AMD has confirmed the Q3 launch window for its upcoming Ryzen 7000 series CPUs and “high-end RDNA 3 GPUs later this year.” This comes from the recent Q2 2022 earnings call where it discussed the company’s financials, provided forward guidance and, most importantly for us gamers, doubled down on when we can get our hands on new red team hardware.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed its 5nm Ryzen 7000 series CPUs (opens in new tab) will launch later this quarter. And, if that’s the case, the odds look good for a September launch, which is mere weeks away now. Dr. Su also made a performance prediction, stating the company expects “leadership performance in gaming and content creation.” An interesting claim, and one we can’t wait to test ourselves.
AMD also confirmed it plans to launch high-end RDNA 3 GPUs (opens in new tab) later in 2022. Dr. Su stated that “high-end” GPUs will launch first. This means AMD and Nvidia are all set to battle it out for the outright gaming crown around the same time.
A December launch during the holiday season would seem unlikely, and if AMD does launch its CPUs in September, then I would bet we’ll see the first RDNA 3 cards in November.
With an all new CPU platform and GPU architecture, AMD looks to have a strong portfolio in place for the consumer market, and it’s looking good for the enterprise market too. AMD’s EPYC Genoa CPUs are on track to launch later this year, too. Do you fancy a 96-core CPU? AMD says it has strong interest from customers for its Genoa range, and AMD could be set to take advantage of further delays to Intel’s competing Sapphire Rapids range.
Moving onto the financial side, AMD posted record revenues (opens in new tab) for the second quarter of 2022 which is a massive 70% increase year-on-year. It contrasts heavily with Intel’s weak Q2 report (opens in new tab), and comes during a difficult time, with a weakening economy, post pandemic issues, and worsening inflation.
Strong results came from its data centre business, with 83% year-on-year revenue growth, which meant that operating income more than doubled to $472 million from $204 million the previous year.
Its consumer facing business continues to be the company’s main earner, however. That includes both desktop and notebook CPUs; with operating income up 26% year-on-year to $676 million. AMD cited strong sales of its mobile Ryzen CPUs as a major contributor.
Despite the seemingly good news, AMD was downbeat about the outlook for the rest of the year. It believes that softening demand and inventory build-up could negatively impact its financial position. This is a common theme among tech companies in 2022.
For now, AMD is in a strong position but whether it will stay that way depends on the ball and chain of the global economy and whether its products are competitive. If Intel’s execution issues continue, then AMD could find itself stealing even more market share from Intel.