AMD RX 9070 launch day: will the price skyrocket? | Gaming industry worth worldwide | PC vs console meme | Best-selling consoles of all time | Turtles AI
AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT: High-Performance, Aggressively Priced Debut, But MSRP Stock May Run Out Soon
Key Points:
- AMD introduces the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 GPUs, with launch prices of $599 and $549, respectively.
- The new cards are set to compete directly with Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti, offering excellent value for money.
- Significant improvements in ray tracing and the introduction of the new FSR 4 machine learning upscaler.
- Retailers warn that the initial price may not last long, with increases expected once the first stock sells out.
Today, March 6, at 6:00 a.m. PT (9:00 a.m. EST, 2:00 p.m. GMT), AMD officially launches its new Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics cards, based on the RDNA 4 architecture. These GPUs are positioned in the mid-range segment with the intent of directly challenging Nvidia, offering an aggressive price and a technical compartment that is up to the competition. The RX 9070 XT, with a starting price of $599, is configured as a valid alternative to the RTX 5070 Ti, while the RX 9070, at $549, directly competes with the RTX 5070, but boasts a superior video memory endowment.
In detail, the Radeon RX 9070 XT comes with a Navi 48 GPU equipped with 56 processing units, for a total of 4096 cores. The card integrates 128 ROPs, 56 ray tracing accelerators and 128 dedicated AI accelerators. The reference clock reaches 2970 MHz, with the possibility of exceeding 3 GHz via factory overclocking. Power consumption is limited to 220W, lower than the previous RX 7700 XT. The memory compartment includes 16GB of GDDR6 at 20 Gbps on a 256-bit bus, guaranteeing a bandwidth of 640 GB/s, flanked by 64MB of third-generation Infinity Cache. Compatibility with PCIe 5.0 x16 completes the technical equipment.
A significant aspect of this new generation is the evolution of ray tracing, with a clear improvement compared to previous AMD cards, reducing the gap with GeForce solutions. The RX 9070 XT does not yet reach Nvidia’s levels, but it is closer than ever. AMD is also introducing FSR 4, the latest iteration of its upscaler, which now uses machine learning algorithms trained on the Instinct datacenter GPU range, improving visual quality and image stability. However, this technology is exclusive to the RX 9000 series, forcing interested users to upgrade to use it.
The most talked-about element of the launch remains the price: the cards are initially offered at $599 for the RX 9070 XT and $549 for the RX 9070, but retailers are reporting that these figures could increase quickly. According to some sources, current prices are limited to the first batch of stock, with increases expected for subsequent units. Some distributors, such as Swedish retailer Inet.se, have already stated that additional PowerColor supplies will be priced higher, while the Sapphire and Asus models will only keep their recommended prices until stocks run out. OCUK also confirms this trend, highlighting that of the 4000 RX 9070 XT units available, only a few hundred will be sold at the initial price. This scenario could change the perceived value of the cards, considering that many reviews have praised the product precisely based on the launch price.
The arrival of the new generation of AMD GPUs brings a breath of competitiveness to the market, offering high performance at a cost advantage compared to Nvidia solutions.
However, those interested in these cards would do well to move quickly to take advantage of the launch price before the expected increases.