By Let’s be honest – the RX 9070 XT isn’t anywhere close to being a competitor to the RTX 5090, yet AMD is reportedly developing a version with 32GB of VRAM. That’s right. The red team appears to be combining a mid-range GPU with the same memory capacity as Nvidia‘s $2,000 top-tier graphics card, and I won’t be the only person who finds that a bit peculiar.
Perhaps AMD is gearing up to challenge the RTX 5090 in the best graphics card category. Alternatively, it might just be responding to the complaints of PC gamers who believe expensive GPUs should come equipped with even more VRAM than their predecessors. Regardless of logic, leaks from Chiphell suggest that a 32GB RX 9070 could potentially arrive this year (via Videocardz). It seems the variant is still “under discussion,” but we might see it as early as Q2 if the specifications are settled.
My initial thought was that there’s no way this could be a gaming SKU, yet the leaker insists it must be a “gaming” card, hence the 9070 XT branding. That said, they also contradict themselves by stating that the GPU is “primarily for AI,” which means the price is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed base model.
More memory for the mid-range GPU crowd, but at what price?
The concept of a mid-range GPU like the RX 9070 XT featuring 32GB of VRAM is a bit of a head-scratcher. It almost seems like AMD is taunting Nvidia in light of their GeForce RTX 5080 release, which sticks to 16GB. This is likely unrelated to the rumored SKU, and more of a strategy to ensure gaming graphics cards can also handle additional AI functions.
I might be jumping the gun here, but I don’t think you should hold your breath for the RX 9070 XT with 32GB of VRAM, should it actually come to fruition. For starters, I can’t even begin to imagine what that setup would look like, as the 70-class cards are expected to utilize GDDR6, which would mean it would require running with 2GB chips. Some quick calculations suggest that the card would theoretically need to incorporate 16 modules into its design, which could result in a fairly bulky card.
It’s important to note that we’re discussing a mid-range graphics card here that should deliver a performance comparable to the Radeon RX 7800 XT. While increased memory can enhance your chances of running the latest games at higher resolutions over time, it won’t assist RDNA 4 GPUs like the Navi 48 XT in achieving higher FPS beyond their inherent capabilities. I’ve already encountered situations like this while testing the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti and its 16GB counterpart, where increasing VRAM didn’t significantly improve FPS.
As always, I suggest keeping your trusty salt shaker nearby when considering any rumors regarding the RX 9070 32GB. I’m not dismissing the possibility of the model’s existence or discussions happening at AMD, but it does seem like a concept that may never escape the planning stages.
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