Coverage of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 launch batches has mainly focused on Western market conditions, with little insight into goings-on in China. AMD and board partners held a special RDNA 4 kick-off event in Beijing at the end of February, roughly twelve hours in advance of their international presentation. According to VideoCardz, initial supplies of Yeston's Sakura and Sakura Atlantis graphics cards were snapped up quickly by regional customers. The Chinese AIB specializes in brightly-hued shroud and backplate designs, often decorated with "waifu" illustrations and miscellaneous cute graphics. Unfortunately, interested parties from abroad are limited to importing from local retail platforms.

Yeston's social media accounts have alerted potential customers to re-stocks and connected developments—their latest bulletin hints about an improved situation, following another swift depletion of refreshed stock: "hello everyone! Thank you for the support! We have received a lot of messages and would love to inform you now the supply is unstable, but we will restock every week. Please don't be frustrated if you didn't get it. The supply will become stable and continue to be available after April." Interestingly, this morning's message did not touch upon the controversial topic of price hikes. At launch, Yeston's latest Navi 48 GPU-based offerings conformed or floated just above Team Red baseline MSRP (including VAT)—4999 RMB (~$686 USD) for XT, 4499 RMB (~$617 USD) for non-XT—likely boosting demand around that time. Last week, AMD board partners in Japan expressed concerns about current supply constraints—GPU market share in that region had climbed to ~45%, due to the popularity of RX 9070 Series graphics cards. Team Red could lose ground if GPU allocation limitations continue.

AMD's Radeon GPU lineup has achieved a remarkable 45% market share in Japan, representing the brand's strongest position in the competitive graphics card market, according to AMD Japan executive Sato during a recent industry roundtable. This significant market penetration marks a turning point for Team Red in a region historically dominated by NVIDIA. The announcement came during a multi-vendor panel featuring representatives from ASRock, ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, PowerColor, and Sapphire at an AMD-focused event in Akihabara. While celebrating the milestone, industry partners pushed for more ambitious targets, with ASRock's Haraguchi challenging AMD to aim for a 70% market share. ASUS executive Ichikawa humorously noted the brand's historical underdog status, remarking, "We've never been the ruling party!"

The event also featured insights on AMD's latest hardware from prominent tech influencers. "Sir Gradeon" praised the Radeon RX 9070 series for its overclocking headroom and substantial VRAM capacity, highlighting that the GPUs don't require power supply upgrades. Fellow influencer "Shurarara!!" emphasized the RX 9070 XT's price-to-performance ratio, noting its ability to run demanding titles like Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K resolution with appropriate settings. Supply constraints emerged as a significant concern during the roundtable, with AIB partners expressing frustration over GPU allocation limitations despite strong demand. The candid admission from AMD's representative about the company "not being used to selling graphics cards" at this volume sparked laughter among attendees, showing the unexpected nature of AMD's market surge. The event attracted substantial attention, with long lines forming before doors opened. Attendees participated in the X-Walk Post Campaign across Akihabara's electronics district, with early purchasers of AMD products receiving exclusive promotional items.

Throughout the early months of 2025, PowerColor's new product strategy seemed to signal the retirement of their entry-level "Fighter" graphics card series. A natural replacement—dubbed "Reaper"—was debuted in an official capacity at CES 2025, with AMD's introduction of the new-gen Radeon RX 9070 Series. With the delay of Team Red's RDNA 4 global market release to March 6, the Taiwanese manufacturer proceeded with a launch of custom Radeon RX 7650 GRE Reaper models in China around late February. According to a past weekend VideoCardz news report, PowerColor is expanding its RDNA 3 portfolio once again. Their investigation has unearthed a new Radeon RX 7600 "Fighter V2" model—confusingly, this variant seems to borrow the recently introduced dual-fan Reaper cooling solution.

According to leaked information, PowerColor is expected to launch its "V2" Fighter model to a global buying audience. The AIB's Radeon RX 7650 GRE Reaper cards (in black or white) will continue to serve as Chinese market exclusives. The leaked "RX7600 8G-F/V2" product identifier indicates that PowerColor is keeping its "Fighter" family alive for a little bit longer, perhaps with a designation of cards that utilize older generation architecture. Insiders propose that the incoming PowerColor RX 7600 Fighter V2 model is configured with reference specifications; mirroring version 1.0's credentials. VideoCardz has mocked up speculative packaging (see below); they reckon that a black variant is lined up for an imminent release—the aforementioned product code has cropped up across retail databases.

We dedicated a lot of our launch presentation of Framework Desktop to the Ryzen AI Max processor it uses, and for a good reason. These truly unique, ultra-high-performance parts are the culmination of decades of technology and architecture investments that AMD has made, going all the way back to their acquisition of ATI in 2006. For our first technical deep dive on Framework Desktop, we're going to go even deeper into Ryzen AI Max and what makes it a killer processor for gaming, workstation, and AI workloads.

What makes Ryzen AI Max special is a combination of three elements: full desktop-class Zen 5 CPU cores, a massive 40-CU Radeon RDNA 3.5 GPU, and a giant 256-bit LPDDR5x memory bus to feed the two, supporting up to 128 GB of memory. Chips and Cheese did an excellent technical overview of the processor with AMD that goes even deeper on this, and we'll pull out some of the highlights along with our own insights. We'll start with the CPUs. Ryzen AI Max supports up to 16 CPU cores split across two 4 nm FinFET dies that AMD calls CCDs. These dies are connected together using an extremely wide, low power, low latency bus across the package substrate. The CPUs are full Zen 5 cores with 512-bit FPUs and support for AVX-512, a vector processing instruction set otherwise only available on Intel's top end server CPUs. We're excited for you to see the multicore performance numbers these CPUs can do in our upcoming press review cycle!

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.

Last Friday, AMD confirmed finalized price points for its upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D ($699) and 9900X3D ($599) gaming processors—both launching on March 12. Media outlets are very likely finalizing their evaluations of review silicon; official embargoes are due for lifting tomorrow (March 11). By Team Red decree, a drip feed of pre-launch information was restricted to teasers, a loose March launch window, and an unveiling of basic specifications (at CES 2025). A trickle of mid-January to early March leaks have painted an incomplete picture of performance expectations for the 3D V-Cache-equipped 16 and 12-core parts. A fresh NDA-busting disclosure has arrived online, courtesy of an alleged Ryzen 9 9950X3D sample's set of benchmark scores.

A pre-release candidate posted single and multi-thread ratings of 4739 and 69,701 (respectively), upon completion of PassMark tests. Based on this information, a comparison chart was assembled—pitching the Ryzen 9 9950X3D against its direct predecessor (7950X3D), a Zen 5 relative (9950X), and competition from Intel (Core Ultra 9 285K). AMD's brand-new 16-core flagship managed to outpace the previous-gen Ryzen 9 7950X3D by ~14% in single thread stakes, and roughly 11% in multithreaded scenarios. Test system build details and settings were not mentioned with this leak—we expect to absorb a more complete picture tomorrow, upon publication of widespread reviews. The sampled Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU surpassed its 9950X sibling by ~5% with its multi-thread result, both processors are just about equal in terms of single-core performance. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU posted the highest single-core result within the comparison—5078 points—exceeding the 9950X3D's tally by about 7%. The latter pulls ahead by ~3% in terms of recorded multi-thread performance. Keep an eye on TechPowerUp's review section; where W1zzard will be delivering his verdict(s) imminently.

AMD has officially stated that its portfolio of RDNA 4 generation graphics cards consists of Radeon RX 9070 XT, RX 9070, and RX 9060 XT models. Last December, a longer list of GPUs appeared online—this pre-Christmas 2024 leak revealed Radeon RX 9060, RX 9050 and RX 9040 identifiers. Team Red seems to be working on populating the lower end of its Radeon RX 9000 family—similarly, Team Green is reportedly expanding its "Blackwell" GPU generation into the "entry-mainstream" segment with their RTX 5050 card design.

Late last week, a Mexican PC hardware retailer inadvertently added Radeon RX 9060 and 9050 categories (not product listings) to its webstore. Noted graphics card watchdogs picked up on the shop's accidental adding of search filters; prompting the swift removal of NDA-busting material (by the time of writing). Resultant VideoCardz news coverage has spread the word of possible forthcoming launches of much cheaper RDNA 4 GPU models. AMD and involved board partners are likely aiming to get lower-mid-range Radeon RX 9060 XT cards out of the door by the second quarter of 2025. Recent leaks indicate Radeon RX 9060 (non-XT) and RX 9050-class products potentially arriving at retail closer to summertime, with speculated "Navi 44" GPUs onboard.

Last week, Acer registered a glut of new graphics card SKUs—an extensive EEC filing revealed several unannounced Nitro and Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 9060 XT models. The AMD board partner seems to be preparing two memory configurations for its lower-end RDNA 4 custom cards: 16 GB and 8 GB (GDDR6). VideoCardz reached out to AIB industry moles, in order to establish whether the aforementioned specification points were concrete. A past weekend report "reconfirms" incoming 16 GB and 8 GB variants. Going back to RDNA 3, Team Red released its Radeon RX 7600 XT GPU in 16 GB form, while the cheaper Radeon RX 7600 made do with a VRAM pool of 8 GB. An unnamed board partner's list of launch day offerings reportedly contains basic technical specs (see screenshot below).

Leaked Radeon RX 9060 XT details show 16 GB GDDR6 and 8 GB GDDR6 variants, with 128-bit memory interfaces. VideoCardz believes that 20 Gbps memory chips will be utilized, as featured on recently launched Radeon RX 9070 series cards. The leaked product list indicates that required juice will be delivered through a lone 8-pin power connector; a minimum PSU requirement suggestion is 500 W, although this could jump up to 550 W for factory overlocked SKUs. A speculative "Navi 48 LE" GPU variant is present within TechPowerUp's GPU database entry for the Radeon RX 9060 XT. VideoCardz reckons that a "Navi 44" GPU would be more appropriate for this class; perhaps derived from a mobile part. The leak suggests the presence of a single HDMI 2.1 port, as well as two DP 2.1 ports—a smaller GPU would have trouble driving more than that. During an official RDNA 4 launch event—held in Beijing, late last month—a Team Red representative announced a loose Q2 2025 launch window for Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics cards.

Earlier today, AMD confirmed finalized price points and a launch date for its two incoming additions to the Ryzen 9000X3D processor lineup. The current Zen 5 processor population (with 3D V-Cache onboard) has a count of one—Team Red's reigning gaming champion: the eight-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D model. AMD's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing and Graphics was the first staffer to make an official announcement regarding definitive talking points. Jack Huynh stated (via a social media post): the world's best processor for gaming and content creation is almost here. Available starting March 12th. Ryzen 9 9950X3D—$699. Ryzen 9 9900X3D—$599. A huge thank you to our incredible community of gamers, creators, and innovators for your continued support. Together, we're shaping the future of gaming and content creation! Let's level up together!"

The sixteen-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D and twelve-core 9900X3D SKUs were officially unveiled at CES 2025, in early January. Since then, many leaks have emerged online—certain soothsayers were bang on with their predictions. Almost a month ago, speculative $699 and $599 price points were leaked. On two separate occasions, a—now confirmed—March 12 launch day was projected. AMD is expected to lift media embargoes on March 11; reviews of finalized silicon will finally reveal whether the two new players can beat their incumbent sibling in gaming performance benchmarks. As reported this afternoon, China's JD.com retail platform has opened its order book to customers—a limited quantity of Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D units were made available for a short period of time.

Yesterday's global launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 was a relatively successful affair; day one stock was swiftly snapped up. Naturally, buying conditions were not ideal for every customer. Despite a prominent UK retailer's teasing of plentiful supply (pre-launch), online feedback pointed to apparent limited supplies of RDNA 4 cards across European regions. Fresh reports suggest that anticipated fluid price conditions have caused a larger than expected rush at retail; hence the rapid depletion of opening day stock. As reported yesterday, a handful of PC hardware stores have alluded to forthcoming upward shifts in pricing for the lower-end of an all-board partner-built Radeon RX 9070 series graphics card lineup. VideoCardz has highlighted a disgruntled customer's experience with Ebuyer UK. Bran180s—a Radeon subreddit member—managed to snag a baseline MSRP conformant Sapphire PULSE RX 9070 XT model for the ideal launch price (£569.99, including VAT), but the webstore reneged this transaction.

A screenshot was uploaded to Reddit, alongside a short story: "was on the website ready for the launch of the RX 9070 XT, got one straight away and paid no issues. Ebuyer emailed me today to cancel, and now the price is £150 more." The British e-tailer has issued apologies, following the absorption of online criticism (see relevant screenshot below). The "normal price" of Sapphire's basic Pulse card was eventually adjusted to a mere £664.98, but Ebuyer has de-listed this SKU (at the time of writing). Other UK webshops—Scan, AWD-IT, CCL, Box etc.—have similarly implemented price hikes across low, mid and premium card tiers. Australia's Hardware Unboxed managed to extract an official response from AMD—their social media post quoted Frank Azor. The Team Red exec indicated that his team is ready to intervene: "it is inaccurate that $549/$599 MSRP is launch-only pricing. We expect cards to be available from multiple vendors at $549/$599 (excluding region specific tariffs and/or taxes) based on the work we have done with our AIB partners, and more are coming. At the same time, the AIBs have different premium configurations at higher price points and those will also continue."

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D processors are reportedly due to launch mid-way through next week (March 12)—this "unofficial" release date was revealed by JD.com listings. Yesterday's report focused on the popular Chinese e-commerce platform's apparent leaking of Team Red's mid-March schedule. Last month, a local tipster—Golden Pig Upgrade—also alluded to a possible March 12 rollout of 16 and 12-core 3D V-Cache-equipped Zen 5 chips. In a surprise move, JD has started selling Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D units. Earlier today, ITHome spotted updated product pages—JD disclosed that it was prepping an earlier than expected sale: "limited time and limited quantity available at 20:00 (local time) on March 7."

Officially, AMD has only teased a loose March launch window for its latest Ryzen Niners. VideoCardz has kept track of the company's recent announcements, and opines that the Ryzen 9000X3D release strategy is strange one. Embargoes for reviewer and influencers are tipped for lifting on March 11, so JD's premature sale of Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D processors clashes with this schedule. JD's unusual 20:00 release time was highlighted by VideoCardz; they reckon that the 22:00 hour is a more appropriate kick-off time. It is possible that the limited quantity/short period sale was a mislabeled promotion for pre-orders—something could be lost in translation (see primary screenshot below), but similar events were reported in recent history.

Over the past month and a half, PC hardware retailers have tasked themselves with sharing of all sorts of bad news to their respective customer bases. Inet AB has outlined the outlook for regional availability of GeForce RTX 5070 graphics cards, but a newer blog entry focuses on the Team Red side of things. The popular Swedish store put a spotlight on today's launch of RDNA 4 products: "we have learned how the recommended prices, also known as MSRP prices, work for the launch of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT. We are not allowed to say exact prices.., but simply put, they will apply to a limited number of cards. For this release, we will have MSRP prices from three manufacturers, all of whom have both an RX 9070 and an RX 9070 XT at MSRP." According to Inet's product table, the brands are: ASUS, PowerColor and SAPPHIRE. Respectively, the PRIME, Reaper and PULSE product families serve as substitutes to (absent) AMD-built equivalents.

So far, the retail launch of Radeon 9070 Series has experienced fewer hiccups—when compared to recent GeForce RTX 50-series releases. Unfortunately, Inet has indicated that price climbs are in the pipeline for AMD's brand-new RDNA 4 generation. The shop's blog elaborated on shifting circumstances: "the prices only apply to the first shipment of each model. For Sapphire and ASUS it will be just as usual, we have only received one shipment, and you can buy it until it runs out, but with PowerColor it will be different. In other words, only the cards that were released with MSRP prices at release will be sold for the lower price." Earlier today, Overclockers UK's initial batch of "baseline price conformant" stock was depleted rapidly—forum and social media posts boasted about "thousands of units" being amassed in a warehouse, prior to launch. Gibbo—a well-liked OCUK employee—shared some additional insight (yesterday): "I feel stock will be fine for a few days. MSRP is capped quantity of a few hundred, so prices will jump once those are sold through. Re-stocks and pricing is unknown going forward, nobody really knows what April will bring due to instability in world with USA starting to rage a trade war, we are all hopeful it won't impact computer stuff, but who knows."

One of the main pillars that vendors of Arm-based processors often cite as a competitive advantage versus x86 processors is a keen focus on energy efficiency and predictability of performance. In the quest for higher efficiency and performance, Arm vendors have largely designed out the ability to operate on multiple threads concurrently—something that most enterprise-class CPUs have enabled for years under the technology description of "SMT"—which was also created in the name of enabling performance and efficiency benefits.

Arm vendors often claim that SMT brings security risks, creates performance unpredictability from shared resource contention and drives added cost and energy needed to implement SMT. Interestingly, Arm does support multi-threading in its Neoverse E1-class processor family for embedded uses such as automotive. Given these incongruities, this blog intends to provide a bit more clarity to help customers assess what attributes of performance and efficiency really bring them value for their critical workloads.

Yeston unveiled its striking Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Sakura Atlantis card design around mid-January, along with an NDA-busting specification disclosure. The Chinese board partner seemingly disregarded AMD's guarded approach; by happily revealing an allocated pool of 16 GB VRAM. Later on, teasers emerged via the brand's social media accounts—including photos from an outdoor fashion shoot. Press outlets were expecting Yeston's launch lineup to consists of Sakura Atlantis Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 SKUs, but "bog standard" Sakura options have also appeared online.

The company's bafflingly abstract design is a familiar property; due to its deployments on a variety of past-gen hardware. According to one of Yeston's promotional images, their standard Sakura design only applies to a lone Radeon RX 9070 XT SKU. Both product tiers were accompanied by a message from their manufacturer: "Sakura And Sakura Atlantis are here! Yeston RX 9070 Series graphics cards are built to deliver all you need for ultra-fast gaming, with next-level visuals and future-ready features, supercharged with AI."

The Chiphell forum has provided a steady flow of AMD RDNA 4-related leaks—going back to early December; members believed that "Radeon RX 8800 XT" GPUs were imminently entering into a mass production phase. Since then, Team Red and board partners have officially revealed a full deck of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 models—complete with a "modernized" naming scheme. By Christmas (2024), insiders appeared to have working units in their clutches—denizens of Chiphell have continued to dole out pre-release info; even deep into launch week. UNIKO's Hardware picked up on the latest signals; with owners of unnamed custom Radeon RX 9070 XT cards: "calling out bad cooling on GDDR6 VRAM."

As highlighted by Wccftech, NDA-busting disclosures have alluded to commendable GPU thermal measurements—when driven at full load—but several leakers have noted less than stellar results from VRAM temperature readings. Chiphell-sourced GPU-Z screenshots indicate a maximum recorded VRAM temperature of 94℃, with the involved GPU's hotspot hitting a top temp of 79°C. This leaked candidate seems to be a 329 W TBP-rated model. Wccftech observed inconsistencies with the other evaluated sample: "under full load, the GPU temperature at the hot spot reaches a max of 63°C but the memory temperature touches 88°C. The surprising thing to note in the first case is that the TBP is only 237 W, which seems weird considering the Radeon RX 9070 XT (reference spec) starts at a TBP of 260 W. This might be a bug...The user has confirmed that the first one isn't the RX 9070 as one would think, but it is the RX 9070 XT as well." The "guided" upper limit for newer VRAM standards is 95°C, so one of the anonymous custom cards is dancing dangerously in close proximity to the proverbial flame. Certain hardware news outlets reckon that GDDR6X memory will succumb to damage once a 120°C ceiling is hit. Hopefully, these issues are limited to a handful of review samples—a couple of AMD's trusted board partners have opted for Honeywell PTM7950 thermal pads and robust heatpipe formations. Stay tuned to TechPowerUp for W1zzard's incoming RDNA 4-related verdicts.

Last week, AMD teased an upcoming launch of Radeon RX 9060 Series graphics cards. A Q2 2025 release window was mentioned at the tail end of their special RDNA 4 conference event, held in Beijing on February 28. TechPowerUp's GPU database has listed a mysterious Radeon RX 9060 XT 12 GB model for the past month (or two); this entry was updated with new information last week. Speculative points of interest include a "Navi 48 LE" GPU variant, GDDR6 memory (with an 128-bit interface), and 150 W TDP rating. Since then, leakers have proposed various Radeon RX 9060-class configurations and generated theories about performance. In search of concrete evidence, harukaze5719 turned to a trusty source of pre-launch info: EEC registries.

Earlier today, the South Korean PC hardware enthusiast discovered freshly-lodged Acer model names and codes. Easily identifiable unannounced SKUs include the Predator BiFrost RX 9060 XT OC 16 GB and RX 9060 XT OC 8 GB cards. Various "AN-RX9060XT-XXX-OCC" and "PB-RX9060XT-XXX-OCC" identifiers suggest a well-populated lineup of "Acer Nitro" and "Predator BiFrost" budget-friendly options. The Taiwanese manufacturer has already launched related Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 models at retail. According to the VideoCardz insider network, Team Red and board partners are tipped to release the cheaper end of RDNA 4 in April. The Radeon RX 9060 Series could launch within the same timeframe as rumored 16 GB and 8 GB GeForce RTX 5060 variants.

XFX appears to be lining up separate tranches of Radeon RX 9070 Series graphics cards for different markets; Chinese media outlets have reported a wide-spanning lineup of "domestic" and "overseas" edition SKUs. VideoCardz has spotted another potential China-exclusive model—their past weekend investigative piece put the spotlight on a Radeon RX 9070 XT dual-fan SWIFT design. This variant was found on XFX's Tmall e-tail store. The manufacturer's Chinese language official site does not list this curiosity, and recent press material has focused on a lineup of triple-fan cooled solutions. XFX's Western web presences do not allude to any twin-fan variants within the MERCURY, QUICKSILVER, or SWIFT classes.

AMD's recent full-fledged introduction of RDNA 4 included promotional renders of reference card designs, but the launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 involves an entirely board partner-manufactured pool of SKUs. The XFX Radeon RX 9070 XT SWIFT dual-fan model is priced exactly at the level of Team Red's regional guide MSRP: 4999 RMB (including VAT). It likely serves as a direct alternative to an absent AMD-built dual-fan reference card. According to a comparative table of XFX model specifications (see below), the dual-fan variant shares identical data points—excluding physical measurements—with its longer siblings.

The "Medusa" or "Medusa Point" codename started to appear online over the past couple of months. These mysterious AMD projects were linked to next-generation "Zen 6" Ryzen desktop and mobile processor families (respectively). Initially, insiders reckoned that Team Red had selected an RDNA 4-based graphics solution for integration their futuristic new-gen laptop APU design. Two days ago, Golden Pig Upgrade weighed in with a different theory—the veteran leaker believes that provisions have regressed on the "Medusa Point" iGPU front.

Previous reports have suggested that the "Medusa Point" processor's iGPU aspect will utilize up to 16 compute units (CU), based on a theorized count of eight workgroup processors (WGPs) from leaked imagery. The latest insider tip points to the utilization of a non-specific "RDNA 3.x" branch, instead of conjectured RDNA 4 graphics technology. Industry watchdogs hold the belief that AMD will be sticking with RDNA 3.5 for a while—as featured on their current-gen "Zen 5" mobile-oriented Strix Point, Strix Halo and Krackan Point chips. As pointed out by Notebookcheck, Team Red leadership disclosed that RDNA 4 is exclusive to discrete card families (for the time being). RDNA 3.5-equipped APUs have—so far—received a warm welcome; AMD engineers could be reserving development resources for a distant future project.

Late last week, ASRock introduced its opening wave of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics card models; in Taichi, Steel Legend and Challenger guises. Official press material only alluded to an intriguing "gray" spin-off of the Taiwanese manufacturer's (traditionally) white-hued mid-tier product family. ASRock's brand-new Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend Dark 16 GB model is listed on their website, but it has received little fanfare since February 28. Appropriately, this "Dark" variant rolls out with the familiar Steel Legend shroud and backplate designs—albeit, with a two-tone (black/gray) aesthetic.

As expected, the ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend Dark card shares identical specifications with its standard white sibling—in both cases, we are looking at non-overclocked SKUs. The AMD board partner has not prepared a non-XT Steel Legend Dark card for launch (on March 6), but an expanded lineup could emerge in the near future. ASRock graphics card enthusiasts have noted a mildly disappointing absence of RDNA 4-based Phantom Gaming options—past Radeon product generations have hit global markets with this sub-brand. Looking at a typical past example—ASRock's Radeon RX 7800 XT Phantom Gaming OC card—we see a gray/black design with a smattering of RGB lighting zones. We could surmise that ASRock has created a similar-ish modernized equivalent—in the shape of Steel Legend Dark (non-OC)—to fill a (temporary?) Phantom Gaming-sized gap.

AMD's proper introduction of first wave RDNA 4 graphics cards has focused on Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 models; officially due for retail release next week (March 6). Lower-end options popped up—via naming scheme material—during CES 2025, albeit with little fanfare. According to the latest reports emerging from China's tech press, AMD teased an upcoming Radeon RX 9060 Series launch. TechPowerUp's well-maintained GPU database has listed a speculative Radeon RX 9060 XT 12 GB model since early January; a fresh update has revealed the "theorized" existence of a Team Red "Navi 48 LE" GPU.

As reported earlier today, AMD rolled out a "surprise" in-person Chinese RDNA 4 event—in contrast, Western audiences have just watched an official virtual presentation. According to ITHome and VideoCardz, a Team Red representative slipped in a brief mention of the forthcoming Radeon RX 9060 Series. This announcement was made right at the tail end of the company's presentation (in China); teasing a second quarter 2025 launch window. AMD did not go into great detail—ITHome divulged the company's key goals for forthcoming Radeon RX 9060 cards: "mid-range market, focusing on cost-effectiveness, and aiming to provide high-performance/low-power solutions for 1080p and 1440p gamers." Local insiders reckon that the lower-end of AMD's RDNA 4 lineup will be downgraded with fewer computing units and a pool of 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM. ITHome's sources believe that Radeon RX 9060 TBPs are expected to be somewhere "between 150 W and 200 W." Speculated MSRP info indicates a range of $349 to $449 (USD) pricing.

International corporate entities have to deal with global time differences; causing uncountable logistical headaches. As evidenced by local reports; AMD and board partner representatives decided to debut their next-gen Radeon RX 9070 Series in front of a (mostly) Chinese audience. The much earlier than anticipated presentation took place well in advance of the "main event," with Jack Huynh and other Team Red big brass showcasing brand-new products to regional distributors and media outlets. VideoCardz believes that this "surprise" press mini-junket occurred—roughly—twelve hours ahead of the officially scheduled international "special broacast."

Baseline price points—VAT included—of 4999 RMB (~$686 USD) and 4499 RMB (~$617 USD) were announced, for the incoming Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 models (respectively). We now know that North American MSRPs (excluding tax) are $599 and $549 (respectively). AMD's presentation slides included more shots of their reference designs (MBA), in triple or dual-fan configurations. Earlier in the week, industry watchdogs proposed that the Radeon RX 9070 Series would launch with an all-custom card lineup; with no AMD-built options. Attendees noted several on-stage board partner company reps, including Jack Yu (ASUS China). ASRock, GIGABYTE, PowerColor, VASTARMOR, XFX and Yeston were the other participants; with demonstration hardware in their hands.

PowerColor's Radeon RX 9070 XT Hellhound model is a known property—in terms of its visual presentation—due to a public unveiling at CES 2025, as well as renders appearing online via official product pages. The Taiwanese manufacturer has decided to update its custom graphics card designs for AMD's incoming RDNA 4 generation—for example; the flagship Red Devil family is also refreshed for 2025. So far, PowerColor has showcased "standard black" Red Devil, Hellhound and Reaper designs. Rumors of additional Spectral White variants were circulating online earlier in the week.

Chinese market-exclusive PowerColor Radeon RX 7650 GRE Reaper models were launched very recently, complete with a Spectral White option. Following this official launch, VideoCardz picked up on inside track information; pointing to possible pale variants of forthcoming RDNA 4-based Red Devil cards. Days later, another PowerColor leak has unearthed an unannounced Spectral White SKU, albeit in Hellhound flavor. This product family usually offers a nice balance of high-end features and favorable pricing; we hope to see concrete details tomorrow. The leaked Hellhound card seems to feature an almost all-white aesthetic; extending to its PCB design and I/O bracket. No major surprises were disclosed in VideoCardz's report, but they noted a potential absence of RGB lighting zones. Previous-gen Hellhounds sport "fixed-color" schemes; enabling blue or purple lighting.

iBUYPOWER and AVGPC appear to be preparing PC pre-built systems featuring upcoming AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics cards; Newegg listings were detected by Everest/Olrak29 during yesterday evening's sleuthing session. System integrators have likely been sitting on distributed RDNA 4 stock for a while, but finalized builds seem to be prepped and ready for launch next month. As reported by VideoCardz, an AVGPC "Whirwlind" system—priced at $1799 (with free shipping)—is based on Team Red hardware; namely a Ryzen 7 9700X CPU and a "Radeon RX 9070 XT 16G" card.

The cheapest "leaked" iBUYPOWER Y40 PRO build contains a Ryzen 7 9700X processor, and a "Radeon 9070 16 GB" graphics card. This system's listed price was $1749.99 (shipping is gratis), prior to Newegg's scrubbing. A $50 upcharge grants access to a Ryzen 7 7800X3D-equipped Y40 PRO model, featuring the same non-XT card. The most expensive iBUYPOWER desktop option—going for $1949.99—houses a Ryzen 9 9900X CPU and a "Radeon 9070 XT 16 GB" discrete graphics solution. Via crafty deduction, VideoCardz reckons that the iBUYPOWER price differences indicate a $130 gulf between non-XT and XT siblings. Naturally, this could be subject to change—we expect to absorb nitty-gritty MSRP details tomorrow, during AMD's special RDNA 4 event. As noted by everyone's favorite source of GPU news; a single (not scalped) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card seemingly costs roughly the same as an entire RDNA 4-based pre-build.

XFX has not generated much official RDNA 4 noise, ahead of this Friday's special event. The long-term AMD board partner unveiled a pair of mysterious Radeon RX 9070 series cards at CES 2025, but no marketing/hype campaign was launched in the interim. VideoCardz and its insider networks have kept tabs on XFX activities; mostly from retail sources. Their latest report concentrates on custom Radeon RX 9070 XT options; claiming that a grand total of nine SKUs are destined for launch next month. Around mid-February, a Canadian e-tailer inadvertently published a comprehensive selection of unannounced XFX MERCURY, SWIFT, and QUICKSILVER models. Days later, the South Korean and Canadian branches of Amazon uploaded packaging imagery.

VideoCardz has gathered product renders and basic spec information from various retail leaks, as well as inside sources. They believe that XFX has (wisely) dropped its old/odd naming schemes—e.g.: SWFT and QICK—in favor of traditional spellings. The high-end MERCURY population count is (allegedly) four; consisting of two Magnetic Air variants, and two normal editions (sporting non-modular fans). Reportedly, an "M" tag adorns Magnetic Air model retail boxes (refer to images below)—VideoCardz believes that XFX's red-ringed fans indicate detachable functionality, but this color coding is only visible on the black version. As previously reported, XFX's upper-tier Radeon RX 9070 XT custom options are touted to sport the "greatest" factory-set overclock: 3.1 GHz. Press outlets have noted the presence of three 8-pin power connectors in leaked MERCURY renders.

Earlier today, the AMD Rewards website was updated with a new marketing promotion—standard edition digital copies of Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds (due on February 28) will be bundled with qualifying purchases of select Ryzen processors, Radeon graphics card, as well as Team Red-powered gaming laptops. AMD's previous "Game Bundle Promotion" campaign rolled out last autumn—at the time, participating customers were gifted digital copies of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Unknown 9: Awakening. Unfortunately, the latest iteration grants access to a single AAA title. Multiple hardware and gaming news outlets have advised prospective buyers to make use of the Monster Hunter Wilds PC performance benchmark utility; in preparation for the game's full release. Preview builds have reportedly brought fairly potent test systems to their knees.

Curiously, AMD's list of eligible products does not include any desktop (AM5) 3D V-Cache models—a glaring omission, given the nature of this promotion. Instead, various standard SKUs are listed; at the top we spotted their Ryzen 9 9950X CPU. The cheapest options seem to be the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 7700 (non-X) models. Qualifying graphics card options are restricted to the Radeon RX 7000 series; there is no mention of next-gen candidates—terms could be amended later this week; AMD will be presenting its new Radeon RX 9070 series on February 28. Team Red board partners are expected to reveal their respective participations with this Monster Hunter Wilds promo campaign; Sapphire—a well regarded AIB—announced its involvement, as of this afternoon. Interestingly, ASUS has introduced a similar marketing initiative, also involving Capcom and its popular Monster Hunter franchise.