AMD appears unlikely to sell reference Radeon RX 9070, RX 9070 XT GPUs

DGIX

February 23, 2025

AMD will announce the highly anticipated Radeon RX 9070-series graphics cards on February 28, seven days from now, at 8 AM ET via its YouTube channel. Many users are looking forward to this launch, hoping the price-to-performance ratio will be more palatable and readily available for purchase.

AMD’s marketing materials have included renders of what many thought would be the reference design for the Radeon RX 9070 or Radeon RX 9070 XT. However, in its latest banner, AMD clarified that the design is an “Artistic Render. Not Available for Purchase,” which implies that the chipmaker will not release any ‘Made by AMD’ (MBA) models this generation. The move may prove to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there will be more silicon for AIB partners, but on the other hand, there may not be many options at MSRP.

AMD’s partners often offer faster and better-cooled custom variants of the chipmaker’s GPUs. However, some users still prefer the reference models over the custom variants. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any GPUs with MSRP pricing, as all brands typically have budget-oriented models that prioritize simplicity and pricing over all the bells and whistles.

It’s almost time. Meet the next gen AMD Radeon RX 9000 series on February 28th at 8am ET/7am CT/5am PT.Subscribe to the AMD Gaming YouTube channel to watch the unveiling LIVE! https://t.co/i2PqeEq5DI pic.twitter.com/KHehyExFMfFebruary 21, 2025

AMD has not officially revealed any specifications or pricing, but we’ve had our fair share of preliminary retailer listings. Last month, a Spanish retailer accidentally revealed Gigabyte’s lineup with its pricing, including the 21% VAT applied in Spain. B&H also had a pre-order listing hinting at a launch date on January 23 (later taken down), and Amazon listings showed RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT for $649 and $749. This should be taken with a bag of salt, as it could all be placeholder pricing.

Asus showcased Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT variations under Prime and TUF Gaming editions at CES 2025, but no information about the GPUs was revealed. Earlier leaks hinted the RX 9070 series with PCIe 5.0 support, and it was rumored that the RX 9070 XT had 16GB VRAM on a 256-bit interface and 4,096 Stream Processors. AMD Radeon RX 9070 series is based on RDNA 4 architecture, which is said to have optimized compute units with upgraded AI and Ray Tracing accelerators and better media encoding.

With the reveal seven days away, we should see its specifications, MSRP pricing, and multiple variations from AIB partners. It is a good opportunity for AMD to capitalize on all the GeForce RTX 50-series woes, such as the missing ROPs, black screen issues, and melting 16-pin connectors.

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