AMD has recently put to rest the swirling rumors about a potential Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU boasting 32 GB of memory. There has been chatter, triggered by a leaker from the Chiphell forum, suggesting that a beefier 32 GB version of the RX 9070 XT was on the cards for this year. Speculation even went so far as to place this hypothetical GPU within the ‘Gaming’ lineup, distinct from AMD’s PRO series.
However, Frank Azor from AMD has definitively quashed these rumors. In response to a posting on Techpowerup’s X, Azor clarified that a 32 GB variant is not in the pipeline:
“No, the 9070 XT card is not coming in 32 GB capacity,” he stated candidly on social media.
The official specs for the Radeon RX 9070 XT include 16 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Given the current technological landscape, a 32 GB version might not have translated into any significant performance uplifts, primarily due to the GPU’s existing capabilities. Early whispers suggested this expanded memory was designed with AI tasks in mind, although gaming was supposedly within its scope too.
Historically, AMD hasn’t ventured into providing a 32 GB option for its gaming GPUs, and honestly, it seems prudent for them not to start with a mid-tier powerhouse like this. Looking at the big picture, it’s doubtful we’ll see a leap beyond 16 GB of VRAM in the upcoming RDNA 4 series, especially as the RX 9070 XT leads the lineup with its Navi 48 GPU architecture.
As for other models, like the RX 9070 and cards based on the Navi 44, they’ll likely fall short in both specs and performance compared to the RX 9070 XT. But hang tight—AMD is set to officially unveil its RX 9000 series on February 28th, which will finally provide us with concrete details on specs, pricing, and performance straight from the horse’s mouth.
Shortly after, in early March, the GPUs are expected to hit the shelves. Meanwhile, NVIDIA is gearing up to introduce the GeForce RTX 5070 GPU. Frank Azor has hinted that AMD’s 70-class graphics cards will go head-to-head with NVIDIA’s offerings, so it should be intriguing to see the RX 9070 XT and the RX 9070 battle it out with the RTX 5070 Ti and its kin.