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RDNA 4 is about to give NVIDIA some much-needed competition in the GPU market.
The prolonged wait for new Radeon RDNA 4 graphics cards will soon be over: AMD's next-gen GPUs are launching in "early March" according to AMD CEO Lisa Su in the most recent AMD Q4 2024 Earnings Call.
With NVIDIA's recent launch of RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 flagship GPUs without any real availability — not to mention relatively minor gains in terms of raw performance compared to RTX 40-series hardware — AMD's opportunity to capture the mid-range market has never been better.
In the call, Su specifically called out AMD's GPU revenue decline in 2024 as the company sold off its last-gen RDNA 3 stock to make room for the new Radeon hardware. Here's the full section regarding RDNA 4:
"In Gaming Graphics, revenue declined year over year, as we accelerated channel sellout in preparation for the launch of our next-gen Radeon 9000 series GPUs. Our focus with this generation is to address the highest volume portion of the enthusiast gaming market with our new RDNA 4 architecture. RDNA 4 delivers significantly better rate tracing performance and add support for AI-powered upscaling technology that will bring high-quality 4K gaming to mainstream players when the first Radeon 9070 series GPUs go on sale in early March."
This news, spotted by PCGamer, comes just a couple of weeks after AMD VP and GM of Ryzen and Radeon David McAfee took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a similar launch date. McAfee only mentioned "March" as a launch time, so at least we now know we won't have to wait quite as long. That's especially great news for anyone who's been waiting to upgrade and didn't manage to land an NVIDIA card.
This all comes on the heels of AMD's modified CES 2025 presentation that didn't end up mentioning RDNA 4 at all despite press kits being sent out to media outlets. In the press kit, RDNA 4 was revealed with new Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 desktop GPUs. AMD even had a booth at CES showing off improvements in FidelityFX Super Resolution 4, which has changed over to a machine-learning approach to better compete with NVIDIA's DLSS. FSR 4 looks like quite an improvement over its FSR 3.1 predecessor, and it's one of the main reasons why I might opt for a new RDNA 4 GPU when the time comes.
A slide showing off new RDNA 4 GPUs that were never presented at CES 2025.
(Image credit: AMD)
Rumors have it that retailers have been building up RDNA 4 stock since early 2025, and some cards have apparently even made it into the hands of reviewers. My initial reaction to McAfee's launch news was positive, and I surmised that AMD would likely benefit from the delay.
NVIDIA isn't doing itself any favors with severely limited RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 stock, which will likely still be plaguing shoppers in early March. Of course, NVIDIA is still expected to launch its RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 in February, which could come with better availability. Regardless, AMD's new Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 are expected to go toe-to-toe with NVIDIA's 5070-series cards.
AMD has two avenues to success, and both will likely hinge on what NVIDIA does with its February launch. If the RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti outperform AMD's new GPUs, AMD can lower the price and draw in value-conscious consumers. If AMD's new GPUs come out ahead of NVIDIA's mid-range cards, they'll likely sell themselves as long as there's solid availability.
AMD's gaming division needs a win
AMD CEO Lisa Su on stage.
(Image credit: AMD)
NVIDIA is in dire need of stronger GPU competition, especially in the mid-range market. Intel's "Battlemage" GPUs are mighty impressive, but they target the budget range of the market. That leaves AMD to go up against the RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti with new RDNA 4 hardware.
Beyond giving NVIDIA some competition, AMD desperately needs a win for its gaming division. As Lisa Su mentions in the earnings call, "revenue declined 59% year over year to $563 million" in the gaming segment.
Su notes that part of the decline comes from declining console sales:
"Semi-custom sales declined as expected as Microsoft and Sony focused on reducing channel inventory. Overall, this console generation has been very strong. Highlighted by cumulative unit shipments surpassing $100 million in the fourth quarter. Looking forward, we believe channel inventories have now normalized and semi-custom sales will return to more historical patterns in 2025."
Heading into 2025, AMD plans to "combine the client and the gaming segment into one single reportable segment to align with how we manage the business."
AMD needs to make a positive impression with its RDNA 4 GPUs, not just to appease shareholders, but also to give consumers more choice on the open market. NVIDIA's RTX 5000 GPUs so far stand unopposed, and that needs to change in March.
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