If we go by the latest numbers published on Steam, AMD Radeon graphics chips barely reach 15% of the market, and their most popular options are those integrated into the processor. The public keeps asking AMD for a generation that optimizes the cost-benefit equation and is competitive with Nvidia in the high-end, but judging by the words of its executives, that is not going to happen. What would be the strategy? "Build market", and minimize high-end... at least for a while.
The fastest "general consumer" graphics card AMD offers today is the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, based on the Navi 31 module. 24 GB of RAM, 384-bit bus, more than 6,000 cores... the card is a beast, but it only competes with Nvidia's so-called "second line", made up of its RTX 4080 and 4080 Super. Against the RTX 4090, the 7900 XTX loses by 20% (on average)... and the crown remains green.
Now, the RX 8000 series appears on the horizon, but the rumor mill threw out some details that got a lot of attention. Basically, they suggest that AMD will not make high-end RX 8000 cards, prioritizing mid-end and budget options to gain traction in the market. Of course, this was simple speculation... until Jack Huynh, senior vice president and general manager of the Computing and Graphics Business Group at AMD, shared some words with Tom's Hardware at the IFA 2024 convention held in Berlin.
AMD turns down the volume on high-end
Huynh indicated that "AMD is in a different place", and that it seeks to "improve its scale", because that detail is what (supposedly) attracts developers. In other words, the priority is to increase its presence in the market, and reach 40 or 50 percent as quickly as possible. He also added that he does not want AMD to become a company that only serves those who can buy Porsches or Ferraris, but rather build gaming systems "for millions of users".
The story is different in the data center market, where it cannot afford to give up an inch. And if we study Huynh's words, the truth is that at no point does he completely block the future possibility of a high-end Radeon RX 8000, but everything seems to indicate that AMD will follow a high-volume path, perhaps polishing agreements with major OEMs to incorporate its silicon.
Source: Tom's Hardware
