AMD reveals RX 5600 XT NAVI GPU with faster 14Gbps memory

The RX 5600 XT NAVI GPU has long been rumored to be getting a beefing up from AMD. That has now come to pass with a new announcement from AMD that a vBIOS update will be coming for all GPUs in this class. Various outlets are now reporting that AMD has begun rolling out two new parts to this plan to offer a pretty big jump in performance.

AMD is partnering with all the GPU manufacturers to offer an easy upgrade path to consumers. Those who have certain GPUs, right now ASRock and MSI have pushed updates for their GPUs, can simply download a firmware update to enable the faster speed. It’s important to note that this update does increase power draw a bit, so keep that in mind.

The RX 5600 XT NAVI GPU was originally scheduled to debut with 12 Gbps memory. It is now confirmed that AMD has published updated firmware which increases the TBP (typical board power) and memory speed. This translates to an effective memory speed of 14Gbps on updated GPUs. But with NVIDIA and AMD currently engaged in a price-cutting battle for dominance, it looks like AMD is responding to NVIDIA slashing prices on some GPUs by upping the performance to remain competitive on their own SKUs.

The following chart lays out which GPUs have been affected by this change and offers some options for where to go about updating the BIOS.