It seems that the final specifications of the first models of the new generation of graphics from AMD with RDNA 4 architecture, the Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon 9070 cards, have been leaked. They probably won’t change much, because there is not much time left until the actual release, which will probably be quite a bit sooner , than the “internet” believed after the cards weren’t part of the CES 2023 keynote. Perhaps it really was because the company was simply planning to introduce them separately.
The following information is still anecdotal, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. But it seems that there could be relatively less time left until the release at this point, so the leaks will be more reliable. The VideoCardz website apparently received from one of the reviewers (exactly what the source is, but it is not said) most of the specifications of the upcoming cards from PowerColor, including confirmed cards. Most importantly, we learn the specifications for the second card as well, the Radeon RX 9070.
Radeon RX 9070 XT
Radeon RX 9070 XT will have 4096 shaders (64 CU) of architecture RDNA 4this should be confirmed according to the VideoCardz source. A 256-bit bus with GDDR6 memory also applies. She has capacity 16 GB and the throughput is said to be 640 GB/s (which corresponds to using a memory frequency of 20.0 GHz effectively). The capacity of the Infinity Cache remains a question, but the most likely is 64 MB like the Radeon RX 7800 XT / Navi 32.
The new information is the clocks that come from the PowerColor cards. He is preparing three models – Reaper, Hellhound and Red Devil. The first two models, which will be cheaper, when set to “silent BIOS” should have game frequencies (“Game Clock”) 2400 MHz a boost 2970 MHz. Since this is the only BIOS/settings for the cheapest Reaper card, it seems likely that these are even the direct reference frequencies that will be in the official specs.
The Hellhound card also has a second OC BIOS, which increases the frequency to 2460 MHz in Game Clock and 3010 MHz in boost – these are already overclocked parameters. The Red Devil card has already been set in slower or silent BIOS, and its OC setting is even higher – game frequency 2520 MHz and boost 3060 MHz. (Note: the exact frequency you will have in operation varies from game to game, but is often higher than the official “game clock”).
What we don’t know yet is TDP. According to other rumors that are circulating, AMD increased the consumption from the originally planned TDP between 260 and 270 W, and in the final it will most likely be above 300 W. If not for reference cards, then for overclocked ones. According to the cards on display at CES, two eight-pins (and a PCIe x16 slot) are enough for power, but some non-reference cards have three connectors.
Radeon RX 9070: three quarters of the power?
Until now, it was not clear what exactly to expect from the second cheaper model, which will contain the same GPU Navi 48 in a trimmed form (in which it will be possible to apply chips with a defect in one of the units). VideoCardz reports that this cheaper configuration will include 3584 shaders (56 CU), so this is a similar cropping to what was used on the second Vega 10 chip model, which also had 64 CU (Vega 64 and Vega 56 cards).
And what is interesting – VideoCardz already has frequencies for these cards as well. PowerColor will reportedly sell Reaper, Hellhound and Red Devil cards from them as well. The parameters of the slower BIOS on the cheaper two cards, which could be reference specifications, are as follows: Game frequency is 2070 MHz and indicated boost 2520 MHz. Above that, the cards have higher overclocked settings, for information: 2120 / 2590 MHz for Hellhound and 2210 MHz / 2700 MHz for Red Devil (for cards of other brands, however, the OC frequency values will typically be elsewhere).
Radeon RX 9070 will retain the 256-bit memory bus and GDDR6 memory capacity 16 GB. According to VideoCardz, even the frequency of 20.0 GHz should remain effective, which is a bit surprising – the throughput would then be the same 640 GB/s.
If we were to orient ourselves purely by the indicated frequencies, then the raw performance of the RX 9070 should be about 74-75% of the RX 9070 XT (it should be said here that the Call of Duty benchmark published by IGN is probably a test of the XT model, not the cheaper version). This is purely numerical performance, but if we consider that the memory bandwidth could remain unchanged, the difference in performance might be smaller, at least in some games. Overclocking may also bring the 9070 a bit closer to the 9070 XT at some point.
The fact that the RX 9070 “non-XT” model has so much lower frequencies, but probably means better consumption. The TDP of this model will probably be somewhere below 300 W. It could possibly be somewhere around the originally considered value of ~260 W (which was the reference consumption of the 7800 XT model). But we don’t know him yet, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Theoretically, a scenario where the TDP will be set high is possible, in order to use the maximum number of chips, including marginal ones, which need a relatively high voltage to run correctly, which would lead to “exaggerated” consumption in this model.
Unveiled Wednesday, on sale next week
Complaints about AMD ignoring graphics at CES 2025 may not have been entirely misplaced, as their reveal is set to take place this week – reportedly at 3pm on Wednesday (January 15th). If this is true, then it is probably true that it was not worth “wasting” the unveiling at CES, where the 45-minute presentation was already crammed and there was not much space for anything (for example, it did not even mention the new Ryzen handheld gaming processors Z2 series that the company revealed). Now maybe the Radeon RX 9000s should get some better performances.
That January 15th will be a paper launch only. However, previous information from various sources (including stores and card manufacturers) indicate that the availability in stores might not be far away either, it could happen on January 22-24, i.e. next week.
Prices are not yet known. AMD’s Frank Azor mentioned at CES 2025 that the cards won’t cost $1000, but not even $300 (but somewhere in between). The lower of these amounts is perhaps more important, as it shows that even the cheaper RX 9070 model will be somewhere above this limit, and its price probably won’t even start at three. So don’t expect a price revolution, when suddenly this card would be at the price for which you only got 128-bit cards like Radeon RX 7600 XT or GeForce RTX 4060 (Ti).
Source: VideoCardz
Source: www.cnews.cz
