgrade your GPU now, make sure you check out our guide to the best graphics card, where we run you through all our favorite options at a range of prices. You can also take a look at the top-end GPU we’re expecting Nvidia to launch early next year, in our GeForce RTX 5090 guide.