The next few calendar month will completely redefine every ranking of thebest graphic cards . WithNvidia ’s RTX 50 - seriesandAMD ’s RDNA 4most likely launch in January — and even Intel perhaps expanding itsBattlemagelineup — there ’s a lot to take care ahead to .

But as for me , I already lie with which GPU I ’m most excited about . And no , it ’s not Nvidia ’s rumored almighty RTX 5090 . The GPU I ’m looking forwards to is AMD ’s coming flagship , which will presumptively be the RX 8800 XT ( or perhaps theRX 9070 XT ) . Below , I ’ll tell you why I retrieve this GPU is going to be so crucial not just for AMD but also for the intact nontextual matter card market .

Setting the pace

go into RDNA 3 , many people thought that we ’d see AMD compete against Nvidia ’s top GPU . That did n’t happen , andit almost certainly wo n’t happen now . In fact , AMD is likely to be behind not just the RTX 5090 but also the RTX 5080 .

That ’s not needs unfit news . In fact , most leaks point to a GPU that ’s going to dispatch the sweet position between mellow - remnant and budget ; something equal to of tend new AAA biz without being too overkill — and I ’m all for that .

Right now , everything we eff about the RX 8000 serial publication come down to a few vague statements , some rumors , and a lot of guesses . But there ’s one thing I recognise for certain : These GPUs will set the pace not just for AMD but also for its challenger .

see the AMD flagship will break up a lot of doubtfulness from the get - go . We ’ll know the charge AMD ’s GPU business is heading in , and just that one decision is bound to echo throughout the entire GPU market .

We already know that AMD is making a sheer determination by not trying to vie against Nvidia ’s future flagship . It ’s adhere to midrange graphics wit , which means that RDNA 4 will be a whole new chapter for AMD . There will be no question as to which GPU will top the charts — it ’s run to be Nvidia ’s RTX 5090 , unembellished and unsubdivided .

GPUs like the coming RTX 5090 are shiver , that ’s true . It ’s hard to refuse that it ’s exciting to see a graphics card entirely obliterate what we thought was unattainable just a few years ago . But how many people get these cards for gaming ? Not that many . It ’s the mainstream grocery that gets the most grip .

More realistic options

yr after year , it ’s GPUs along the likes of Nvidia ’s RTX 3060 that top the charts in the Steam Hardware Survey , and that ’s largely because most of us have no use for top - shelf graphics circuit card and just desire a daily driver that will be capable to lead recent game . One recent example of how a midrange card can really make all the difference is Intel ’s Arc B580 .

On its own , theArc B580is a fairly unassuming GPU , with modest specs and public presentation nigh to the Nvidia RTX 4060 . But when you add the $ 250 cost shred to the equation , you ’re suddenly left with a artwork card that give you a lot of GPU power at a reasonable cost — andgamers are buying out the poster in record sentence .

Circling back to AMD , the RDNA 3 multiplication of GPUs was a bit all over the place in full term of time value . Although most of the GPUs were really self-colored , some of the pricing may have stunt their potential drop slightly .

Take the RX 7900 XTX , for example . It launched at $ 1,000 , which was $ 200 cheaper than its main competitor , the RTX 4080 . But with similar rasterization capabilities , bad beam tracing , and no DLSS 3 human body coevals , it was n’t quite enough to be consider a buy . Sure , it saved you $ 200 , but it was still a pretty expensive GPU , all things consider .

On the other hand , RDNA 3 offered some graphics cards that I ’d recommend to anyone , and that ’s because their price was just right . Take theRX 7800 XTor theRX 7900 GRE , for instance , both of which offer a great blend of performance and reasonable pricing . Those were the GPUs that gamers turned to if they wanted a value - oriented figure .

In this raw generation , where AMD itself says that it ’s direct the mainstream market place , we might see a shift in the previous moral force . Many people expect both the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 to be expensive ; it ’s loose to imagine that the RTX 5070 Ti wo n’t be sleazy , either . But if AMD superintend to make a GPU that can offer like performance — this sentence with better beam tracing — and prices it competitively … Well , we might have a exchangeable post to Intel ’s B580 on our hands .

With comparable selection at lower cost percentage point , we might see gamers sprain to AMD , allowing it to set the tone for the rest of the GPU securities industry . With more contender , we might even see Nvidia adjust its pricing , if only just a short bite . If AMD can proffer something truly free-enterprise in the wall bracket where gamers are the most probable to grease one’s palms it , Nvidia might begin to feel the heat — and that ’d be great newsworthiness for us all .

Better or worse?

What can we expect from the RX 8800 XT , if that ’s what it ’ll end up being called ? Will they be more militant with Nvidia than AMD ’s current - gen cards ?

The words of AMD CEO Lisa Su phone promising , what with the “ potent performance step-up . ” However , performance profit or not , we ’re unlikely to see anything much impregnable than theRX 7900 XT , at least in terms of specification like   VRAM or compute units ( CUs ) . Even so , a fragile growth in VRAM is not completely out of the doubtfulness , as AMD is by and large much more generous with memory capacity than Nvidia . Even the RX 7900 XT had 20 sarin , which is more than Nvidia ’s $ 1,000RTX 4080 Super , and just 4 GB less than the ever - so - expensive RTX 4090 .

I ’m judge that 16 GB is an absolute minimum for the next - gen AMD flagship , but I could easily see 20 G or 24 GB as a possibility too , and that ’s something to be turn on about . Current AAA game really push VRAM necessity to the limitation , making it so that8 GB GPUs be given to fight with newer titles . One way or another , I expect AMD ’s RX 8800 XT to offer more VRAM than a comparable poster from Nvidia .

All in all , performance could end up being somewhat great . I ’ve been keep on my arithmetic mean low after hearing that AMD is sit down out of the eminent - end wash , but recent leaks have get my hopes up yet again .

harmonise to the mostrecent rumors , the RX 8800 XT may offer a operation comparable to Nvidia ’s RTX 4080 . That GPU is around the same point as the RX 7900 XTX in rasterization , and far forwards in beam tracing .

Ray trace is one area where AMD will reportedly have a better hazard at success this clip around . One leaker said that the ray tracing performance of the RX 8800 XT was up to 45 % better than the RX 7900 XTX inResident Evil 7 Biohazard , and that ’s a Brobdingnagian difference . On the other script , it ’s too soon to trust those number blindly — RE 7isn’t very demanding when it come to ray tracing , which makes it easier to handle for AMD GPUs than heavy - hitters likeCyberpunk 2077 . Still , that ’s enough to at least show some hope .

Even if the shaft tracing anticipation do n’t quite trash out , AMD ’s been clear on the fact that we can wait beam tracing melioration in its next - gen GPUs . If all get going well , we might get a replacing for the RTX 4080 with more VRAM , comparable ray trace , and better time value .

hold back — willit be of good value ?

It’s all about value

time value is an incredibly important part of the potential success of AMD ’s RX 8800 XT and the residue of the cards in the lineup ( which correct nowmight only include the RX 8600 / XT ) . Intel ’s late Battlemage launch showed just how much performance per dollar thing in the mainstream market .

Intel ’s Arc Alchemist , its first generation of mainstream graphics posting , did n’t have anywhere near the same grade of interestingness as Battlemage . In fact , the demand for these GPUs must have come as a jounce both to Intel and to retailers , because it ’s mostly sold out justly now .

The warm reception that Battlemage received tells me that it ’s clear that gamers are heart-to-heart to using something other than Nvidia . They just ask a slight thrust .

The Nvidia bias is real , but for some , it ’s fade . I wasthisclose to choosing AMD when I work up my current microcomputer in tardy 2023 . In fact , when AMD first declare RDNA 3 , my programme was to in conclusion ditch Nvidia and purchase the RX 7900 XTX . I was genuinely excited about the card , and although the price was a little high than I expected , I was quick to pull the trigger and go for it .

But once the GPUs plunge and the first reviews come in , I started to doubt my previous decision . The RX 7900 XTX but did n’t offer enough of a terms cut versus the RTX 4080 for me to decide to give up on DLSS 3 and ray tracing . When you ’re spending over $ 1,000 on a GPU , you sort of expect to get it all , and the RX 7900 XTX — while great in its own right field — does require some compromise . In the end , I ended up ( almost begrudgingly ) sticking with Nvidia .

It all issue forth down to the fact that AMD was shooting for the moon with the RX 7900 XTX , but it was still Nvidia that land nearer to the target . As a termination , many expected the 7900 XTX to be cheaper — close to the cost it sells for now , which is $ 870 . At that price , I ’d have bought it in a heartbeat .

AMD ’s alteration of yard for RDNA 4 give way me trust that this situation may not duplicate itself . Team Red shines at the midrange , with add-in like the RX 7800 XT lead the charge against Nvidia , and if this is AMD ’s focal point in 2025 , the ensue price war might be bang-up for both sides of the fence .

That ’s largely why I ’m so excited for the RX 8800 XT , as well as the rest of AMD ’s RDNA 4 lineup . Nvidia ’s been master the GPU grocery store ; meanwhile , AMD ’s gaming businesssuffered some major red in 2024 . But there ’s a mint of potential drop here with AMD ’s new approaching , and if the stars align , we might ultimately see a competition that spurs Nvidia to keep the toll reasonable .

Yeah , I might be delusional if I ’m count on some serious competition , consecrate the market share difference between the two companies . But I ’ll rest delusional at least a small while longer , as both AMD and Nvidia will announce their new graphics cards in early January . Until then , have me stargaze .