This year’s Computex offered up a tonne of exciting new hardware for PC gamers, however, AMD’s new W7900DS is most certainly not one of them.
AI-powered PCs, new hardware unveilings, and handheld gaming consoles were at the forefront of this year’s Computex press conference, sparking excitement amongst gamers and enthusiasts alike. What hasn’t sparked excitement, however, is the arrival of AMD’s latest GPU – which seems to set it sights on Nvidia’s Ada 6000 series.
AMD’s new Radeon PRO W7900DS was officially unveiled at this year’s Computex, offering up a slender dual slot design (cleverly implemented into the name via the DS) that is tailored towards the workstation marketplace. Specifications for the PRO W7900DS include 96 compute units, 192 AI accelerators, and 48GB GDDR6 ECC memory – all very eye-catching I’m sure you’ll agree. It utilizes the DisplayPort 2.1 standard and features a 295 Watts of total board power – offering up 12K resolution at 60Hz.
Despite all this, the card is incredibly puzzling, especially when you factor in just how similar it is to the W7900 – which launched last year with a similar 96 Compute unit design. In fact, the specifications are incredibly similar to that of the W7900, which uses the same 48GB of GDDR6 ECC memory.
AMD set sights on Nvidia’s Ada 6000 series
AMD are seemingly much more excited about the card, stating that ‘Empowering developers to conduct AI development locally, it is ideal for ultra-high-performance AI workstations while keeping sensitive data in-house’ as reported by Techradar.
One aspect of the new card that is genuinely interesting is the price reduction over both the Nvidia RTX Ada 5000 + 6000 series (which both retail for north of $4000) and its predecessor the W7900. AMD says the card will retail for $3,499 which is actually a bargain in some dimension.
All being said, this workstation product is expected to hit shelves on June 19th, 2024, and boy am I excited for it.
