AMD has committed to keeping its Radeon products, among the best graphics cards available, affordable for everyday consumers, not just for enthusiasts with deep pockets. As graphics card prices have already spiraled out of control due to the DRAM shortage, David McAfee, Vice President and General Manager of Ryzen and Radeon, told Gizmodo that the chipmaker aims to keep the price hikes within reasonable limits.
AMD has cultivated long-term relationships with DRAM suppliers to ensure consistent memory availability for its Radeon graphics cards, McAfee explained. While the chipmaker continues collaborating with AIC partners to maintain competitive pricing, sustaining these efforts amid the ongoing shortage remains unrealistic. Pricing for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 50-series (codename Blackwell) graphics cards has already gone through the roof, so the situation presents a potential opportunity for AMD. The chipmaker could gain some market share if it can keep price increases moderate, even though RDNA 4 doesn't have an answer for Nvidia's top-end models, such as the GeForce RTX 5080 and above.
AMD Radeon GPU Price Variations Over The Last Three Months
Graphics Card | Price Variation | Architecture |
|---|---|---|
Radeon RX 9070 XT | Up to 17% | RDNA 4 |
Radeon RX 9070 | Up to 15% | RDNA 4 |
Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB | Up to 14% | RDNA 4 |
Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB | Up to 10% | RDNA 4 |
Radeon RX 7900 XTX | Up to 10% | RDNA 3 |
Radeon RX 7900 XT | Up to 4% | RDNA 3 |
Radeon RX 7800 XT | Up to 6% | RDNA 3 |
Radeon RX 7600 XT | Up to 13% | RDNA 3 |
AMD's previous-generation Radeon RX 7000 series didn't escape the price increases, either. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX now costs up to 10% more than it did three months ago, while Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7800 XT prices have risen by 4% and 6%, respectively. Surprisingly, the budget-oriented Radeon RX 7600 XT saw the steepest hike at 13%.
Retailers confirmed to Tom's Hardware last month that AMD had raised Radeon RX 9000-series prices by $10 per 8GB of memory, typically translating to a 3% to 5% increase depending on the model. However, the larger markups we're seeing today may reflect retailers adjusting prices to align with market conditions. Then again, our sources had indicated another price hike for Radeon RX 9000-series graphics cards is likely this month, so that could be the culprit as well.
Consumers who survived the COVID-era graphics card shortage know the best strategy is to wait it out until prices return to normal. Fortunately, that previous shortage lasted just two years. The current AI-driven crisis may last substantially longer. Some industry experts predict the NAND and DRAM shortage could persist until 2028 or even stretch to a full decade.
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