RDNA4 (RX 9070XT / 9070) launch announced for (delayed to) March 2025

[AusWolf]

Bad Reviews for Nvidia don't really matter. Look at the 4060ti. Hated by all, still sold pretty well.

But they do matter for AMD. The 5070 will probably sell well anyway, but if reviews praise it over the 9070 XT, then the latter is doomed.

Presumably they meant, drop MSRP from launch price.

I don't think they'd want that knowing that their card is better than Nvidia's (assumption for the sake of my imagined scenario).

 

[Assimilator]

I don't think they'd want that knowing that their card is better than Nvidia's (assumption for the sake of my imagined scenario).

But again, this comes back to marketshare: you can have the best product in the world and it doesn't matter one iota if people ain't buying it. AMD doesn't just need to release a good product, they need to sell that product, and a lot of it. As I said in the other thread, if that means sucking it up and eating costs for a few months, that's what they've gotta do.

Or to put it another way, their want to profit off selling their GPUs needs to be balanced against their want to have sufficient consumers willing to buy aid GPUs.

 

[TSiAhmat]

But they do matter for AMD. The 5070 will probably sell well anyway, but if reviews praise it over the 9070 XT, then the latter is doomed.

I feel like doomed is a bit of strong word here. The 5070 will still sell multiple times what the the 9070 xt will.

I still hope the 9070xt sells well, it needs to. So FSR4 can succeed/get a good head start.

 

[Bomby569]

How could AMD adjust the launch price if they released the card two months before Nvidia? No one can do a mic drop if both cards come out at the same time because the reviews are already done at that point.

let's break this down to parts:
-AMD launches first, 475usd, people review for what it is, there is no nvidia card to compare to so no one in their right mind will say it's bad, compared to what?
-nvidia launches their card and like you said they change the price to make upcoming reviews look better, they change to 499usd
-next minute, AMD tweets, now our card is 425usd, and by the time the reviews for nvidia card hits they already have the new price to compare to

the launch price is irrelevant if you want to compare two cards, the price of the AMD card when nvidia card launches it's what would be relevant, am i not making sense here?

my point is, at any second AMD as the 1st to market could respond to anything nvidia did.

 

[AusWolf]

But again, this comes back to marketshare: you can have the best product in the world and it doesn't matter one iota if people ain't buying it. AMD doesn't just need to release a good product, they need to sell that product, and a lot of it. As I said in the other thread, if that means sucking it up and eating costs for a few months, that's what they've gotta do.

That's what they're probably doing right now: sucking it up and eating costs for a long-term goal. If reviews (swayed by the launch price) praise the 9070 XT and shit on the 5070, then it might end up being a successful product.

It's just a theory, though.

let's break this down to parts:
-AMD launches first, 475usd, people review for what it is, there is no nvidia card to compare to so no one in their right mind will say it's bad, compared to what?
-nvidia launches their card and like you said they change the price to make upcoming reviews look better, they change to 499usd
-next minute, AMD tweets, now our card is 425usd, and by the time the reviews for nvidia card hits they already have the new price to compare to

the launch price is irrelevant if you want to compare two cards, the price of the AMD card when nvidia card launches it's what would be relevant, am i not making sense here?

my point is, at any second AMD as the 1st to market could respond to anything nvidia did.

That makes sense, too, I guess.

Or AMD could just be trying to avoid "475 usd is not bad, but let's just wait for Nvidia with the 5070" conclusions.

It's all theoretical of course.

Edit: Anyway if two launches of two very similar cards are so close then one would be stupid not to wait for both of them to be released to compare them properly before buying (unless one's options are restricted for other reasons).

 

[Bomby569]

Or AMD could just be trying to avoid a "475 usd is not bad, but let's just wait for Nvidia with the 5070" conclusions.

It's all theoretical of course.

sure that's a fair argument. I just think it would make more sense if they were equals, but AMD is not, they are wasting a 1st move. People are salivating for a mid range decently priced card, they think the 5070 was a great move at that price, imagine a 9070 with better pricing.

AMD launch: "475 usd is not bad, but let's just wait for Nvidia with the 5070"
Nvidia lauch: "so after all the AMD now at 425 usd is great pricing"

 

[AusWolf]

sure that's a fair argument. I just think it would make more sense if they were equals, but AMD is not, they are wasting a 1st move. People are salivating for a mid range decently priced card, they think the 5070 was a great move at that price, imagine a 9070 with better pricing.

AMD launch: "475 usd is not bad, but let's just wait for Nvidia with the 5070"
Nvidia lauch: "so after all the AMD now at 425 usd is great pricing"

That's a fair point, too.

Or maybe they didn't make the first move exactly because Nvidia's offer seems decent (for now - if you don't count the 12 GB VRAM), so people wouldn't jump on a 9070 anyway. Maybe they didn't want to start the war by undercutting Nvidia so far that leaves them little room for another price cut later.

 

[TSiAhmat]

sure that's a fair argument. I just think it would make more sense if they were equals, but AMD is not, they are wasting a 1st move. People are salivating for a mid range decently priced card, they think the 5070 was a great move at that price, imagine a 9070 with better pricing.

That is true. If you bought a 5070 who in their right mind would buy the 9070 (if you already own it)

Rumours are that availability of the 50 Series will be quite bad, so most people might not be able to buy/own (and scalping yipie) one.

Maybe their plan:

If you can't buy the 5070 (because it's sold out) why not try your luck on the 9070 xt?

 

[JustBenching]

No, my point is something different.

Let's imagine that AMD got info about the 5070, its specs and price of $550 right before CES. They realised that the 9070 XT is better. So now there's two choices:

1. Announce it and release it now for a short praise, but then Nvidia will adjust the release price of the 5070 accordingly, and two months later, everybody will praise them for it and the 9070 XT will be forgotten like it never existed. Or...

2. Withhold all information to keep Nvidia in the dark (basically like playing poker - you wouldn't want the opponent to know your cards), let them release the 5070 for $550 the same time as the 9070 XT so that the media will say holy shit, this is the real deal. Nvidia can only react and adjust prices later, but then, the reviews are already out, the damage has been done.

That's the same jebait crap they pulled with the 5700xt. It's despicable. Imagine that nvidia decides to postpone the release of the 5070 till 2026. Is amd going to postpone it as well till 2027? Is amd run by 5 year olds?

 

[AusWolf]

That is true. If you bought a 5070 who in their right mind would buy the 9070 (if you already own it)

But if both cards release at the same time for the same price, but the 9070 is better, then that's the logical choice, right?

Rumours are that availability of the 50 Series will be quite bad, so most people might not be able to buy/own (and scalping yipie) one.

Maybe their plan:

If you can't buy the 5070 (because it's sold out) why not try your luck on the 9070 xt?

That may very well be a reason, too. Two months is decent time to ramp up stock.

 

[Bomby569]

That's a fair point, too.

Or maybe they didn't make the first move exactly because Nvidia's offer seems decent (for now - if you don't count the 12 GB VRAM), so people wouldn't jump on a 9070 anyway. Maybe they didn't want to start the war by undercutting Nvidia so far that leaves them little room for another price cut later.

correct me if i'm wrong, but they stated their main goal was market share, that's it. So to get there the bottom for them to undercut nvidia is whatever that thing cost to produce plus 1 usd, they can undercut to that price, if Nvidia cuts lower they would be spending money to sell a card, so it wouldn't make sense.
I don't think Nvidia would go that low, they are the elephant and AMD is the ant. They have room to undercut if they can

 

[AusWolf]

That's the same jebait crap they pulled with the 5700xt. It's despicable. Imagine that nvidia decides to postpone the release of the 5070 till 2026. Is amd going to postpone it as well till 2027? Is amd run by 5 year olds?

They won't postpone it indefinitely because they'd also want to make money on the chips already made. It's a game of two cars driving at reach other. One of the drivers will have to turn the wheel sooner or later.

correct me if i'm wrong, but they stated their main goal was market share, that's it. So to get there the bottom for them to undercut nvidia is whatever that thing cost to produce plus 1 usd, they can undercut to that price, if Nvidia cuts lower they would be spending money to sell a card, so it wouldn't make sense.
I don't think Nvidia would go that low, they are the elephant and AMD is the ant. They have room to undercut if they can

But what if the Nvidia card is cheaper to make? I don't know about Blackwell, but I couldn't help but notice how small Ada chips and how simple their PCBs were. Then they could undercut AMD and still make a bigger profit.

 

[TSiAhmat]

But if both cards release at the same time for the same price, but the 9070 is better, then that's the logical choice, right?

Do we know if they are released at the same time? If AMD is available in March and Nvidia is available at the end of January, i would have assumed that the 5070 would release before the rx9000 series

 

[AusWolf]

Do we know if they are released at the same time? If AMD is available in March and Nvidia is available at the end of January, i would have assumed that the 5070 would release before the rx9000 series

Only the 5090 will release in January. The 5070 is coming late Feb - early March.

 

[TSiAhmat]

Only the 5090 will release in January. The 5070 is coming late Feb - early March.

so maybe a week or two earlier than the rx9000 series

 

[Bomby569]

But what if the Nvidia card is cheaper to make? I don't know about Blackwell, but I couldn't help but notice how small Ada chips and how simple their PCBs were. Then they could undercut AMD and still make a bigger profit.

in that case AMD doesn't have anything to worry about, either Nvidia doesn't care or they are done for. Either way it would be a scenario they can't plan for.

 

[AusWolf]

so maybe a week or two earlier than the rx9000 series

We don't have a specific date for either.

 

[alwayssts]

At this point, I'm beginning to suspect they have some flexibility in the final clocks and power, and they're just waiting to finalize like they did with the 5600XT launch. If so, that means flashing the cards that are stocked at stores already. Less than ideal, but it's been done before. It's not that much of a stretch, as the rumored power limits have been a bit uncertain, and most AIB cards are showing 3x8pin. If it was just about price, they could take aim at a segment now, see what sales they get, then adjust once NVIDIA plays their hand.

Yeah....Word is there was a new bios already (which imo was probably to adjust PL), which makes me think they came to a similar conclusion as I did in my earlier posts.
No real need for >3.4ghz with <24gbps ram, why allow it even if it will work, especially if

a. They can make the design within 375w.
b. It allows greater seperation to a faster card later.

You'll notice cards at CES that had 3x8-pin now mysteriously have 2x8-pin in new designs...That's what makes me wonder if they'll limit XT to 375w (or less) and make 'XTi' the >375w card.

Not confirmed, just rumblings and informed speculation.

 

[AusWolf]

in that case AMD doesn't have anything to worry about, either Nvidia doesn't care or they are done for. Either way it would be a scenario they can't plan for.

"Done for" is not an option, especially if you're the AMD employee / team responsible for these strategies.

Yeah....Word is there was a new bios already (which imo was probably to adjust PL), which makes me think they came to a similar conclusion as I did in my earlier posts.
No real need for >3.4ghz with <24gbps ram, why allow it even if it will work, especially if

a. They can make the design within 375w.
b. It allows greater seperation to a faster card later.

You'll notice cards at CES that had 3x8-pin now mysteriously have 2x8-pin in new designs...That's what makes me wonder if they'll limit XT to 375w and make 'XTi' the >375w card.

Not confirmed, just rumblings and informed speculation.

No new card arrived mysteriously. All 2 and 3-pin designs were ready for CES (except for Sapphire, which I haven't heard anything of in context of RDNA 4).

 

[Assimilator]

But what if the Nvidia card is cheaper to make?

I can guarantee that it is, which is another example of how higher marketshare works for the entity controlling it, via economies of scale.

It allows greater seperation to a faster card later.

Now is absolutely not the time for AMD to be pulling arbitrary product segmentation bulls**t. They absolutely cannot afford to piss off consumers with a bait-and-switch, especially when they have no idea of how the competition will perform, because if they guess wrong and end up with a card that's now too slow, they'll have to adjust something else (price) to compensate.

 

[alwayssts]

"Done for" is not an option, especially if you're the AMD employee / team responsible for these strategies.


No new card arrived mysteriously. All 2 and 3-pin designs were ready for CES.

PowerColor lists Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil, specs still missing - VideoCardz.com

PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT pictured some more The company now has a dedicated product page for RDNA4 GPU. We have been notified by one of our readers that PowerColor is preparing to list the Radeon RX 9070 series. In fact, the very first model based on the RDNA4 series has now been listed, […]

videocardz.com

 

[AusWolf]

PowerColor lists Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil, specs still missing - VideoCardz.com

PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT pictured some more The company now has a dedicated product page for RDNA4 GPU. We have been notified by one of our readers that PowerColor is preparing to list the Radeon RX 9070 series. In fact, the very first model based on the RDNA4 series has now been listed, […]

videocardz.com

That's the Red Devil. They've also got the Hellhound and Reaper, both dual slot, both with 2 8-pins, both present at CES.

 

[Bomby569]

PowerColor lists Radeon RX 9070 XT Red Devil, specs still missing - VideoCardz.com

PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT pictured some more The company now has a dedicated product page for RDNA4 GPU. We have been notified by one of our readers that PowerColor is preparing to list the Radeon RX 9070 series. In fact, the very first model based on the RDNA4 series has now been listed, […]

videocardz.com

they look good. AMD if your reading this, 475usd and i buy one, easy money

 

[LittleBro]

Does anyone except me wonder why TPU hasn't yet informed about RX 9070 XT's (reported) late release?
Any other tech news site already reported the news while quoting the McAfee's twitter post.
TPU gets many things from VideoCardz.com, yet they haven't covered the mentioned tweet.
EDIT: TPU finally posted news about March release while I was typing this post.

Anyway, AMD should release RX 9070 (XT) ASAP, even with FSR4 or their version of (M)FG not being ready yet.

What will come in next weeks before supposed March release? There are already some cards delivered to retailers, some sources say the stocks are not low. (Assuming this information is actually true.) Retailers already paid for something they can't sell yet. Had they known, they would not purchase it so soon. Having stock of unsellable goods is awful, because it actually locks the money. AMD tells them to wait, retailers most probably had not idead before. In upcoming week, we will see new Radeons emerging here and there, before official launch. So, current AMD's doing (assuming the McAfee's tweet is legit) not only hurts their market share, but also weakens relations with retailers and other distributors.

 

[AusWolf]

Does anyone except me wonder why TPU hasn't yet informed about RX 9070 XT's (reported) late release?
Any other tech news site already reported the news while quoting the McAfee's twitter post.
TPU gets many things from VideoCardz.com, yet they haven't covered the mentioned tweet.

Probably because it's just a flippant Twitter post with no actual date in it. The guys here at TPU are probably waiting for something solid. (Just my guess)