Unreleased AMD Professional Graphics Card Appears in Wild
In a curious turn of events, a Redditor has shared images of what appears to be an unreleased AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 reference graphics card prototype. The user “AdagioScary3267” claims the card was “found by a friend,” presenting the tech community with a rare glimpse of what might have been AMD’s professional-grade graphics solution before the company decided to change its launch strategy.
The card shows a design that matches the “artistic renderings” AMD previously showed in promotional materials for the Radeon AI PRO series. What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that AMD never actually released reference designs for these professional cards—instead relying on board partners to create custom designs. This suggests that AMD did indeed develop reference platforms, even if they ultimately weren’t brought to market.
Examining the Evidence
The prototype carries several telling details that lend credibility to its authenticity:
- Board Number: Labeled as 102-C28702-00 (with C287 as the board number)
- Memory: Uses Samsung memory chips
- SKU Identification: Identified as a Navi 48 XTW SKU
- TDP: Configured for a 300W power envelope
- Sample Stage: Marked as an “A0 sample,” indicating early engineering version
- Manufacturing Date: January 10, 2025—before consumer RDNA4 cards launched
The card appears in remarkably good condition, lacking the exposed jumpers, debugging ports, or rough finishes typically seen on engineering samples. This pristine condition has raised some questions about how such a prototype could have been “found” rather than being part of a controlled distribution to reviewers or partners.
Context and Significance
This discovery potentially validates earlier rumors that AMD was developing a 32GB version of what would become the RX 9070 series. The professional R9700 model would have targeted AI and compute workloads, competing with NVIDIA’s professional offerings.
AMD’s decision to not release reference designs for this series suggests a last-minute change in strategy, possibly due to market conditions, production considerations, or a reevaluation of their competitive positioning against NVIDIA’s entrenched professional graphics dominance.
The Big Questions
The appearance of this prototype raises several intriguing questions:
- How did such a pristine engineering sample end up in circumstances where it could be “found”?
- Why did AMD develop reference designs they never intended to sell?
- Does this indicate broader changes in AMD’s professional graphics strategy?
- Could this technology appear in future products?
Also, Read
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- ASUS Expands RX 9000 Series with Sleek White Radeon RX 9070 XT PRIME GPU
The Bottom Line
Whether this leak represents a genuine accidental discovery or a more calculated reveal, it offers a fascinating look at AMD’s product development process. For tech enthusiasts and industry watchers, it provides concrete evidence of AMD’s professional graphics ambitions and the complex decisions that go into bringing—or not bringing—products to market.
Source: r/Amd