AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT — South African pricing round up

AMD unveiled the first of its 9000-series graphics cards, the Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, on Friday, 28 February 2024. The cards have now gone on sale through South African retailers, with prices starting at R13,999.

The launch event also marked the launch of AMD’s long-awaited RDNA 4 graphics architecture. The GPUs feature 16GB of video memory and enhancements designed for high-quality gaming graphics.

The enhancements include revamped raytracing accelerators and AI accelerators for “breakthrough gaming experiences”.

“Today, we’re thrilled to unveil the AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series, a significant leap forward in graphics performance powered by our next-generation AMD RDNA 4 architecture,” said AMD corporate VP and general manager David McAfee.

“These GPUs are designed to meet the demands of today’s games, delivering enthusiast-class gaming experiences to gamers everywhere, while ready to support tomorrow’s innovations.”

He said implementing advanced AI and raytracing accelerators will fundamentally enhance gaming experiences.

The second-generation AI accelerators offer up to 8x INT8 throughput per AI accelerator.

“Offering incredible performance, AI-powered features, and next-gen display support at competitive price points, the Radeon RX 9000 series delivers exceptional value for gamers looking to upgrade their systems,” added McAfee.

According to AMD, the advanced graphics cards enable ultra-fast, high-resolution gaming with realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections to deliver an immersive gaming experience.

The new cards also incorporate AMD’s newly redesigned AMD Radiance Display Engine and Enhanced Media Engine for broad display support and elevated recording and streaming quality.

The RX 9070 series features 16GB of GDDR6 memory and, compared to the previous generation RX 7900 GRE, offers 20% more performance on average when gaming at 1440p, while the RX 9070 XT extends the lead to over 40%.

Standout features of the new graphics cards include:

• Unified AMD RDNA 4 Compute Units — up to 64 AMD RDNA 4 compute units delivering up to 40% higher gaming performance over the previous generation.
• High-Performance Raytracing — third-generation raytracing accelerators enable over two-times the raytracing throughput per compute unit over the previous generation.
• Supercharged AI Acceleration — second-generation AI accelerators have received several enhancements, enabling AMD RDNA 4 to officially process advanced AI models far faster than was possible with RDNA 3.
• AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution Technology 4 — AMD’s machine learning-powered upscaling technology delivers high-quality boosted frames even under demanding workloads.

The table below provides specifications for the AMD RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT.

South African pricing details

Several computer hardware retailers in South Africa, including Progenix, Evetech, Wootware, and Dreamware tech, have listed pricing for the AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT.

The RX 9070 XT’s most affordable variant is the Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition from Progenix, which costs R17,599. It is followed by the ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend, which costs R17,699, also from Progenix.

Pricing for the XT variant of the RX 9000 series graphics card ranges from R17,599 to R20,499. The highest price is for the Asus Radeon RX 9070 XT TUF Gaming OC Edition from Wootware.

Pricing for the Radeon RX 9070 starts at R13,999 and tops out at R17,999.

The most affordable option is the XFX Radeon RX 9070 Swift OC Gaming Edition from Wootware, followed by the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC, also from Wootware, for R14,499.

The highest price tag is for the Asus Radeon RX 9070 TUF Gaming OC from Wootware.

AMD Radeon RX9000 series pricing from retailers like Dreamware Tech, Evetech, Progenix, and Wootware is summarised in the table below.