Rising memory prices are starting to change how AMD’s latest graphics cards are being built and sold, and the effects are most visible in the Radeon RX 9070 lineup. New reports suggest many AMD board partners are putting more energy into producing the Radeon RX 9070 XT, while the standard Radeon RX 9070 could become harder to find in some markets. This isn’t because the RX 9070 is being discontinued, but because it’s becoming a much tougher product for manufacturers to make money on.
The core problem is the cost of VRAM. The Radeon RX 9070, RX 9070 XT, and RX 9060 XT are all built around 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, which typically means eight memory chips per graphics card. When memory prices rise, that cost increase hits all three models in a similar way. But the RX 9070 is in an awkward middle position: it costs almost as much to manufacture as the faster RX 9070 XT, yet it has to be sold for less because it delivers lower performance.
That margin squeeze is why the RX 9070 XT is becoming the more appealing option for board partners. With an MSRP around $599, the XT model has more breathing room to absorb higher component costs without forcing immediate price hikes. By comparison, the RX 9070’s MSRP near $549 leaves less flexibility. When VRAM prices jump, the standard model becomes the one that feels the pressure first—either through reduced availability, higher real-world pricing, or both.
This imbalance has also shown up in buyer behavior since launch. In some regions, the RX 9070 reached MSRP sooner after release, but the pricing gap between it and the RX 9070 XT was often so small that many shoppers saw little reason to choose the slower card. Early sales trends reflected that hesitation, with the RX 9070 reportedly selling at a fraction of the volume compared to the RX 9070 XT.
Even with these shifts, the RX 9070 isn’t necessarily going away. The more likely outcome is that manufacturers will adjust production priorities to reduce risk while memory costs remain elevated. In other words, the RX 9070 may still be produced, just not in the same quantities, especially if building more RX 9070 XTs is simply better business.
Interestingly, the Radeon RX 9060 XT appears to be in a safer spot. Its lower price tier and clearer role in AMD’s lineup help it stand out, making it less vulnerable to the same “too close to the next model” problem that’s now haunting the RX 9070.
AMD has previously signaled that it wants board partners to keep MSRP-priced models available, particularly around the early window of its RDNA 4 rollout. In practice, though, real-world pricing often drifts as costs change and supply decisions shift. If VRAM prices continue climbing, the big question becomes how long the Radeon RX 9070 can stay compelling—both for the companies building it and for gamers trying to decide which GPU offers the best value.
