AMD confirms Radeon RX 9000 graphics cards will launch in March

[DragonSlayer101]

Something to look forward to: AMD has officially confirmed that its Radeon RX 9000-series graphics cards will launch in March, putting an end to speculation about when its latest GPUs will be available for purchase. The RX 9000 lineup will compete with some of Nvidia's recently announced RTX 5000-series cards, headlined by the $1,999 RTX 5090.

The announcement was made by David McAfee, the VP and GM of Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics at AMD. According to his post on X, Radeon 9000-series hardware and software are pretty much baked, and all that remains is the official launch. McAfee also said that the company is planning to have "a wide assortment of cards available globally" when they go on sale this March.

Radeon 9000 series hardware and software are looking great and we are planning to have a wide assortment of cards available globally. Can't wait for gamers to get their hands on the cards when they go on sale in March!

– David McAfee (@McAfeeDavid_AMD) January 20, 2025

AMD unveiled the Radeon RX 9000 cards earlier this month at CES 2025. The lineup includes four SKUs, led by the RX 9070 XT. The three other models are the vanilla RX 9070, RX 9060, and RX 9050. Based on the RDNA 4 architecture, the new products feature AI-powered FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4) upscaling, improved ray-tracing performance, and upgraded media encoding quality.

The top-of-the-line RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 include AMD's second-generation AI accelerators, third-generation ray-tracing accelerators, and second-generation Radiance Display Engine. It's unclear how powerful the new 9070 twins are, but promotional material from AMD seems to suggest that they will offer similar performance to that of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070 Super.

AMD hasn't revealed much else about its latest GPUs, but a steady stream of leaks in recent months has revealed some of their hardware specifications and features. According to rumors, the flagship 9070 XT will feature the Navi 48 GPU with 4,096 cores, a 2.97GHz boost clock, 16GB of GDDR6 memory, 256-bit memory bus, 20 Gbps memory speed, and 640 GB/s memory bandwidth.

Other critical specs, like the max board power and PCIe interface, remain a mystery. AMD has yet to announce the pricing for any of its 9000-series cards, but they are expected to be priced competitively against the RTX 5070 series. For reference, the vanilla RTX 5070 has a $549 MSRP in the US, while the more powerful 5070 Ti starts at $749.

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AMD confirms Radeon RX 9000 graphics cards will launch in March

 

[toooooot]

Most likely want to see how Nvidia's cards do.

 

[Achaios]

Good news for the Leatherman and the Scalpers.

No competition for Jan-Feb and most of March.

Scalpers will have more than 2 months to scalp the bejesus out of the whales who will be rushing to buy the new Blackwell GPUs.

 

[godrilla]

Good news for the Leatherman and the Scalpers.

No competition for Jan-Feb and most of March.

Scalpers will have more than 2 months to scalp the bejesus out of the whales who will be rushing to buy the new Blackwell GPUs.

From what I am hearing is that 1st few weeks will be exclusive to brick and morter stores and weeks later with online availability. Scalpers will have to drive around and wait on lines waste resources/time. Hopefully they will discouraged to justify their hustle. The anti Scalper policy play is in. Microcenter is already requiring identification and only allowing one card per customer. Let them try!

 

[HardReset]

Because RTX 5070 equals RTX 4090 and AMD 7090 equals RTX 4080, there is no reason to buy AMD 7090.

Some people are actually stupid enough to believe that. Therefore AMD has to wait until 5070 actually "beats" 4090...

 

[takaozo]

AMD needs to adjust pricing different this time. Last time the 7900XTX was about the same perf as a 4080 and the price -$200. That was low sale or no sale for them.

But with current 9-10% market share...soon AMD 5%. Intel will eat their lunch.

 

[HardReset]

AMD needs to adjust pricing different this time. Last time the 7900XTX was about the same perf as a 4080 and the price -$200. That was low sale or no sale for them.

But with current 9-10% market share...soon AMD 5%. Intel will eat their lunch.

Um, Intel has more market share than Nvidia and AMD combined.

 

[takaozo]

Um, Intel has more market share than Nvidia and AMD combined.

I'm not talking about iGPU where Intel is king, dGPU...

 

[HardReset]

I'm not talking about iGPU where Intel is king, dGPU...

And? You see, many iGPUs are much more powerful than some dGPUs. Many AMD APUs are much more powerful than say GT 710 or GT 1030, both discrete GPUs.

In other words, no-one should give a **** how much market share Nvidia has low end category. But some people seem.

To put it another way. Let's assume AMD releases integrated GPU line that beats Nvidia on every metric. Soon AMD discrete market share would be very near 0% despite AMD having much faster GPUs. But no worries, Nvidia fanboys would still post about Nvidia having so much Discrete market share ""

In case you didn't understand last one. Better APUs AMD make, less there is need for low end discrete trash. Therefore better integrated GPUs AMD make, less AMD will sell discrete GPUs. In case you didn't already realize, discrete share is about UNITS shipped.

 

[SRB]

I think AMD is holding their cards close and no one really knows what is going on as far as the actual cards go. Sometime around a year ago, there were a lot of statements that the card would be neck and neck with the 7900XTX, now it's back with the 4070. AMD also put out a statement a couple of weeks ago to ignore all of the current benchmarks because none of them have the current bios/drivers. Now, everyone is declaring them dead.

How about this, Nvidia isn't going to have many cards at launch again this year (too much AI demand), They started selling off their last gen cards months ago (they don't need the money, and they know their top 2 cards will release uncontested). AMD will gain nothing with a rushed launch, and low supply with just make things worse. Add to that, there seems to be no shortage of 7800 and 7900 cards for sale and what you have is AMD cannibalizing their own sales of 7900 series, and selling them at a huge loss to boot (dropped MCM for a reason).

AMD has nothing to gain and plenty to loose from another early/botched launch.

 

[erickmendes]

The most dumb thing I ever did was selling my liquid cooled Asus RX6900xt.

 

[Tran Bronstein]

I completely understand AMD's "wait and see" approach re: NVIDIA as they are playing a hugely important tactical game of marketplace chess with them. Yet I still can't help but feel that they are letting a huge opportunity pass them by. Regardless of how they price them, their 9070XT and 9070s would essentially be uncontested for a couple of months in the midrange market as those who cannot afford an RTX 5090 or 5080 would be looking for an alternative and the window would be right there.

By moving the release to March, not only are they messing up things for their board and retail partners, they would be going neck and neck with the RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti releases instead. I can't see that particular battle going that well for them unless they are substantially superior in performance and/or substantially lower in price.

 

[redgarl]

They had the chance to release their card first and adjust their pricing. It is a lost opportunity IMO.

Even with a paperlaunch, it would have sent a message.

However, they need to release the 9070XT at 500$ MAX. They are creating a 70 class card, like Frank said. He also said that the pricing will PLEASE the customers.

IMO, they should release the card at 480$ MSRP, like they did for the 6700XT, which was the most expensive 70 class card release.

To give some perspective, the 7800XT MSRP was 500$, and the 7900XT dropped in price to 630$ with 2 free games during Black Friday, so 480$ MSRP for the 9070XT is entirely plausible.

 

[redgarl]

Good news for the Leatherman and the Scalpers.

No competition for Jan-Feb and most of March.

Scalpers will have more than 2 months to scalp the bejesus out of the whales who will be rushing to buy the new Blackwell GPUs.

The 5070 and 5070TI will only release at the end of February.

 

[redgarl]

And? You see, many iGPUs are much more powerful than some dGPUs. Many AMD APUs are much more powerful than say GT 710 or GT 1030, both discrete GPUs.

In other words, no-one should give a **** how much market share Nvidia has low end category. But some people seem.

To put it another way. Let's assume AMD releases integrated GPU line that beats Nvidia on every metric. Soon AMD discrete market share would be very near 0% despite AMD having much faster GPUs. But no worries, Nvidia fanboys would still post about Nvidia having so much Discrete market share ""

In case you didn't understand last one. Better APUs AMD make, less there is need for low end discrete trash. Therefore better integrated GPUs AMD make, less AMD will sell discrete GPUs. In case you didn't already realize, discrete share is about UNITS shipped.

iGPU are not generating specific sales. The only reason why Intel is first is because all their CPUs are hostings one iGPU.

 

[redgarl]

I think AMD is holding their cards close and no one really knows what is going on as far as the actual cards go. Sometime around a year ago, there were a lot of statements that the card would be neck and neck with the 7900XTX, now it's back with the 4070. AMD also put out a statement a couple of weeks ago to ignore all of the current benchmarks because none of them have the current bios/drivers. Now, everyone is declaring them dead.

How about this, Nvidia isn't going to have many cards at launch again this year (too much AI demand), They started selling off their last gen cards months ago (they don't need the money, and they know their top 2 cards will release uncontested). AMD will gain nothing with a rushed launch, and low supply with just make things worse. Add to that, there seems to be no shortage of 7800 and 7900 cards for sale and what you have is AMD cannibalizing their own sales of 7900 series, and selling them at a huge loss to boot (dropped MCM for a reason).

AMD has nothing to gain and plenty to loose from another early/botched launch.

AMD charts showed that it is matching a 7900XT, which is faster than a 4070TI by 10%.

It is going to be closer to the 5070TI than the 5070.

The 5070 is barely 20% faster than the original 4070, NOT the 4070 SUPER, meaning the 5070 will match the 4070 SUPER, which is disappointing.

 

[SRB]

AMD charts showed that it is matching a 7900XT, which is faster than a 4070TI by 10%.

It is going to be closer to the 5070TI than the 5070.

The 5070 is barely 20% faster than the original 4070, NOT the 4070 SUPER, meaning the 5070 will match the 4070 SUPER, which is disappointing.

https://www.techpowerup.com/318426/...mance-at-half-its-price-and-lower-power?cp=17

As I said, the only statement AMD has made is that all of these early leaked benchmarks have been done with pre release software/firmware and are not accurate. For all I know, it could have benchmarks that have it below the 4060 and they're trying to fix it. But it was very widely reported they stated 7900xtx as the goal when the hardware was pretty much final, baring an emergency respin, which could be as well.

 

[SRB]

I might add that a March release also kind of confirms AMD's comment that the final release firmware/software are not out yet for all of the leaked benchmarks

 

[redgarl]

I completely understand AMD's "wait and see" approach re: NVIDIA as they are playing a hugely important tactical game of marketplace chess with them. Yet I still can't help but feel that they are letting a huge opportunity pass them by. Regardless of how they price them, their 9070XT and 9070s would essentially be uncontested for a couple of months in the midrange market as those who cannot afford an RTX 5090 or 5080 would be looking for an alternative and the window would be right there.

By moving the release to March, not only are they messing up things for their board and retail partners, they would be going neck and neck with the RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti releases instead. I can't see that particular battle going that well for them unless they are substantially superior in performance and/or substantially lower in price.

The real contender for the 9070 XT, is the 5070. If AMD decide to go for the 5070 TI tier instead, than the community will just buy a 5070 instead.

If the 9070XT price is 600$-650$, than it will be a commercial failure even if it matches the 5070TI, which could be close in raster, but we know that RT will only match a 4070TI Super.

If they want to sell this at 550$, then they will need to convince us.

At 500$, the market will be heavily disrupted and I hope they will go for it after seeing Intel latest success with Battlemage at 280$.

 

[redgarl]

https://www.techpowerup.com/318426/...mance-at-half-its-price-and-lower-power?cp=17

As I said, the only statement AMD has made is that all of these early leaked benchmarks have been done with pre release software/firmware and are not accurate. For all I know, it could have benchmarks that have it below the 4060 and they're trying to fix it. But it was very widely reported they stated 7900xtx as the goal when the hardware was pretty much final, baring an emergency respin, which could be as well.

I am going by this... which is way more in the lines of what we should expect. This is a replacement for the 7900XT. Referencing the 4060 is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[AnilD]

The RX 9070 XT sounds promising, but let’s be real – AMD’s marketing department always makes it seem like we’re about to experience gaming nirvana. Can’t wait for the benchmarks to either confirm or destroy my dreams.

 

[SRB]

I am going by this... which is way more in the lines of what we should expect. This is a replacement for the 7900XT. Referencing the 4060 is absolutely ridiculous.

First, that was an exaggeration, have a look at all of the FUD that has been posted just because the launch is in March. Is sooner better than later? Of course it is.

Second, the ultimate internal target is always moving, and the reasons will never be known The only rock solid statement is that they won't be competing in the enthusiast segment and sticking to mainstream. And even that is nebulous as far as the next gen. (Was the 4080 enthusiast? Was it the performance, or the price ($1200) that put it there? Does it matter what the 40 series did? You're competing against the 50 series.

The biggest point of my original post is that I think they still have a good supply of 7000 MCM GPU's to unload that a 9070(XT) at $549 would mean they'd have to sell those cards at $600 or less in order to move.

Which brings us to the rumor of negotiations about the new prices vs cost. Having to take a huge hit on current inventory would seem to me more problematic than how much they make on the new cards.

Keep in mind what got them into this mess. The 7000 launch was done without any kind of reasonable stock from either AMD or Nvidia. Since they were selling out for months at a time, I can see AMD upping orders thinking the trend would continue. (It took me 3 months to finally buy a 7900xtx at list). The booming sales fizzled out leaving them with a ton o "high end" chips to sell.

 

[HardReset]

iGPU are not generating specific sales. The only reason why Intel is first is because all their CPUs are hostings one iGPU.

Exactly. But also, 1000 sold GT710s give more market share than 999 sold RTX 4090. That's why those "market share percentages" without any context are mostly pointless.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

From what I am hearing is that 1st few weeks will be exclusive to brick and morter stores and weeks later with online availability. Scalpers will have to drive around and wait on lines waste resources/time. Hopefully they will discouraged to justify their hustle. The anti Scalper policy play is in. Microcenter is already requiring identification and only allowing one card per customer. Let them try!

Microcenter stores allow only one item per household for 30 days (it very well could have been longer, but I think 30 days was the limit) for hot items. Back when GPUs the 3xxx or 6xxx series from Nvidia/AMD were hot commodities you could buy one, in store (per household) for that set amount of time.

Same went with the AMD 5xxx CPUs when they launched. I got my 5900x about a month after they launched and getting them was hard to do. Especially the 5900x, it was the one sought after the most in my area. The 5800x was also hot, hot, hot! When getting in line you scanned the QR code and it saved your time and you were given a number. When your number was called you had a chance to purchase one. By the time I got my turn the only CPUs left were a couple of the 5600x, the 5800x (which is the one I wanted) - the last one was taken by the guy in front of me - and there was 1 of the 5900x left. So I took the 5900x. They used the same method for the GPUs the first few months, but eventually moved to a first come first serve, but you could still only get 1 per household every 30 days.

I wonder if the same will happen when the 5090 and 5080 launch? I'm sure the 5090s will sell immediately and the store will probably only get about a dozen of them. The 5080, depending on what kind of performance they actually give might be a harder sell. The 4080s barely sold for the first 4 weeks. You could walk into Microcenter by me any day of the week after the 4080s launched and just go up to the shelf and ask for one because no one wanted them. They really didn't start selling until about 6 weeks after they launched....guess people started getting tired of waiting for 4090s.

 

[scoffer]

Good news for the Leatherman and the Scalpers.

No competition for Jan-Feb and most of March.

"the whales who will be rushing to buy the new Blackwell GPUs."

Yep.........Unfortunately, there's one born every minute, as they say. Simply for pathetic bragging rights I presume. Can't see why the f#@k such a powerful card is needed for the actual games nowadays. These people need to get out of their parents' basements more often.