New sources claim that AMD’s RDNA 4-based graphics cards, which were originally said to be released in late 2024, are behind schedule and are now expected to arrive in 2025.
The news does not come completely out of nowhere. We previously reported on hardware leaks Kepler’s claim that AMD wouldn’t release their RDNA 4-based GPUs until CES 2025. But conflicting rumors suggested a late 2024 release.
More interesting than the news itself are the alleged reasons for the delay. Moore’s law has been revealed dead in one recent YouTube video exclusively from a reliable source that the RDNA 4 line of GPUs has been delayed as AMD struggles to shift its top-end RDNA 3-based GPUs, especially those built around the Navi 31, such as the RX 7900 and RX 7900 XTX .
Reports suggest that AMD’s RDNA 4 is focused on delivering value for money, strong performance and power efficiency, setting its sights firmly on the mid-range market. Nvidia, on the other hand, remains focused on the next-generation RTX 5000 series and chooses to prioritize high performance.
The RDNA 4 GPUs consist of the Navi 44 and 48 and will also focus on improved ray tracing; they have better clock speeds, GDDR6 memory, and AMD’s infinite cache. They are said to offer a 10-30% performance boost over the RDNA 3 based cards.
It is therefore not surprising that the top models based on RDNA 3 do not sell very well. Some customers may be waiting for the next generation of cards that will improve performance at a lower price. Others may even overlook the RDNA 4 models in anticipation of AMD’s already in-development RDNA 5 GPUs, which may include more advanced models, and according to wcftech“will be built on a completely different architecture”.
Given these reports, it seems sensible for AMD to delay the launch – if there were ever plans for a late 2024 launch – to move the remaining RDNA 3 stock. Moore’s Law is Dead source also mentioned that AMD’s mid-range RDNA 3s were selling well. The problem of low sales only affects the top segment.
So it seems to remain true that AMD will debut its flagship Navi 48 for the first time at CES 2025, while the Navi 44 will still launch sometime in the second quarter of 2025.
As it stands, 2025 now appears to be the year when AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs will finally hit the market.
