The next few months will completely redefine every ranking of the best graphics cards. With Nvidia’s RTX 50-series and AMD’s RDNA 4 most likely launching in January — and even Intel possibly expanding its Battlemage lineup — there’s a lot to look forward to.
But as for me, I already know which GPU I’m most excited about. And no, it’s not Nvidia’s rumored almighty RTX 5090. The GPU I’m looking forward to is AMD’s upcoming flagship, which will presumably be the RX 8800 XT. Below, I’ll tell you why I think this GPU is going to be so important not just for AMD but also for the entire graphics card market.
Setting the pace
Going into RDNA 3, many people thought that we’d see AMD compete against Nvidia’s top GPU. That didn’t happen, and it almost certainly won’t happen now. In fact, AMD is likely to be behind not just the RTX 5090 but also the RTX 5080.
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That’s not necessarily bad news. In fact, most leaks point to a GPU that’s going to hit the sweet spot between high-end and budget; something capable of running new AAA games without being too overkill — and I’m all for that.
I’ve been keeping a close eye on all sorts of leaks about the upcoming generation of AMD cards, and while specifics have been scarce, most tipsters are united in the idea that AMD is keeping things more mainstream this time around. AMD itself has said as much, despite comments from CEO Dr. Lisa Su who said that RDNA 4 will deliver “a strong increase in gaming performance.”
Right now, everything we know about the RX 8000 series comes down to a few vague statements, some rumors, and a lot of guesses. But there’s one thing I know for sure: These GPUs will set the pace not just for AMD but also for its rivals.
Seeing the AMD flagship will dispel a lot of doubt from the get-go. We’ll know the direction 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 bold decision by not trying to compete against Nvidia’s future flagship. It’s sticking to midrange graphics cards, 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 going to be Nvidia’s RTX 5090, plain and simple.
GPUs like the upcoming RTX 5090 are thrilling, that’s true. It’s hard to deny that it’s exciting to see a graphics card completely obliterate what we thought was unachievable just a few years ago. But how many people get these cards for gaming? Not that many. It’s the mainstream market that gets the most traction.
More realistic options
Year 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 cards and just want a daily driver that will be able to run recent games. One recent example of how a midrange card can really make all the difference is Intel’s Arc B580.
Circling back to AMD, the RDNA 3 generation of GPUs was a bit all over the place in terms of value. Although most of the GPUs were really solid, some of the pricing may have stunted their potential 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, worse ray tracing, and no DLSS 3 frame generation, it wasn’t quite enough to be considered a steal. Sure, it saved you $200, but it was still a pretty expensive GPU, all things considered.
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 the RX 7800 XT or the RX 7900 GRE, for example, both of which offered a great blend of performance and reasonable pricing. Those were the GPUs that gamers turned to if they wanted a value-oriented build.
In this new generation, where AMD itself says that it’s targeting the mainstream market, we might see a shift in the previous dynamic. Many people expect both the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 to be expensive; it’s easy to imagine that the RTX 5070 Ti won’t be cheap, either. But if AMD manages to create a GPU that can offer comparable performance — this time with better ray tracing — and prices it competitively … Well, we might have a similar situation to Intel’s B580 on our hands.
With comparable options at lower price points, we might see gamers turning to AMD, allowing it to set the tone for the rest of the GPU market. With more competition, we might even see Nvidia adjust its pricing, if only just a little bit. If AMD can offer something truly competitive in the bracket where gamers are the most likely to buy it, Nvidia might begin to feel the heat — and that’d be great news 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 competitive with Nvidia than AMD’s current-gen cards?
The words of AMD CEO Lisa Su sound promising, what with the “strong performance increase.” However, performance gain or not, we’re unlikely to see anything much stronger than the RX 7900 XT, at least in terms of specs like VRAM or compute units (CUs). Even so, a slight increase in VRAM is not completely out of the question, as AMD is generally much more generous with memory capacity than Nvidia. Even the RX 7900 XT had 20GB, which is more than Nvidia’s $1,000 RTX 4080 Super, and just 4GB less than the ever-so-expensive RTX 4090.
I’m guessing that 16GB is an absolute minimum for the next-gen AMD flagship, but I could easily see 20GB or 24GB as a possibility too, and that’s something to be excited about. Current AAA games really push VRAM requirements to the limit, making it so that 8GB GPUs tend to struggle with newer titles. One way or another, I expect AMD’s RX 8800 XT to offer more VRAM than a comparable card from Nvidia.
All in all, performance could end up being pretty great. I’ve been keeping my expectations low after hearing that AMD is sitting out of the high-end race, but recent leaks have gotten my hopes up yet again.
According to the most recent rumors, the RX 8800 XT may offer a performance comparable to Nvidia’s RTX 4080. That GPU is around the same level as the RX 7900 XTX in rasterization, and far ahead in ray tracing.
Ray tracing is one area where AMD will reportedly have a better chance at success this time around. One leaker said that the ray tracing performance of the RX 8800 XT was up to 45% better than the RX 7900 XTX in Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, and that’s a huge difference. On the other hand, it’s too soon to trust those numbers blindly — RE 7 isn’t very demanding when it comes to ray tracing, which makes it easier to handle for AMD GPUs than heavy-hitters like Cyberpunk 2077. Still, that’s enough to at least show some hope.
Even if the ray tracing predictions don’t quite pan out, AMD’s been clear on the fact that we can expect ray tracing improvements in its next-gen GPUs. If all goes well, we might get a replacement for the RTX 4080 with more VRAM, comparable ray tracing, and better value.
Wait — will it be of better value?
It’s all about value
Value is an incredibly important part of the potential success of AMD’s RX 8800 XT and the rest of the cards in the lineup (which right now might only include the RX 8600/XT). Intel’s recent Battlemage launch showed just how much performance per dollar matters in the mainstream market.
Intel’s Arc Alchemist, its first generation of mainstream graphics cards, didn’t receive anywhere near the same level of interest as Battlemage. In fact, the demand for these GPUs must have come as a shock both to Intel and to retailers, because it’s largely sold out right now.
The warm reception that Battlemage received tells me that it’s clear that gamers are open to using something other than Nvidia. They just need a little push.
The Nvidia bias is real, but for some, it’s fading. I was this close to choosing AMD when I built my current PC in late 2023. In fact, when AMD first announced RDNA 3, my plan was to finally ditch Nvidia and buy the RX 7900 XTX. I was genuinely excited about the card, and although the price was a little higher than I expected, I was ready to pull the trigger and go for it.
But once the GPUs launched and the first reviews came in, I started to doubt my previous decision. The RX 7900 XTX simply didn’t offer enough of a price 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 — does require some compromise. In the end, I ended up (almost begrudgingly) sticking with Nvidia.
It all comes down to the fact that AMD was shooting for the moon with the RX 7900 XTX, but it was still Nvidia that landed closer to the target. As a result, many expected the 7900 XTX to be cheaper — closer to the price it sells for now, which is $870. At that price, I’d have bought it in a heartbeat.
AMD’s change of pace for RDNA 4 gives me hope that this situation may not repeat itself. Team Red shines at the midrange, with cards like the RX 7800 XT leading the charge against Nvidia, and if this is AMD’s focus in 2025, the resulting price war might be great 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 dominating the GPU market; meanwhile, AMD’s gaming business suffered some major losses in 2024. But there’s a lot of potential here with AMD’s new approach, and if the stars align, we might finally see a competition that spurs Nvidia to keep the prices reasonable.
Yeah, I might be delusional if I’m counting on some serious competition, given the market share difference between the two companies. But I’ll stay delusional at least a little while longer, as both AMD and Nvidia will announce their new graphics cards in early January. Until then, let me dream.
