AMD RDNA 3 GPUs could be hard to buy when theyre launched

Date:
Sat, 03 Dec 2022 13:53:12 +0000

Description:
Speculation is swirling about the RX 7900 XT and XTX, and what were hearing
is pretty ominous.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

AMDs RDNA 3 graphics cards are out next month, but they could be difficult to find online or in bricks-and-mortar stores, if the grapevine is correct with
a fresh assertion.

As flagged up by @harukaze5719 on Twitter, Quasarzone (QSZ) dropped some info regarding stock levels of the RX 7900 models, which we must naturally take with a couple of handfuls of seasoning. Also, they shared about RX 7900
series stock.Accoring to QSZ, early stock is extremely low. And we can see
AIB model end of Q4.3/n December 2, 2022 See more

Worryingly, Quasarzone predicts that the initial stock levels of the RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX will be extremely low, with the use of the word extremely being the concerning bit, of course.

That makes it sound like there will be very few units on shelves at least to begin with, when the new RDNA 3 GPUs are launched on December 13.

There is a twist here, though, because as @harukaze5719 elaborates, this likely refers to the reference boards built to AMDs baseline spec whereas more powerful custom boards from third-party card makers wont turn up until towards the end of December. However, those (more performant) models could arrive with beefier stock levels, but thats just educated guesswork on the Twitter leakers part.

Of course, this whole parcel of rumors needs to be treated very carefully, as weve already noted. Analysis: Rumor mill prompts worries not just about stock
but price tags, too

Part of the reason that we need to remain cautious with this new rumor is
that in the recent past, weve heard more positive noises that AMD is going to have a robust volume of RDNA 3 graphics cards right off the bat.

So, for that to be directly contradicted, and Team Red theoretically now looking at extremely low stock levels feels like a stretch. However, what could be the case is that as we touched on above, the very first few days, or maybe week, of the RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX GPUs being available could see scarce stock (and scalpers no doubt having a field day and making things worse) but then, by the end of the year, inventory volume could be ramped up considerably (perhaps with third-party custom RDNA 3 boards as mentioned).

This marries up with other recent speculation weve seen that custom RDNA 3 cards arent likely to be out until a couple of weeks after reference boards (in the main, anyway).

If there are many more third-party custom models than reference, though, that brings another possibility to fret about in itself. Namely that the custom efforts are going to be pricey graphics cards, and much more expensive than reference boards, as per another recent rumor .

If true, that could mean we see a lot of stock at considerably pricier levels than AMDs MSRP, and thatll be another blow to gamers who are looking for a
new cutting-edge graphics card what with Nvidias RTX 4090 and 4080, GPUs
that are already out there, being exorbitantly expensive. Its not like the 7900 XT and XTX are anything like affordable even at Team Reds recommended pricing, of course ($899 and $999 in the US).

This is a case where we have to hope the rumor-mongers are wrong, but as
ever, only time will tell. Lets just keep our fingers crossed we arent left hoping that the rumored to be imminent RTX 4070 Ti will have to come to the rescue on the pricing front, because we arent convinced thats going to happen , either.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-rdna-3-gpus-could-be-hard-to-buy-when-theyr e-launched


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