AMD has reportedly decided to make its new RDNA 5 gaming GPUs extra transformative by giving them codenames named after Transformers characters, although there's sadly no Megatron or Optimus Prime GPU on the way. These rumored internal names aren't likely to be used outside of the company, but they do potentially give us an insight into the company's future plans.
These new rumored AMD codenames point towards three separate areas of focus. One, unsurprisingly, points to future GPUs for gaming PCs and laptops, ones that we hope to see in our best graphics card guide. The other two leaked codenames reportedly correspond with chips for next-gen game consoles, with future Xbox and PlayStation GPUs expected to use these new RDNA 5 GPUs, too.
Rumors of these internal codenames have appeared online in recent weeks, with tech leaker Moore's Law Is Dead first sharing them in a recent video. They've also been shared more recently by Kepler_L2, a big leaker responsible for some major AMD leaks in recent years, in this post on the Anandtech forums. Kepler also provided us with this recent RDNA 5 GPU leak, hinting at a future RNDA 5 GPU with nearly 50% more power than AMD's current flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT card.
According to these sources, RDNA 5 GPUs are currently grouped into these three project names: Alpha Trion, Ultra Magnus, and Orion Pax, which are all named after classic Transformers characters.
Alpha Trion is expected to be the name used for the architectural lineup of future Radeon GPUs for PCs and laptops, according to Kepler. Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus, or just Magnus, refers to the GPU currently in development for the next-gen Xbox. Orion Pax, or just Orion, is focused on the future PlayStation 6 GPU instead.
Take all of this with a grain of salt for now, because AMD isn't likely to confirm these internal codenames externally. Current speculation does suggest that we're expecting to see the first RDNA 5 graphics cards, which this rumor suggests are currently codenamed Alpha Trion, some time next year, but there's no official information to confirm that just yet, either.
We'll have to sit and wait to see what AMD is cooking up for us, but until then, make sure to check out our AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT review. That card is one of our favorites, offering great performance at a decent price, and we'll be hoping AMD's next-gen cards continue in this vein.
Keen to start upgrading your PC? You can start by checking our best gaming motherboard guide for a new AMD or Intel-focused board for your rig, along with our best CPU guide for a chip to put in it.
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