The new AMD Radeon RX 7900 series graphics cards were revealed on November 3, 2022, and here's everything you need to know about the GPUs.
The new series of graphics cards fall under the umbrella of the AMD Radeon RX 7000 series. Two models within this series have been confirmed so far, including the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB. Both of these will be available for purchase from Tuesday, December 13, 2022. Prices have been confirmed in USD only at the moment, and they will come in at $999 and $899 respectively.
Both cards will feature state-of-the-art brand new architecture and technology, which we will fully delve into just below. Based on specifications and statistics presented by AMD during their presentation, it is likely that these cards will take the market by storm, and could even be considered some of the best graphics cards available. However, we'll need to test the units for ourselves first to see if the claims really do hold up.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 series costs
- The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB will retail for $999 USD, which roughly translates to £895.30 / AU$1587.71 when converted.
- The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB will retail for $899 USD, roughly translating to £805.68 / AU$1428.78.
These prices are just rough conversions currently as AMD has not confirmed their prices outside of the US just yet. If these prices do ring true, then they are exceptionally low, particularly given the power we have been promised these cards will bring to the table. It's worth keeping in mind that products almost never retail at direct conversion rates across the globe so treat these prices as a rough approximation.
Nvidia is likely feeling the heat following the price confirmation of these cards. The RTX 4080, due to release later this month, will retail for a whopping £1,269 / $1,199 / AU$1,659, and based on specifications alone, it doesn't compete with the power presented by the AMD iterations.
I'm hoping these prices will set a new precedent in the graphics card and gaming industry as a whole and encourage other manufacturers to price tech more aggressively in the coming years. Spending almost £5000 on a gaming PC is slowly becoming the norm and this change in pace will hopefully steer us away from this.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 series release date, pre-orders and stock issues
AMD has confirmed that the new cards are set to hit the shelves on Tuesday, 13 December 2022. This means that, hopefully, cards will ship out in time for you to receive one by Christmas.
We can't be sure of stock availability just yet as the 7900 series hasn't officially dropped, but given the price and power presented by them paired with the high interest, we can assume that the cards will be hard to pick up. Graphics cards have been exceptionally hard to source over the past few years, with the Nvidia RTX 4090 selling out at major retailers on release day. There is no reason for us to believe that the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and XT won't follow suit.
AMD has yet to confirm if the new graphics cards will be up for pre-order, so we're assuming they won't, as the release isn't too far away. Given the insanely high interest taken in these GPUs by the public, it may be difficult to get ahold of one when they drop. We're hoping that other major retailers will offer pre-orders, such as Amazon, Box, and Overclockers UK. If you're hoping to pick one up then it may be in your best interest to sign up for any pre-orders that come to light.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 general specifications
AMD has claimed that these new cards will be 'The Most Advanced Graphics for Gamers and Creators' and we hope that they will live up to the hype.
- AMD RDNA 3 Chiplet-design architecture
- Dual Media Engine with AV1 encode/decode
Both cards feature AMD RDNA 3 technology, with its predecessor being so successful that it was used in the Xbox Series X|S, the PlayStation 5, and the SteamDeck. This new architecture is actually the world's first chiplet-designed gaming GPU. It brings new AI accelerators and 2nd generation Raytracing Accelerators and for those who don't know what that means, it will lead to overall better performance and much brighter, realistic visuals based on light rays within your game.
You'll also find that these cards feature Dual Media Engine with AV1, which means you get full AV1 encode/decode support, designed to function with up to 8K ultra-high definition resolutions. This will allow you to unlock new multimedia experiences. This is great for streamers, as it means you'll get lower bitrates when streaming high-quality videos.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB specifications
- Compute units: 96
- Ray accelerators: 96
- Game frequency: 2300 MHz
- Infinity cache: 96 MB
- Max memory: 24 GB
These are some pretty beefy specs, especially considering the price point, with AMD claiming you'll get some inanely high framerates, including 833fps on Valorant 1440p and 190fps on Warzone 8K Ultrawide. These are honestly shocking numbers and we'll believe it when we see them.
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB specifications
- Compute units: 84
- Ray accelerators: 84
- Game frequency: 2000 MHz
- Infinity cache: 80 MB
- Max memory: 20 GB
Although this iteration appears to be the 'lesser' version of the 7900 series, it still packs a punch and from specifications alone appears to beat out the Nvidia RTX 4080 by a mile, with 4GB more memory. It comes in at a significantly lower price than the competition making us really excited to see how it performs in our own testing.
You can find more information straight from AMD regarding the specifications and technology presented by these new graphics cards.
