Monday, March 10th 2025

AMD's David McAfee Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Radeon Graphics Technology

This month, we at AMD celebrate two significant milestones in the Radeon story. First, the 25th anniversary of Radeon, a journey that began in 2000 with the ATI Radeon DDR card. Back then, 32 MB of VRAM, a 143 MHz clocks, and 30M transistors were cutting-edge tools that sparked your early adventures. Today, those specs are a nostalgic memory, dwarfed by the leaps we've made together culminating in the 24 GB of memory, multi-GHz clocks, and nearly 60B transistors of RDNA 3 cards driving the immersive worlds you now explore. But we're not stopping there. We're proud to continue that innovation journey with the RDNA 4-based Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070, available starting today. This is more than a new chapter for us, it's a promise to you, the gamers who fuel our passion. We know what matters when you choose your next GPU: raw performance to conquer your favorite titles, tech that's ready for tomorrow's blockbusters, and value that respects your investment. That's precisely what RDNA 4 delivers.

Our goal with RDNA 4 wasn't to chase an elite crown few can reach. Instead, we focused on you, the heart of gaming, crafting cards that bring exceptional power to the setups most of you run. Compared to our last gen, RDNA 4 boosts raster performance for crisper, smoother visuals. Ray tracing throughput doubles, letting you soak in lifelike lighting and reflections without compromise. And with an 8x uplift in machine learning performance, we're unlocking new possibilities - like FSR 4, our latest leap in ML-based upscaling.
Integrated deeply into game engines, FSR 4 renders at 1080p and scales to 4K, delivering 3x to 4x higher frame rates with near-native quality. That means you can crank settings in your favorite games and still hit buttery-smooth FPS, all without sacrificing the details you love. We're launching with over 30 titles with FSR 4, games you're already playing, and we're on track for 75+ by year-end.

We designed the Radeon RX 9070 XT (starting at $599) and RX 9070 (starting at $549) to hit the sweet spot—each with 16 GB of GDDR6, next-level ray tracing, and awesome performance-per-dollar. These aren't just cards; they're your ticket to owning battlegrounds, from competitive esports to cinematic RPGs, without breaking the bank. Reflecting on 25 years, we're humbled by how far gaming has come—and how you've shaped it. RDNA 4 is our way of saying thank you: a GPU lineup that powers your victories, secures your future playtime, and fits your budget. Our engineers have poured their expertise into this moment, and we're thrilled to see it in your hands. Here's to the next 25 years of Radeon—and to every clutch moment, epic raid, and immersive story we'll share along the way.
Sources: AMD Community, TechPowerUp Interview
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58 Comments on AMD's David McAfee Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Radeon Graphics Technology

#51
AusWolf
Dr. DroI had them all, the Fury X, the Frontier and the VII... I am also very fond of the Fury X... it was treated so bad, though. Genuinely one of the most interesting pieces of silicon ever developed
I would have loved to have a Fury back in those days, but a VII? Man, you must have some balls to buy one. :D
Posted on Reply
#52
hsew
vnl7Ruby back please!
'Member when attractive women (rendered or real) were used in marketing and trade shows?
Yeah, I 'member.


*sighs*
Posted on Reply
#54
Chrispy_
freeagentRunning AMD hardware should make you pretty safe, maybe they are saying that for the 14niners running at polar bear frightening speeds.
Yeah, if 400W CPUs exist, AMD are covering their bases with a 900W recommendation.
Posted on Reply
#55
freeagent
Chrispy_Yeah, if 400W CPUs exist, AMD are covering their bases with a 900W recommendation.
250 for the cpu, 100 for the mobo and ram then a few more for nvme.. getting pretty close.

My 9900X can do 250 no problem so…
Posted on Reply
#56
QuietBob
vnl7Ruby back please!
alwaysstsI think Ruby embodied Radeon so perfectly. I miss it soooo much.
Here you go :)

Double Cross was the first Ruby tech demo, launched with the X800 series in 2004:



Dangerous curves was second, to promote the X850 models in 2005:



Also in 2005, The Assassin was used to promote the X1000 series:



And last we saw of Ruby was Whiteout, which coincided with the HD 2000 series in 2007:



Incredibly, all of these run perfectly fine in 4K on a modern system!
And another outstanding fact, the Whiteout demo uses a form of ray tracing. Yep, RT in real-time graphics before Nvidia:

Posted on Reply
#57
mechtech
Ady PopThe latest AMD 25.3.1 drivers have big problems for the RX 7900XT. Typical AMD. Unfortunately, we can't rely on AMD. Desktop artifacts and flickering screens and fans that seem to turn on randomly. Incredible. After spending a lot of money on the video card. Only problems.
Strange how different cards behave. I have not had any issues with mine in the past 3 years *knock on wood*

Posted on Reply
#58
AusWolf
freeagent250 for the cpu, 100 for the mobo and ram then a few more for nvme.. getting pretty close.

My 9900X can do 250 no problem so…
You also have to account for cheap black market PSUs too, I guess.

Come on guys, when did PSU recommendations make any sense? ;)
Posted on Reply
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