AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series will reportedly not feature a reference model, and AIB partners will now ride up the launch hype, which is slated for February 28.
AMD Excludes Reference Variant From The List of RX 9070 Series GPUs; XFX, ASUS, Sapphire, & Many Others To Now Dominate The Launch
Team Red's RDNA 4 GPU launch has seen some interesting twists. The launch date was initially delayed, and now it is rumored that AMD won't release a "Made-By-AMD" (MBA) variant for the RX 9070 series. This marks the first instance where we won't see a reference model available in the market. We have seen renders of the model surface in the past as well, but "official" images of the reference variant haven't been revealed yet, and now we know why.
It’s almost time. Meet the next gen AMD Radeon RX 9000 series on February 28th at 8am ET/7am CT/5am PT.
Subscribe to the AMD Gaming YouTube channel to watch the unveiling LIVE! https://t.co/i2PqeEq5DI pic.twitter.com/KHehyExFMf
— AMD Radeon (@amdradeon) February 21, 2025
This news is deduced by a new promotional post by AMD, revealing details about the upcoming RDNA 4 GPU showcase, and if you look at the very bottom-left, Team Red says that the GPU in the picture isn't available for purchase, suggesting that reference models are likely excluded this time. While this isn't confirmed officially yet, this move does make sense, given that we haven't seen the reference model getting pictured online, and AIB partners have always resented AMD's priority to selling its MBA variant first during the launch days.
Now, this means AIB models will steal the show on the initial launch days, and we have seen several of them surface over the internet, notably from ASUS, XFX, and Sapphire. So, consumers looking to get AMD's RDNA 4 series should be excited about the release, given that custom models are said to be well-equipped and extensive this time, and we have already seen several of them in real-time as well, which we will share below:
AMD's RX 9070 series is expected to be unveiled "extensively" by February 28, with retail launch taking place by March 6.
News Source: Videocardz
