News AMD Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards global rollout set for March, confirms AMD exec

[Jabberwocky79]

it will reveal the ACTUAL $800+ and $600+ prices that NVidia AIBs will probably charge for 5070/Ti's; those NVidia price announcements are probably fiction.

For sure. Until proven otherwise, I'm maintaining my prediction that actual prices will be 30-50% more across the board.

 

[PiersPlowman]

A $550 price is a money-loser (violating AMD's fiduciary responsibility to shareholders) but a $600 price is feasible.

Ever heard of a loss leader? I believe inkjet printers are a good example of this (possibly some of the console generations, too). Canon et al sell the printer less than it costs to manufacture only to make up the revenue on ink sales.

AMD could sell the 9070(XT) at a break-even price or even slightly at a loss and recoup the money on the other SKUs or even on the next generation of cards. The thing is, right now, having a pile of RDNA4 cards sitting on shelves - or worse in a warehouse using up inventory space and fees - is not a money spinner, either.

Maybe AMD will do an Atari and bury their merchandise in the desert...

 

[Jabberwocky79]

^^^ I'm not an expert, but I would be surprised if AMD has the capital to deliberately lose money on their highest performing card. Nvidia, OTOH,... I could totally see them subsidizing their 5070 series just to squeeze AMD even more. They could afford to do so easily.

And you're totally right... unsold inventory is almost as bad as losing money on sales... at least it's a tax write-off. We'll have to wait and see, but it wouldn't surprise me if AMD is using this time to figure out, along with its AIB partners, how to make these new releases profitable after Nvidia's bombshell pricing announcement. I'm sure we'll find out the real story in time - news like that would definitely surface eventually.

 

[qwertymac93]

The cost to produce Navi48 / 9070xt / 9070 at TSMC should be 42% more than the 7800xt - an upcharge going from $16,000(N5) vs $20,000(N4) for each 300mm wafer, and 346mm vs 390mm size increase. I get $151 for each 9070xt with an eventual 90% yield vs $106 for every 7800xt:

https://www.adapteva.com/white-papers/silicon-cost-calculator/

If AMD GPUs have a 40% margin (in Q4 of 2024 it was a paltry 17%) the price increase to AIBs (vs. 7800xt) might be around $63 more than the 7800xt when yields hit 90%, and $74 higher cost (vs. 7800xt) at retail (+ 12% AIB + 5% retail margins). The 7800xt is $480 at retail right now and they will need a price increase of $80-$90 for Navi48 and because of the extra power transistors, power connections, and possibly extra cooling. A $550 price is a money-loser (violating AMD's fiduciary responsibility to shareholders) but a $600 price is feasible.

They will lose money for a some time at $600 at initial 70% yields. The 9070xt price floor is $630-$640 at 70% yields.

Would you buy 95%+ of a 4080 for $600? I sure would!

The delay will give them a chance to increase yields from 70% to 90%, it will give them a chance to complete and release FSR4, and it will give NVidia a chance to screw up by under-supplying 5090 and 5080 cards, and it will reveal the ACTUAL $800+ and $600+ prices that NVidia AIBs will probably charge for 5070/Ti's; those NVidia price announcements are probably fiction.

Just FYI Intel is STILL 4 years behind AMD & NVidia. The cost to produce a B580 card is the same as the cost to produce a 4070. What a waste of good silicon!

From where are you getting the die size for 9070XT from?

Keep in mind that If the die is now monolithic, packaging costs will have been reduced compared to the MCM 7800XT.

 

[thestryker]

From where are you getting the die size for 9070XT from?

It's not official, but based on measurements from a picture Tom's took of the Navi 48 die next to a die with known size: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...ed-around-390-mm2-targeting-mainstream-gamers

 

[KyaraM]

That's not great timing for AMD again if Nvidia really releases their 5070s on February 20 and the bigger cards this month. Feels like a repeat of their 7000 cards, when they also released after Nvidia. At best they are a week behind, more likely are 2-3 weeks. I really don't get their strategy, if they have any...

 

[Jabberwocky79]

^^^ You know what though? By the time the average person is able to actually find a new Nvidia card in stock, AMD might be right on schedule 🤔

 

[PiersPlowman]

AMD allegedly starting pre-orders on 23rd March.

Year uncertain.