AMD Partners Inflate Prices of RX 9070 and 9070 XT GPUs Amid High Demand

AMD has recently launched its Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards, a large foray into the mid-range GPU market. These cards specifically compete with Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti using competitive pricing and better performance features. The RX 9070 will cost $549, and the RX 9070 XT starts at $599, both making them excellent alternatives to Nvidia’s offerings.
The Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT are powered by AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture, with mass improvements to ray tracing performance and the inclusion of new FSR 4 machine learning upscaler. The technology optimizes the game experience with high performance and picture quality. They both provide 16GB memory with a 256-bit memory interface and 64MB Infinity Cache to achieve high performance with high-demand games.
Despite the price war, the retailers have warned that such prices will not last long. The initial supplies have been rolled out at the prices, with subsequent shipments experiencing price increases. The trend is consistent with what has been observed with recent GPU launches, where initial supplies are consumed within a short period, leading to subsequent purchasers paying more.
Inet, an online retailer based in Sweden, has indicated that while they will initially be selling cards at the MSRP from companies like ASUS, PowerColor, and Sapphire, prices will rise once initial supplies are depleted. Similarly, OCUK has indicated that only a limited quantity of their RX 9070 XT stock will be available at launch price, stressing the importance of customers acting fast if they are to purchase these GPUs at the lower price.
The competitive pricing of the RX 9070 series is seen as a strategic move by AMD to challenge Nvidia’s market leadership. The RX 9070 XT, for instance, is priced as a credible alternative to the RTX 5070 Ti, offering comparable performance at a lower price. AMD’s benchmarking suggests that the RX 9070 XT is behind the RTX 5070 Ti by a mere some 2% when it comes to 4K gaming and would therefore be a very competitive option for gamers in need of high-end performance without the premium price of Nvidia’s flagship cards.
But the conditions of availability and pricing can shift extremely fast as the demand and supply settle. AMD’s competitive pricing and performance policy can lead to good sales, as long as the company can restock an inventory of these GPUs at the introductory prices. But the overall willingness of the market to accept price hikes after initial availability exhaustion implies that customers need to be prepared for potential price raises weeks in advance.
Overall, the launch of the Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT marks a turning point for AMD in the GPU market, giving customers a viable alternative to Nvidia hardware. While the initial price is decent, the possibility of future price increases makes buying them now essential for consumers who want to have these GPUs at launch prices.