Facepalm: After users spent years waiting for mid-range and budget graphics cards to ship with more than 8GB of VRAM, the RAM crisis might not only extend this era of disappointing GPU memory pools but also drag GPUs backward. As AMD unveils a new entry-level member of the Radeon RX 9000 lineup, a leaked URL suggests that a 4GB variant exists.
The Radeon RX 9050 appeared on AMD's website on Tuesday, with ASRock as the first partner to confirm its availability. Although the card is equipped with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM on bothd AMD's and ASRock's listings, X user Ruby Rapids shared a now-dead link with placeholder text for a 4GB model.
Many experts already advise against playing high-end games on 8GB GPUs at resolutions above 1080p, especially with high-resolution textures and ray tracing. Even 12GB is often considered the bare minimum for gaming in 2026.
– Ruby_Rapids (@RubyRapids) July 28, 2026
Graphics cards with only 4GB of VRAM have not been seen since AMD launched the Radeon RX 6400 and 6500 XT in 2022. While pricing information for the RX 9050 remains unavailable, it is hard to imagine the entry-level card pushing far beyond the 6500 XT's $199 MSRP.
Digital Foundry reports that the RX 9050 utilizes the same Navi 44 GPU as the RX 9060. AMD's website confirms that the lower-tier card has been cut down from 28 compute units to 16, with standard and boost clocks of 1,920 and 2,600 MHz. Ray accelerators and AI accelerators have also been reduced to 16 and 32, respectively. The GPU features 64 ROPs, 1,204 Stream processors, 64 texture units, and 29.7 billion transistors.
While the 8GB variant features a 128-bit memory interface with 288 GB/s of bandwidth, Digital Foundry fears that the 4GB variant, if it exists, might make matters worse by cutting its interface to 64 bits. AMD recommends a 450W PSU for the GPU, which draws 92W on its own. The company also estimates that it can achieve 60 fps in 007: First Light, 96 fps in Cyberpunk 2077, and 131 fps in Forza Horizon 6 at 1080p with medium settings, but it remains unclear whether the benchmarks apply to both models or only the 8GB variant.
ASRock aims to sell the AMD Radeon RX 9050 in Latin America and Asia.
If 4GB GPUs do return, DRAM shortages due to AI data center construction will be the primary cause. The crisis has driven numerous manufacturers to hike prices, including Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and GPU makers. Prior reports suggest that the shortages also delayed Nvidia's rumored RTX 50 Super lineup, which is expected to introduce 3GB GDDR7 modules, allowing for 18GB and 24GB memory configurations.
No one is sure how long the DRAM shortages will last. Some manufacturers expect memory prices to stabilize in 2028, but ADATA warns that prices might remain elevated for another decade.
