Latest news with #FrankAzor
Digital Trends
05-06-2025
- Business
- Digital Trends
3 GPUs you should avoid buying right now
Shopping for one of the best graphics cards is a minefield right now. It's not that the latest generation is bad (that's a different subject entirely), it's that the prices still haven't gone back to normal, despite it being a few months since these GPUs first surfaced. If you have an unlimited budget, then of course, you can buy any GPU — even the mighty powerful RTX 5090. But if you're trying to squeeze out the most performance-per-dollar, there are some GPUs I'd recommend avoiding right now. Recommended Videos AMD RX 9070 XT Adding the excellent RX 9070 XT to this list is something I'm doing with a heavy heart. The GPU received stellar reviews from just about every publication that got to try it, and those who ended up buying it largely seem happy with it, too. I have no complaints about the performance of this graphics card; if anything, it surpassed the expectations that I had for it going into the launch of RDNA 4. Capable of rivaling the RTX 5070 Ti, the RX 9070 XT arrived with a $599 price tag, and at first, it was glorious. Gamers flocked to various retailers, with AMD's Frank Azor sharing a photo of a long line of shoppers waiting outside a Microcenter. The consumer market welcomed the RX 9070 XT with open arms. Perhaps the welcome was overly enthusiastic, though. Demand today for our new @amdradeon cards has been phenomenal. We are working with our AIBs to replenish stock at our partners ASAP in the coming days and weeks. MSRP pricing (excluding region specific tariffs and/or taxes) will continue to be encouraged beyond today so don't… — Frank Azor (@AzorFrank) March 6, 2025 Let me reiterate: The problem with the RX 9070 XT is not its performance. I don't think anyone can find any major fault in it … at its intended $600 price point. But unfortunately, the recommended list price (MSRP) didn't last all too long. Once the initial batch of RX 9070 XTs (and non-XTs) sold out, which didn't take long, the prices started rising. Upon launch, there were many models above MSRP, but not wildly so — and some cards were indeed sold for $599. These days, outside of rare stock drops, good luck finding an RX 9070 XT at MSRP. The cheapest option I was able to find on Amazon costs $848, meaning nearly $250 above the MSRP. At that price point, the RX 9070 XT loses some of its charm; the RTX 5070 Ti costs $900, and with comparable performance but better ray tracing and DLSS 4, many GPU shoppers will choose it over the AMD card. Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB This was always bound to happen. Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti launched in two flavors: One with 8GB VRAM, and one with 16GB. The 8GB model starts at $379, followed by $429 for the 16GB version. At such a small price gap, it was almost a given that most gamers would favor the version with more VRAM, even though they both share the same 128-bit interface (which affects their bandwidth, and that also means their overall performance). The frame rate gap between the two versions of the RTX 5060 Ti might not be as large as it seems, but still, the 8GB version is a GPU you should avoid right now. Unsurprisingly, the RTX 5060 Ti with just 8GB of VRAM sells at MSRP on Amazon. There are models that sell for more, but in general, you can grab it at $379. But, while it can match the RTX 5060 Ti with 16 gigs of memory at 1080p, it's always better to have more VRAM if possible, and the 5060 Ti 16GB wins most benchmarks at 1440p. If you're set on buying the RTX 5060 Ti, you might as well spend $100 more and get the (currently overpriced) 16GB version. But if you want my advice, I'd say wait it out and hunt for a 16GB model at MSRP — they do pop up occasionally. Intel Arc B580 This is another GPU that I am sad to have to mention on this list. The Arc B580 surprised everyone when it launched. Our reviewer called it the '$249 Nvidia killer,' and who would've expected this kind of results from an Intel Arc GPU? Knowing the rocky start that the Arc Alchemist generation had to go through, many were wary of Battlemage, but Intel surprised us in the best way possible. The GPU offered fantastic performance for the inexpensive $250 price point — something which is rare right now, at a time when most GPUs cost well above $350. Unfortunately (for the buyers, at least), the Arc B580 wasn't able to stay at MSRP for too long. The GPU now sells for $359 to $409 on Amazon, and at that price, you're better off getting the new RTX 5060. If there's one thing these GPUs have in common, it's that they're all selling far above the price point they were made for. Solid in their own right, they fail to impress when they're suddenly placed one or two pricing brackets above the one they belong in. But if sold at MSRP? All three are worthwhile picks. If you're currently buying a GPU, my advice is to keep an eye out for models selling at MSRP, and then be quick, because they continue to sell out fast.
Globe and Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Will AMD Stock Benefit from the GPU Maker's Appeal to 1080p Gamers?
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) understands that 1080p gamers make up a large majority of the market, and it wants to appeal to them with competitively priced graphics cards. That includes its 8GB RX 9060 XT priced at $299. However, an 8GB GPU being released in 2025 has resulted in some criticism from gamers, as increasing VRAM demands make 12GB and 16GB options preferable. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Frank Azor, AMD's Chief Architect of Gaming Solutions and Gaming Marketing, argued an 8GB card is plenty of power for the majority of gamers, who still play at 1080p. Steam data backs this up with roughly 55% of users playing at 1080p. He also points out many gamers primarily play esports titles, which don't require high-performance parts. Gamers who want more VRAM have options. AMD will also sell a 16GB version of the RX 9060 XT priced at $349, just $50 more than the 8GB model. That's still within the realm of reasonable pricing for budget-minded gamers. Both variants will be released on June 5. How Do AMD's GPUs Compare to Nvidia's? AMD is offering similar performance to Nvidia's (NVDA) GTX 5060 Ti offerings with its new RX 9060 XT GPUs. The big difference is the price. While AMD's cards are priced at $299 and $349 for the 8GB and 16GB versions, Nvidia's GTX 5060 Ti 8GB starts at $379 and the 16GB model starts at $429. AMD clearly wants to woo gamers with its cheaper prices for comparable performance. It also plans to have a large supply of cards ready, allowing consumers to purchase the GPUs for MSRP. That's something that has been hard to do with Nvidia cards as output has failed to keep pace with demand. If AMD's plan to target 1080p gamers works, it could be a big win for Team Red and the company's stock. Is AMD Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for AMD is Moderate Buy, based on 22 Buy and nine Hold ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average AMD stock price target of $126.55, representing a potential 14.72% upside for the shares. See more AMD stock analyst ratings Disclaimer & Disclosure Report an Issue
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
玩遊戲1080p不用超過8GB VRAM？AMD首席架構師解釋引起網友爭論
在近幾年內，3A 遊戲畫面解析度 4K/60fps，成為遊戲顯示卡的測試標準，並引入光線追蹤、DLSS、FSR 等技術，讓遊戲畫面更加真實和穩定。然而，隨著新技術要求的增加，顯示卡的記憶體（VRAM）需求也在不斷攀升，如今 8GB 的顯示卡已經難以滿足許多遊戲的要求。而最近 AMD 資深遊戲解決方案兼市場行銷的首席架構師 Frank Azor，就認為 8GB 對於 1080p 玩家已經夠用，在網路上掀起熱議。 最近 AMD 公開旗下最新顯卡 RX 9060 XT，共有 VRAM 8GB 和 16 GB 雙版本，然而 8GB 卻引起討論，認為對如今的遊戲來說，8GB 真的不夠看。同樣在 5 月發售的 NVIDIA RTX 5060 顯示卡，也因為 VRAM 8GB 受到討論。 許多玩家都好奇為什麼如今 2025 年，NVIDIA 和 AMD 卻仍持續推出 8GB 顯示卡。而針對這一現象，Frank Azor 也在個人 X（推特）上回應：「大多數遊戲玩家還在使用 1080p 的解析度，不需要超過 8GB 的 VRAM。」 Majority of gamers are still playing at 1080p and have no use for more than 8GB of memory. Most played games WW are mostly esports games. We wouldn't build it if there wasn't a market for it. If 8GB isn't right for you then there's 16GB. Same GPU, no compromise, just memory… — Frank Azor (@AzorFrank) May 22, 2025 接著 Azor 說明，目前全球最受歡迎的遊戲，主要是「電子競技類型」。並強調，如果市場上沒有這些需求，AMD 是絕對不會去開發的：「如果 8GB 對你來說不合適，那你也可以選擇 16GB。相同的顯示卡，沒有妥協，只有不同的 VRAM 選項。」 而網友們則是認為，這部分有價錢問題，也有遊戲優化的問題：「現實是，許多 3A 遊戲沒有很好的最佳化」、「1080p 不吃記憶體？你認真？」、「過去 AMD 最大優點就是 VRAM 大，現在你們正在和 NVIDIA 做一樣的事情」有部分網友則是吐槽命名「至少別讓它們都叫 RX 9060 XT 吧」、「8GB 版直接改成 9060 就好，像是上一代」、「這名字很容易讓人混淆」 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠，追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台！ 🎉📱 Tech Facebook： 🎉📱 Tech Instagram： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道： 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道：
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AMD Calls Over 200,000 GPUs Shipped 'Unprecedented'
Everyone expected the AMD RX 9000 series to sell well, but no one predicted it would do this well. AMD has reportedly shipped over 200,000 of its new RX 9000 graphics cards to retailers over the past few weeks, and that volume has almost completely sold out already. This prompted AMD VP of product marketing, David McAfee, to say that such numbers were "unprecedented" for AMD, and that it had been a "pretty amazing couple of weeks." Since the launch of the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, the two cards have been almost completely sold out across most major retailers. That's led to some scalping and price rises, but they haven't ballooned quite like Nvidia's new RTX 50-series cards have. AMD has now hit over 45% market share in Japan, as per VideoCardz, and with the absence of Nvidia GPUs on sale, that trend is unlikely to reverse. A new report from Benchlife (via VideoCardz) claims that AMD shipped around 200,000 of the new graphics cards to retail partners and that the global supply has almost completely been sold. The remaining cards are unlikely to shift in such great numbers because prices have grown far beyond the suggested pricing. But AMD's Frank Azor said last week that new stock was coming. David McAffee agreed, stating in a recent chat with HotHardware, "Priority number one is restocking all of our partners, [which] means all the way from retailers and e-tailers back to our add-in board partners." He didn't make any proclamations of exactly when we can expect restocking to occur but suggested that it would start with the board partners and filter out with Q2 and beyond, as it fleshes out the rest of the RDNA4 range. When asked about the way pricing had evolved since the cards were launched, McAffee placed some of the blame on board partners, claiming that AMD didn't have full control over the production and retail arm of the graphics card business like it does with CPUs. "On the CPU business [...] we control that end to end. With the launch of RDNA 4, we sell an ASIC to our board partners who then have a range of designs that they want to enable," he said, highlighting how it's retailers who decide which models to stock and at what price. While that feels like a bit of a cop-out answer, it's worth praising that he noted the major effect AMD can have on the process is through supply. If supply goes up, prices can come down, and that's what AMD is working on in the near future. "The biggest thing that we can do, and the biggest thing that we are doing quite honestly is ramping supply of Navi 48 very very aggressively," he said.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AMD's RX 9070 XT might be cheap, but that may not be enough
Over a month after the initial announcement at CES 2025 (if you can even call it an announcement), we still don't know much about the future of AMD's RDNA 4 lineup. We know the cards are set to launch sometime in March, but their specs remain a mystery. However, there's an even bigger secret that's still yet to be revealed: The pricing. After a bumpy lead-up to the launch of the RX 9000 series, pricing is the one thing that AMD needs to get right. The latest leaks imply that AMD will price the cards 'very aggressively,' which could be good news — but it might still not be enough for it to rival some of the best graphics cards. As soon as it became clear that AMD wouldn't be making a flagship GPU this time around, I knew that pricing would be more impactful than ever before. Intel has proven time and time again that performance per dollar is crucial if you're not Nvidia, which benefits from massive brand recognition. AMD surely knows this, too, and the latest leak implies that it's going to go all-in on the pricing. As reported by IT Home and the Chiphell forums, AMD's plan is to price the RX 9070 XT aggressively. Unfortunately, the report doesn't divulge any pricing brackets, so we're still left to guess — but at least we know that leakers believe AMD's intent is to keep things competitive. A week or so ago, one retailer claimed that the RX 9070 XT was meant to cost $900, which would've been an instant nail in the coffin for RDNA 4. Fortunately, AMD itself has refuted these claims, saying that a $900 price point was never part of the plan. Of course, this prompted many to ask when we'll finally find out the pricing, to which AMD's Frank Azor replied: 'In the future.' These vague responses don't inspire much confidence in the fate of RDNA 4, but Azor later went on to say that the cards would be arriving in early March, which definitely helps. Pricing-wise, AMD is kind of stuck between two vastly differing strategies adopted by its competitors. We've got Nvidia, which often sells really expensive GPUs, and we've got Intel's highly affordable Arc GPUs on the other end of that spectrum. The latter approach is what makes GPUs like the B580 such good value, but Nvidia's 'performance first' angle works well most of the time — although gamers tend to push back if the mainstream cards are too pricey. However, that's not exactly the case this time around. Sure, we could argue that $750 for the RTX 5070 Ti and $550 for the RTX 5070 is still a high price, but it's also a price cut compared to the previous generation. Going into the RTX 50-series, I expected the prices to go up, not down, but luckily, that's only been the case with the RTX 5090. (Of course, finding a GPU at the recommended list price is another story entirely.) While Nvidia spilled all of the beans at CES 2025, AMD kept suspiciously quiet. I'm making an assumption here, but it's one that many leakers share: AMD may have wanted to see the pricing and the performance of the RTX 5070 and the RTX 5070 Ti. Now that we at least know how much they'll cost, AMD can tailor its 'aggressive' approach to pricing. Unfortunately, while 'aggressive' sounds good in this context, it could really mean just about anything — which is why it's too soon to celebrate. What might seem like competitive pricing to one person may not seem that way to another, so it's important to put that report into perspective and figure out just what AMD will be up against. And trust me, there are plenty of cards that AMD will be competing against once the RX 9070 XT finally hits the market. Without a full spec sheet, it's hard to know what to expect from the RX 9070 XT — but we know enough to have a rough idea. Early performance leaks show it rivaling the RTX 4080, but that's an optimistic guess. AMD itself doesn't expect its new top GPU to beat the RX 7900 XTX, which leaves the RX 9070 XT with both the best and the worst pricing and performance bracket to be in: The mainstream segment. AMD will have to rival the likes of Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti/non-Ti, but also the RTX 4070 Ti (and Super) or the RTX 4080 with its new flagship. There are some good news on that front, because Nvidia has already ceased production for most of its RTX 40-series GPUs. The few that are still in stock are currently overpriced in anticipation of the next-gen equivalents. Meanwhile, good luck finding the RTX 5080 at MSRP. But the market won't be empty for long. Once the RTX 5070 Ti is here (which, as MSI has now confirmed, should be on February 20), followed by the RTX 5070, the mainstream market will hopefully once again have some GPUs to pick up at list price. Unfortunately for AMD, the RX 9070 XT won't be here before that happens, so all that it can hope for is that Nvidia and its partners fail to deliver enough stock of the xx70 GPUs. As is often the case with AMD, its own cards are its fiercest competitors. The RX 9070 XT will have a lot of older siblings that will offer similar performance; think the RX 7800 XT, the RX 7900 XT, the RX 7900 GRE, or even the RX 7900 XTX for those who want to splurge. Some of those cards cost more than what the RX 9070 XT might be priced at, but the RX 7800 XT is still highly competitive at just $520. With so many GPUs to choose from, pricing the RX 9070 XT is going to be a make-or-break type of situation for AMD. We might have a hit on our hands if Team Red undercuts the Nvidia equivalents by a decent margin, but without a marked difference, the RX 9070 XT might be facing an uphill climb. I've been pretty open about the fact that I was genuinely excited about the RX 9070 XT. However, at this point, the excitement dulled down and transformed into something akin to worry. Based on leaks, it seems like AMD might be cooking up (or has cooked up, as the cards are already sitting around at various retailers) a good product. It might turn out to be a solid mainstream card, and if AMD's goal will be to make it good value and not just cheaper than Nvidia, it could even be a hit. I still can't help but worry, because now, AMD has more than one obstacle to overcome. In all likelihood, Nvidia will hit the market first — again — with the RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 5070. In fact, the first of the two might launch in as little as ten days. Meanwhile, AMD enthusiasts are still largely kept in the dark; following various AMD execs on X (Twitter) is the only reliable way to get some information. Even then, it's been scarce. If AMD doesn't talk about the RX 9070 XT soon, then all of the attention will turn to Nvidia's new releases. This means AMD is running out of time to reveal the specs and the pricing of the RX 9070 XT. People might wait to buy a GPU if they know what they're waiting for, but with no updates from AMD, it's hard to feel confident about the upcoming launch. Now, there are so many elements at play that may affect the launch of the RX 9000 series: Competitive pricing, timing, specs, performance, and communication. If the leaks are true, we can at least count on AMD keeping it affordable — hopefully under $600. The next step is for AMD to actually talk about RDNA 4 at length and start driving up the hype. I just hope it's not too late.
