UDNA - what we know in late 2025
In 2025, AMD’s UDNA architecture is one of the most talked-about developments in the GPU world. It marks a major turning point for the company, merging its gaming and compute architectures into a single, unified design. This update looks at what has changed since our first UDNA article, where the project stands now, and what it means for gamers and PC builders.
What is UDNA?
UDNA stands for Unified DNA. It represents AMD’s plan to combine its two long-running architectures, RDNA and CDNA, into one unified structure. RDNA has traditionally powered gaming graphics cards, while CDNA has focused on data centers and AI compute tasks. By merging them, AMD hopes to simplify development and deliver a single platform that scales across gaming, AI, and professional workloads.
This approach allows AMD to compete more directly in the growing market where gaming performance, AI acceleration, and creative workloads increasingly overlap. Instead of designing separate GPUs for each use case, UDNA aims to cover all of them efficiently.
What’s Changed Since the First Announcement
A few months after AMD’s initial presentation, UDNA is now being mentioned in kernel and driver code under the codename “GFX13.” This suggests the design is well into development. Early information points to around 20 percent higher rasterization performance compared to RDNA 4, and up to double the ray tracing and AI processing efficiency.
AMD’s strategy appears to be shifting as well. Instead of chasing the absolute top-end power crown, UDNA will focus on scalability, energy efficiency, and multi-purpose workloads. That means better balance between gaming, productivity, and AI.
Display support is also being upgraded, with reports suggesting HDMI 2.2 connectivity offering up to 80 Gbps bandwidth, preparing the architecture for next-generation displays and higher refresh rates.
What This Means for PC Gamers
For gamers, the move to a unified GPU design could mean smoother, more consistent driver support and better performance in titles that use AI-based techniques like upscaling and frame generation. Developers will also benefit from optimising once for a single GPU platform rather than maintaining different pipelines for gaming and compute products.
This consolidation could also mean AMD GPUs become more consistent in mixed workloads, like when you are gaming, streaming, or running AI-assisted tools all at once.
In short, UDNA is about efficiency, integration, and forward compatibility rather than chasing a few more frames per second at any cost.
The Technical Details
Here’s where things get interesting. UDNA is expected to introduce a new wavegroup execution model that improves how parallel workloads are handled. This helps with simultaneous ray tracing, AI inference, and traditional raster rendering without major performance drops.
The memory system is also being overhauled. Larger cache pools and faster interconnects are designed to improve data flow, something that is especially useful for AI and real-time upscaling tasks. Memory latency and bandwidth efficiency are expected to see significant improvements.
Packaging is another major step forward. AMD is reportedly using advanced 2.5D and 3.5D chiplet packaging for UDNA, allowing it to build multi-tile GPUs that scale better while keeping costs manageable. This also improves thermals and yield rates, which have been big concerns for large monolithic dies.
Building or Upgrading for the Future
If you’re building a PC right now, there’s no need to hold off. The current RDNA 4 cards and even high-end RDNA 3 models still offer great performance.
Next-generation GPUs will likely demand more from supporting components. That means choosing a high-quality power supply with headroom, investing in strong cooling solutions, and ensuring your motherboard can handle newer PCIe and display standards.
For those looking to upgrade again in late 2026 or beyond, a UDNA-based GPU might be the right target. It will likely bring improved AI upscaling, frame generation, and energy efficiency features that go well beyond today’s designs.
Final Thoughts
UDNA isn’t just another GPU generation. It’s a statement about where AMD sees the future of computing. By merging its gaming and AI architectures, AMD aims to create a platform that scales from your gaming rig to a data center.
For everyday gamers, that means potentially better driver support, more consistent performance, and future-proof technology designed to handle both traditional gaming and AI-driven workloads.
While you don’t need to wait for it if you’re upgrading today, UDNA represents a smart and future-focused direction for AMD. The next generation of GPUs is shaping up to be about more than raw power—it’s about smarter design, balanced performance, and readiness for the next wave of gaming innovation.
Tarl @ Gamertech