AMD Expands Radeon RX 9000 Lineup: RX 9070 GRE Goes Global on June 1 at $549
AMD is taking a China‑exclusive Radeon card global. VideoCardz has learned that the Radeon RX 9070 GRE will launch worldwide on June 1 with a starting price of $549. The card uses a cut‑down Navi 48 GPU with 12GB of GDDR6 memory, positioning it directly against NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5070.
The RX 9070 GRE (Golden Rabbit Edition) was originally introduced last year as a China‑only model. Now AMD is bringing it to broader markets, likely to fill a gap in its RDNA 4 lineup and offer a more affordable entry point into the RX 9000 series.
Specifications: A Slimmed‑Down Navi 48
The RX 9070 GRE is built on the same Navi 48 silicon as the RX 9070 and 9070 XT, but with significant cuts:
- Compute Units: 48 (3,072 Stream Processors)
- Boost Clock: Up to 2.79 GHz
- Memory: 12GB GDDR6
- Memory Bus: 192‑bit
- Bandwidth: 432 GB/s
- Board Power: 220W
For comparison, the standard RX 9070 has 56 CUs (3,584 cores), 16GB of memory on a 256‑bit bus, and a 220W TBP. The GRE cuts 25% of the cores and 25% of the VRAM, but retains the same power envelope and a slightly higher boost clock (2.79 GHz vs 2.52 GHz on the base RX 9070).
Performance Claims: AMD vs. NVIDIA
AMD’s internal testing (on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D system at 1440p Ultra) claims the RX 9070 GRE is:
- 22% faster on average than the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB across more than 40 games, with 26% better value.
- 2% faster than the GeForce RTX 5070, with 4% better value.
These are AMD‑provided numbers, so independent reviews will be needed to verify performance. Reviews are expected to go live on June 1, just before Computex.
Pricing and Positioning: A Crowded $549 Segment
The $549 MSRP puts the RX 9070 GRE at the same price point as the original RX 9070 at launch. However, AMD’s own comparison slide now lists the RX 9070 as “starting at $619”, suggesting the non‑XT model may have seen a quiet price increase or is being compared using current retail pricing. PCPartPicker confirms that RX 9070 cards are now selling for $599 and above.
That leaves the $549 GRE as the most affordable RDNA 4 card at launch – but with 12GB of VRAM instead of 16GB, and a narrower memory bus. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, 12GB should suffice, but the lower bandwidth may impact performance at higher settings.
Launch Partners and Availability
ASUS, Sapphire, and XFX are the first confirmed board partners. Models include:
- ASUS PRIME RX 9070 GRE 012G
- Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9070 GRE Gaming OC 12GB
- XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 GRE Triple Fan (including a white variant)
AMD has not shown a reference design; only custom cards will be available.
Also, Read
- AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D Drops to $458, 9800X3D Now at $419
- AMD’s “Gorgon Halo” Ryzen AI MAX 400 Supports 192GB Unified Memory, Up to 160GB VRAM
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X3D Leak: 8 Zen 4 Cores, 96MB Cache, But Lower Clocks Than 7800X3D
Bottom Line
The RX 9070 GRE global launch gives AMD a direct answer to NVIDIA’s RTX 5060 Ti, with a lower price than the original RX 9070 now commands. However, the 12GB memory limit may be a sticking point for gamers who want future‑proofing at 1440p. Independent reviews will be critical to determine whether the GRE is a smart budget choice or a compromised alternative to the 16GB 9070.