At CES 2025, AMD unveiled its next-generation graphics cards, the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, part of the RDNA 4 lineup. Interestingly, these cards were absent from AMD's keynote, though vendors displayed them on the show floor with obscured specifications.
David McAfee, AMD's VP & GM of Radeon Graphics and Ryzen CPUs, took to Twitter/X to announce that both the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT will hit the market in March 2025. "Radeon 9000 series hardware and software are looking great and we are planning to have a wide assortment of cards available globally," McAfee stated. "Can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on the cards when they go on sale in March!"
While specific details like specifications and pricing remain undisclosed, it's speculated that the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT will compete directly with Nvidia's upcoming RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti, set to launch in February, in terms of price and performance.
Despite the lack of official details, reports suggest that stock of the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT has already reached retailers and is in the hands of reviewers. eTeknix has confirmed receiving review samples of these upcoming graphics cards.
The situation has led to speculation that AMD might have delayed the official launch to strategically counter Nvidia's RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti, allowing for a direct comparison. There's also speculation that pricing pressure from Nvidia could be influencing AMD's delay in releasing the RX 9070 lineup.
The launch messaging for the RX 9070 lineup has been somewhat chaotic and confusing due to the scarcity of details. A report from June 2024 highlighted Nvidia's dominant 88% share of the discrete GPU market, with AMD holding just 12%.
Given Nvidia's unchallenged position in the mid-range and high-end consumer graphics card market, AMD faces a critical challenge to effectively compete and reduce Nvidia's market dominance.
