BothNvidia and AMDare expected to launch newfangled graphics visiting card within the next few month . It ’s no mystery as to which of the two lineups has a mellow chance of topping the chart with one of thebest GPUs .
AMD is say to be sitting out of the gamey - end race this coevals , and although this could be the correct approach for AMD , it ’s actually really unfit word for Nvidia fans . As a gamer , let Nvidia monopolize the consumer GPU sphere of influence is the last thing that I like for .
A not-so-heated rivalry
The signboard of a goodly GPU mart include deal of strain , no shortage , sane prices , and some degree of rivalry between the two — well , three , if you count Intel — competitors .
Unfortunately , I have to say that the GPU market is definitely at jeopardy of slipping into “ insalubrious ” territory , and that ’s not because of any scrap shortages . It ’s more thatthe rivalry between AMD and Nvidiahas chill down , and things are improbable to get any better give out ahead .
Some of it may be just that we have n’t had any new GPU liberation for a while , and it was Nvidia that came out with three new graphics lineup at the beginning of the yr . The RTX 40 Super refresh was a hit all around , with a cheaperRTX 4080 Superand two solid option in the form of theRTX 4070 Ti Superand theRTX 4070 Super .
Meanwhile , AMD ’s had two GPUs follow out this yr . One of them , theRX 7600 XT , barely moved the needle when compare to its non - XT counterpart ; the XT card is only around 6 % faster , but even months after the release , it still costs around $ 50 to $ 60 more . These numbers just do n’t add up up . There ’s also theRX 7900 GRE , which was a mighty show of balance between toll and execution — let ’s have more of that inRDNA 4 , please .
With a quietish GPU market , it ’s no wonder that thing are starting to feel a snatch stale . What ’s more , even though both manufacturers were initially said to found next - gen GPUs this year , it ’s extremely unconvincing to happen at this point in time .
Even still , although both Nvidia and AMD have n’t eject any next - gen GPUs this year , it ’s Nvidia that ’s easy cut off away at AMD ’s market share . The latest data render that in the second quarter of 2023 , AMD held a 17 % add - in display panel ( AIB , or distinct GPU ) market ploughshare . A twelvemonth later , in the 2nd quarter of 2024,it ’s down to 12 % . Intel ’s had it uncut , too . It had a miserable 2 % artwork bill market share one yr ago , but now , it ’s down to 0 % .
There ’s more . before this year , AMD let out that its overall play tax income in the first quartern of 2024 wasdown by 48 % twelvemonth - over - year . AMD only expect thing to get bad in the 2nd half of 2024 .
This leaves Nvidia sit around somewhat with 88 % of the GPU marketplace in its hands .
A sound, but disappointing decision
For many months now , various leaker have all been in arrangement when it come to one thing : Creating a high - end RDNA 4 graphic card is not a priority for AMD , and it ’s not going to happen . If there ever was such a GPU ( andmany have said that it exist ) , it ’s been invalidate .
The current expectation is that AMD ’s flagship will be close to theRX 7900 XTin rasterization , but it ’ll pass it in ray tracing . That ’s not much of an advance , and this type of functioning will probably make the flagship RX 8000 series poster a rival for Nvidia ’s RTX 5070 Ti at best . Mind you , I ’m merely speculating base on passing water — AMD has n’t give away its plans for RDNA 4 just yet . It could still storm us all .
It ’s not just that AMD is n’t propose high with its next - gen cards , but also that it might be falling behind in take on the latest memory tech . While Nvidia is said to flip toGDDR7 computer storage in the RTX 50 - serial — perhaps including the latest24Gb module — AMD is said to be sticking to GDDR6 . AMD never adopted GDDR6X in the first place , which Nvidia has been using in this whole current gen of cards , and AMD might still not make the substitution in RDNA 4 .
On the other hand , AMD does have the upper hired hand in a distich of ways . Its GPUs generally have higher memory capacity than their Nvidia equivalents , and Infinity Cache helps offset the lower bandwidth . AMD has also already adopt the DisplayPort 2.1 connecter , which Nvidia will only admit in theRTX 50 - serial . But still , if Nvidia use GDDR7 memory board across its entire batting order , there ’s bound to be a big difference in bandwidth between comparable card .
All of the above leak item to a mainstream card . Nvidia may stay on unmatched at the high end , and in all likeliness , the full we can desire to see is an AMD flagship that can beat the RTX 4080 Super .
I ’m no market analyst , but even I know that this is most likely a sound decision . As I ’ve said before , there ’s a deal of meritoriousness inaiming for the mainstream market . After all , most of us wo n’t be buying the likes of the RTX 5090 . There ’s a intellect why Nvidia ’s xx60 card top the Steam Hardware Survey month after month : Mainstream GPUs are more affordable and sufficient for the huge absolute majority of gamers . And if AMD knows that it ca n’t pulsate the RTX 5090 , it makes sensory faculty for it to stick to conversant urine and target the market that ’s more open to its art cards .
Smart as it may be , this decision is distressing , and I do n’t just mean for AMD enthusiasts . In fact , Nvidia fans might suffer from this deficiency of rivalry more than those who buy AMD GPUs .
A $2,500 GPU?
lately , we ’ve talked abouta worrying leakthat reportedly add up from one of Nvidia ’s partners . It had to do with the potential pricing for the RTX 50 - series , and I ’m not going to lie : It was decidedly not adept word . Moore ’s Law Is Dead cite an anonymous source when report that Nvidia might commit between $ 2,000 and $ 2,500 for an RTX 5090 . This would be followed by a $ 1,200 to $ 1,500 RTX 5080 , and a $ 600 to $ 700 RTX 5070 .
This is what I mean by “ letting Nvidia run rampant . ” With no contention from AMD , Nvidia has less of an motivator to endeavor to keep its prices fair , and this could lead in this kind of crazy pricing across the integral great deal .
What ’s bad is that these kinds of inflated prices would feign not just those who desire to bribe an RTX 5090 . A $ 1,200 to $ 1,500 RTX 5080 is pretty extortionate , particularly if you consider that Nvidia actually let down the pricing of the RTX 4080 from $ 1,200 to $ 1,000 when it rereleased it as a slightly tweaked Super version . And $ 700 for an RTX 5070 ? That ’s $ 100 more than the RTX 4070 at launching ; not to mention that these day , you ’ll find it for as low as $ 530 .
fortuitously , I have to say that a $ 2,500 RTX 5090 seems pretty much impossible . ( have ’s desire I do n’t eat my words in a few month metre . ) That ’s the same toll as the RTX Titan , and nobody have sex how expensive that visiting card was . Even the RTX 3090 Ti , which was outrageously pricey , was “ only ” $ 2,000 . The RTX 5090 may be a stride up , but that kind of pricing should still be hold for something even more potent ; perhaps the RTX 5090 Ti , if that ever pass off .
I do n’t cogitate that a $ 2,500 RTX 5090 will become a world . But there ’d be even less of a hazard of it come about if AMD was there , with a card fit to compete against at least the 5080 at a much more reasonable price full stop . I ’m talking something like what the RX 7900 XTX could ’ve been if AMD priced it lower from the get - go .
As things stand now , Nvidia is raking in all the market recognition , too . The figure of RTX 50 - serial leaks is growing by the twenty-four hours , but there ’s not been much about RDNA 4 . Perhaps AMD is keeping selective information closer to the singlet , but that does n’t help in building anticipation for a generation that might feel underwhelming in a world where everyone is hyperfocused on performance gains .
Too early to panic
Although I wish AMD had more of a presence in the GPU market place , it ’s definitely not yet the time to panic .
We ’ve seen AMD claw its way up from near abstruseness in the central processor market . Now , it ’s a formidable competitor to Intel , with its X3D mainframe being widely touted as the gaming CPU to buy . In fact , both the5800X3Dand the 7800X3D are pretty much sell out decently now , and everyone ’s holding their intimation in anticipation of the upcoming9800X3D.Intel ’s Arrow Lakemay clamber to generate that sort of hype .
AMD has done it before , and it can do it again if it require to . It may never become a marketplace leader in the GPU heavens , but it gives gamers an important alternative with solid GPUs that often tend to extend better execution per dollar than Nvidia ’s .
Nvidia ’s RTX 50 - series pricing could get moderately crazy — that ’s unfortunately rightful . However , most source concord that $ 2,500 for the RTX 5090 is highly unlikely to bechance . But $ 2,000 ? Yeah , I could see that fall out . That ’s still a lot , and it ’s bound to push the prices of the rest of the batting order higher than they should be , too . I wish AMD could aid prevent that from happening .
The truth is , Nvidia can push the prices higher if it wants to . Despite being expensive , the RTX 4090 delay above the $ 1,600 recommended list price ( MSRP ) ever since it establish . If anything , the monetary value has only move up . With a consistent demand and people willing to yield above market price , I have a voiceless time hold out Leslie Townes Hope that Nvidia might keep its flagship around that $ 1,600 ballpark . I ’ve resigned myself to that $ 1,800 to $ 2,000 chassis , although I desire I ’m wrong .
Pressure from AMD certainly would ’ve helped . To stay sizable , the GPU mart needs more than just Nvidia . I ’m worried that we ’ll see the full impact of Nvidia ’s monopoly on the mellow - end graphics plug-in market in the upcoming RTX 50 - series . We ’ll likely find out more during CES 2025 in January .
