Is a shake-up coming in the world of graphics cards? Whispers suggest AMD is ready to give NVIDIA a massive headache in the next generation. Word on the grapevine indicates AMD is aiming for the Radeon RX 9070 XT to not only compete with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4080 but outperform it in important areas like rasterization.
Leaked Performance Targets: Ambitious AMD
Rumors from MLID suggest AMD is not merely seeking parity. The firm allegedly has the RX 9070 XT positioned to clear the RTX 4080 by around 3% in raw performance. The somewhat weaker RX 9070 is said to reach for around 85% of the RTX 4080's. This would still position it above the RTX 4070 Ti.
What makes this interesting is the context. The first launches of the RTX 50 series, such as the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080, have not been revolutionary jumps. Performance has not been as great from generation to generation as many hoped. This leaves an avenue for AMD to make quite the splash in the mid-to-high-end segment of the market.
Ray Tracing: Closing the Gap
Ray tracing has long been a strong suit for NVIDIA. However, rumors hint at AMD not stopping at traditional rasterization. The RX 9070 would already be making significant strides in ray tracing performance. It may even rival that of the RTX 4070 Super in heavy titles like Cyberpunk 2077 in 4K. The new RX 9070 XT will allegedly go even higher, possibly reaching RTX 4070 Ti Super levels of ray tracing capability.
What This Could Mean for Gamers
If these performance targets translate into real-world results, it could be fantastic news for PC gamers. Increased competition is always beneficial. This could mean:
- More Competitive Pricing: AMD becoming more competitive might force NVIDIA to reconsider pricing to give better value to consumers.
- Faster Performance Gains: Both companies trying harder to outdo each other could result in faster advancements in GPU technology.
- More Choice: Gamers would have another strong competitor to consider when building or upgrading their systems.
Worth Taking with a Grain of Salt (For Now)
These are just rumors and leaked internal targets. Performance may vary, and NVIDIA surely has plans of their own. Still, the reports paint an interesting picture of an extremely ambitious AMD. This AMD could be very disruptive in the GPU space. Stay tuned to see how this story unfolds, as it might get pretty interesting in this GPU generation.
