AMD VP Calls Demand for Radeon RX 9070 XT Accelerators ‘Unprecedented’

AMD’s Vice President and General Manager of Client Processors and Radeon Graphics, David McAfee, called demand for the company’s newest graphics cards, which went on sale last week, “unprecedented.” He also shared some details about what led to the Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT accelerators selling out quickly around the world.

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McAfee, who oversees much of AMD’s consumer processor and graphics business, was impressed by the success of the new cards and how quickly the first batch of RX 9000-series cards sold out. “The launch of RDNA 4 was really a milestone for our graphics business. Demand was really, really, really strong around the world,” McAfee said.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards hit store shelves on March 6, becoming the first models based on the new RDNA 4 graphics architecture. Although the new accelerators retailed for $549 and $599, respectively, they were almost impossible to find on sale a week later. All copies from AMD partners were either completely sold out or were sold at a significantly higher price than the recommended price.

McAfee explained why selling graphics cards at reasonable prices and with enough stock can be challenging. “In [AMD’s processor] business, we package the processor in a box, we price the product, we ship it directly to market, and we have complete control over the process,” McAfee said. In contrast, AMD’s graphics supply chain involves a large number of AIB partners who buy AMD’s ASICs and build multiple models of each processor, which are then selected and ordered by retailers.

«”When you look at where we are today, priority number one is getting all of our partners restocked,” McAfee said. He also pointed out the long process between AMD shipping to partners and getting finished products to shelves. It is noted that AMD is paying close attention to getting Navi 48 GPUs to its accelerator partners as quickly as possible.

It was also said that the recommended price of the RX 9070 XT graphics card after the resumption of supplies will be $599 and it will not increase. However, this statement still needs to be verified. In recent years, the cost of graphics cards, especially from Nvidia, soars at the start of sales and does not fall to the level recommended by the manufacturer. For example, the price of the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card never fell to the level set by Nvidia, and now it costs more than $3000 even taking into account the appearance of next-generation accelerators.

However, McAfee remains optimistic about the RX 9070 XT price reduction in the future. “As we replenish the supply chain after what happened last week, you’ll see supply volume increase. We believe we have the most attractive portfolio in the industry right now across the board,” McAfee added.

Those hoping for AMD’s return to the flagship segment of the graphics card market will have to be patient. According to McAfee, the vast majority of consumers are currently buying graphics cards priced below $700. Against this backdrop, AMD’s top priority is to create the widest possible user base. “We have aspirations to be able to cover the entire spectrum of gaming solutions that exist in the market, and perhaps we will someday. But for now, we’re focused on increasing scale and building relationships with developers that come from having a broader presence in the graphics accelerator market,” McAfee added.