Skip to main content

We now know why AMD chose to delay RDNA 4 — well, kind of

AMD announcing FSR 4 during CES 2025.
AMD

AMD hasn’t been very forthcoming when it comes to information about its RX 9000 series GPUs, but we just got an update as to why the cards won’t be available until sometime in March. The company cites software optimization and FSR 4 as the two reasons why it most likely decided to delay the launch of RDNA 4. But is that all there is to it, or is AMD waiting to see some of Nvidia’s best graphics cards before pulling the trigger on the RX 9070 XT?

The update comes from David McAfee, AMD’s vice president and general manager of the Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics division. A couple of days ago, McAfee took to X (Twitter) to announce that AMD was excited to launch the RX 9000 series in March. This caused a bit of an uproar, with many enthusiasts wondering why AMD was choosing to wait so long.

Recommended Videos

I really appreciate the excitement for RDNA4.  We are focused on ensuring we deliver a great set of products with Radeon 9000 series.  We are taking a little extra time to optimize the software stack for maximum performance and enable more FSR 4 titles.  We also have a wide range…

— David McAfee (@McAfeeDavid_AMD) January 22, 2025

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

McAfee now explains that AMD is “taking a little extra time to optimize the software stack for maximum performance and enable more FSR 4 titles.” While a bit vague, this confirms what many leakers have been saying: RDNA 4 is ready hardware-wise, but now, AMD seems eager to improve it on the software side. While not a bad approach, it does feel like there might be more to it.

After all, the GPUs have been spotted with preorders opening on January 22, and several retailers appear to already have them in stock. McAfee admits as much, saying: “We also have a wide range of partners launching Radeon 9000 series cards, and while some have started building initial inventory at retailers, you should expect many more partner cards available at launch.”

An ad for the AMD RX 9070 XT.
Reddit / VideoCardz

There are more signs pointing to the fact that AMD may have had other plans for the release date of RDNA 4. VideoCardz spotted a Reddit ad posted by the official AMD account, and the ad clearly states that the GPUs are available, saying: “When the stakes are high, every play counts — play now with the ultimate performance of AMD Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards.” It also gives us a closer look at the RX 9070 XT in its Made By AMD (MBA) design.

If late January was the initial plan for the RX 9000 series, it’s clear that AMD pulled back. Greater availability for FSR 4 titles and improved drivers are both good reasons to delay, but it’s possible that AMD might also want to see how Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti will fare when it (most likely) hits the market in February.

There’s one good thing here, though, and that’s GPU availability. McAfee implies there’ll be plenty of RDNA 4 cards to go around, which is great, especially considering that Nvidia’s RTX 50-series might be very hard to come by at launch.

Monica J. White
Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…
New pricing leak shows AMD may have been right to wait for Nvidia
An Asus RX 9070 XT TUF GPU.

AMD's upcoming RX 9070 XT is still largely a mystery, but it won't be long before it's out there, competing against some of the best graphics cards. Many are wondering about how much it'll cost, and a reliable leaker just shared the rumored pricing of the RX 9070 XT. Reportedly, it's going to be cheaper than Nvidia's RTX 5070.

The information comes from zhangzhonghao on the Chiphell forums. This leaker has previously shared claims that turned out to be true, but still, it's important to take this with a healthy dose of skepticism, as it's not being presented as a fact -- and even if it was, it's never certain until AMD itself speaks up.

Read more
Preorders for AMD’s RX 9000 series may open this month
Various AMD RX 9000 series graphics cards.

Some much-needed good news just popped up in relation to AMD's best graphics cards, the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070. As spotted by momomo_us on X (formerly Twitter), the cards have been listed on the B&H website, and although you can't buy them right now, there's a preorder date for later this month. With the RTX 50-series set to launch on January 30, can AMD still beat Nvidia to the punch?

During AMD's CES 2025 keynote, the RDNA 4 lineup was largely a no-show, with nothing but a promise that we'd find out more soon. We weren't given the specs, much less a firm release date. While we still don't know when the RX 9000 series will truly arrive, at least we now know when the preorders are likely to start.  Keep in mind that none of this is official information from AMD, so everything could still change.

Read more
AMD may have underestimated the RX 9070
Gigabyte's RX 9070 XT GPU.

AMD's upcoming RX 9000 series is still largely a mystery, but the cards are already out there -- and AMD was actually demoing the RX 9070 during CES 2025. We may not know any specs of the card at this point, but thanks to an early benchmark, we know that it does a surprisingly good job in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Can it really compete against some of Nvidia's best graphics cards?

The RX 9070 was available for brief testing at the AMD booth, paired with the mighty impressive Ryzen 9 9950X3D. IGN spotted it and gave it a test run in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which has a built-in benchmarking tool. Mind you, this is the non-XT model, meaning that it's not the flagship card -- but it's unclear just how much worse it'll be than the XT variant.

Read more