AMD will power Tesla’s new Model S and Model X with RDNA 2 GPUs

AMD has officially announced that it will be introducing its RDNA 2 GPU architecture to 2021 models of Tesla Model S and Model X self-driving cars. It will power the infotainment system and deliver increased computational capability to these cars.

AMD RDNA 2 GPU on Tesla Model S, Model X:

Tesla refreshed its Model S and Model X in January, and speculations claimed that AMD might power their successors' graphics hardware. Tesla, on the other hand, made no mention of the hardware scene under the hood of these self-driving cars. Well, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su has now officially confirmed that both vehicles would be equipped with discrete RDNA 2 GPUs. And if you didn't already know, this architecture powers the latest consoles from Sony and Microsoft as well. Furthermore, the new Teslas will use AMD APUs (Ryzen CPUs with built-in Radeon graphics) in their infotainment systems.

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Both the Model S and X include two screens - a 17-inch Cinematic Display with 2200 by 1300 resolution on the front and a secondary screen for second-row passengers. Tesla revealed at the launch that these cars will have up to 10 teraflops of power for their new infotainment systems. It will support wireless controllers and allow you to game from any seat.

Inside Tesla’s self-driving car

Leakster Patrick Schur, known for various hardware leaks first

that the AMD Navi 23 RDNA 2 GPU will power the infotainment system in Model S. Furthermore, it will feature on high-end machines while the Navi 22 will cover the mid-tier market. In a block diagram shared by Patrick, it’s clearly illustrated that Navi 23 GPU is indeed going to power the infotainment system on the Tesla Model S 2021. It has a 128-bit bus interface and four 2GB DRAM modules, cumulating to 8GB of GDDR6 memory.

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In addition, the GPU has a bandwidth throughput of 224GB/s and connects with the main B2B connector through a PCIe Gen 3 and HDMI 1.4 interface. Likewise, a tweet from Tesla CEO, Elon Musk states that the infotainment system “can play Cyberpunk 2077”. That means the system has enough power to run practically all games released to date.

Why high-end GPUs in cars?

That was the first thought that sprang to me when I heard the news. It might be because folks may want to play a game during their lunch break or when their car is sitting idly in the charging station. Or just something to differentiate Tesla from other EVs.

• Meanwhile, check out our review of Asus ROG Strix Scar 15.