AMD Issues Official Statement About Radeon RX 560 Variants

AMD‘s Radeon RX 560 originally came out on May 2017. It uses the Baffin XT GPU with 1024 stream processors, and 64 texture units, and comes with a $99 price tag. Two months later in July, the Radeon RX 560D variant came out. It uses the same GPU but has less stream processors at 896, and 56 texture units. Naturally, this performs less than the regular RX 560, although slightly better than the Radeon RX 550. The RX 550 has half the configuration of the RX 560 at 512 stream processors and 32 texture units.

The RX 560D is available only via OEM and in limited markets, often inside pre-built PCs. Which is why it is surprising when a few days ago the product page for the RX 560 changed the official specification list as having 896 stream processors with the 1024 stream processor option for the same card. While that is not a problem per se, the fact that pre-built manufacturers are using the RX 560D while marking it as the regular RX 560 on their products is misleading to customers. The official specifications change seemed like it was an excuse for that behaviour since AMD did not inform consumers or media about it prior to changing.

Official Statement from AMD

AMD has reached out to us after the news and have provided an official statement regarding the matter. Thankfully, they are now working with AIB and channel partners to fix it. The priority is to ensure that there is proper labeling of different Radeon RX 560 variants. The statement in full is available below:

“It’s correct that 14 Compute Unit (896 stream processors) and 16 Compute Unit (1024 stream processor) versions of the Radeon RX 560 are available. We introduced the 14CU version this summer to provide AIBs and the market with more RX 500 series options. It’s come to our attention that on certain AIB and etail websites there’s no clear delineation between the two variants. We’re taking immediate steps to remedy this: we’re working with all AIB and channel partners to make sure the product descriptions and names clarify the CU count, so that gamers and consumers know exactly what they’re buying. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused.”