AMD Steps In to Address Radeon GPU Pricing
With the increasing component prices, AMD is now stepping in to address pricing of the Radeon GPU. David McAfee, AMD's Vice President and Head of Consumer Products, stated that the company is monitoring memory markets carefully to keep prices of Radeon Graphics Cards reasonable. Component costs are on the rise in the meantime; consumers are also expressing concern about future pricing of GPUs.
Component Price Volatility and Consumer Concern
Volatile prices for DRAM and GDDR memory created an alarming situation for gamers, especially after the price rise on the Radeon RX 9000 series late last year. NVIDIA's high-end GeForce RTX 5090 rumor that it might sell for as high as $5,000 adds to further worries.
AMD's Strategy to Manage Production Costs
The way AMD tries to keep control of production costs, according to McAfee, is mainly based on its long-term relationships with memory suppliers. They want to agree upon supply volumes and purchase prices well ahead of schedule, thereby allowing AMD to produce its graphics cards without sudden steep increases in production costs which is key in partnering with their partners to create affordable products.
Marketplace Continues to Present Enduring Challenges
AMD still considers the situation strong. The launch of RDNA 4 architecture cards, Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, is still short in supply and marked at unbearably high retail prices as manufacturers and distributors juggle between producing enough and making those units available in the market.
A case in point, just released ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi White OC, went up on Newegg for $819.99; $220 extra compared to AMD's suggested retail pricing.
Source: Gizmodo
