CDNA (microarchitecture)

AMD CDNA
Release dateNovember 16, 2020
(4 years ago) (2020-11-16)
Designed byAMD
Fabrication process
History
PredecessorAMD FirePro
VariantRDNA (consumer, professional)

CDNA (Compute DNA) is a compute-centered graphics processing unit (GPU) microarchitecture designed by AMD for datacenters. Mostly used in the AMD Instinct line of data center graphics cards, CDNA is a successor to the Graphics Core Next (GCN) microarchitecture; the other successor being RDNA (Radeon DNA), a consumer graphics focused microarchitecture.

The first generation of CDNA was announced on March 5th, 2020,[2] and was featured in the AMD Instinct MI100, launched November 16th, 2020.[3] This is CDNA 1's only produced product, manufactured on TSMC's N7 FinFET process.

The second iteration of the CDNA line implemented a multi-chip module (MCM) approach, differing from its predecessor's monolithic approach. Featured in the AMD Instinct MI250X and MI250, this MCM design used an elevated fanout bridge (EFB)[4] to connect the dies. These two products were announced November 8th, 2021, and launched November 11th. The CDNA 2 line includes an additional latecomer using a monolithic design, the MI210.[5] The MI250X and MI250 were the first AMD products to use the Open Compute Project (OCP)'s OCP Accelerator Module (OAM) socket form factor. Lower wattage PCIe versions are available.

The third iteration of CDNA switches to a MCM design utilizing different chiplets manufactured on multiple nodes. Currently consisting of the MI300X and MI300A, this product contains 15 unique dies and is connected with advanced 3D packaging techniques. The MI300 series was announced on January 5, 2023, and launched in H2 2023.

  1. ^ Smith, Ryan (June 9, 2022). "AMD: Combining CDNA 3 and Zen 4 for MI300 Data Center APU in 2023". AnandTech. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Smith, Ryan. "AMD Unveils CDNA GPU Architecture: A Dedicated GPU Architecture for Data Centers". www.anandtech.com. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "GPU Database: AMD Radeon Instinct MI100". TechPowerUp. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Smith, Ryan. "AMD Announces Instinct MI200 Accelerator Family: Taking Servers to Exascale and Beyond". www.anandtech.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Smith, Ryan. "AMD Releases Instinct MI210 Accelerator: CDNA 2 On a PCIe Card". www.anandtech.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.