AMD RDNA 4 high-end GPU rumored to debut by June with 32GB VRAM - to take on RTX 5090, or not?

Update to original story: The leaker has provided further info, asserting that this will purportedly be an RX 9070 XT variant with doubled-up VRAM to 32GB. So, technically it'll be a gaming graphics card, not a professional (Radeon Pro) product - however, the source on Chiphell claims that the GPU is still set to primarily target the AI market, and will be priced as such. (So the value proposition will not make much sense for gamers).

AMD might be developing an RDNA 4 graphics card loaded up with a potentially huge helping of 32GB of VRAM, but don't get overly enthusiastic about this prospect yet.

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A high-end gaming GPU turning up in the next few months would certainly be a shock, given what we've heard from AMD (Image Credit: AMD)

Before you go thinking that this could be the mighty RX 9000 gaming GPU to take on NVIDIA at the high-end - as tempting as that may be as a conclusion to leap for - we must bear in mind a couple of things. Firstly, this is only a rumor, and secondly, if true, this is most likely to be a data center board rather than a gaming graphics card.

The speculation comes from Chiphell (as noticed by TechSpot) and so should be regarded with more skepticism than normal (as there's quite a lot of noise from the Chinese forum, let's be honest - although some things are called correctly by Chiphell's various denizens).

According to the source on Chiphell, a high-end RDNA 4 GPU is set to be launched in the first half of 2025, which could mean it arrives in the next few months. The assertion is made that it could be loaded with up to 32GB of video RAM, though Team Red seemingly hasn't made a final decision on that, we're told.

Holding out in hope

What springs immediately to mind here is that AMD has already indicated in reasonably clear terms that it won't be running with anything more than mid-range graphics cards with RDNA 4 - although a high-end offering has never been completely ruled out.

It seems unlikely to happen, though, especially considering that if a high-end Radeon GPU was in the works - an RX 9090 XTX, presumably - we'd surely have heard more about it via the rumor mill by now. Particularly if the launch is coming by the middle of the year, which is not that far off now.

As much as it pains us to admit, the most sensible seeming conclusion here is that this is likely to be a heavyweight GPU targeted at the likes of AI usage, not a gaming card.

If indeed it turns out to be anything at all.

We can, however, certainly hold out more hope that the following generation after RDNA 4 might give gamers a high-end AMD graphics card.

The generation to follow RDNA 4 probably won't be RDNA 5, but UDNA. Yes, AMD is rumored to be unifying RDNA and CDNA with the next-gen, and again, that'd make sense as a clean slate on which to return to the higher-end of the gaming GPU spectrum.

The current chatter on the grapevine points to a potential UDNA flagship graphics card not beating the RTX 5090, though (but perhaps equalling NVIDIA's Blackwell top dog). We're looking a long way down the line here, though...