A new 16GB AMD Radeon RX 9070 GPU is reportedly on the way with a cheaper price

AMD could be about to release a new variant of its Radeon RX 9070 range that, if it's priced right, might give gamers a new mid-range gaming GPU champion, hints a new rumor. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE 16GB is rumored to be a new 16GB variant of the existing RX 9070 GRE 12GB that would ensure this otherwise cut-down RX 9070 variant has plenty of VRAM breathing room for future game support. Quite aside from this being an unconfirmed rumor, there is a catch, though.

The RX 9070 range is AMD's current top-of-the-line GPU series, with the RX 9070 XT leading the pack, followed by the RX 9070. The existing RX 9070 GRE 12GB is a slightly feature-reduced version that is still more powerful than the RX 9060 XT 16GB. Several of these existing models have impressed us enough to earn a spot on our best graphics card guide, but a new variant that sits between the RX 9060 XT 16GB and the RX 9070 would be a welcome addition.

We've broken down how the models would likely compare, based on this rumor, in the chart below. As you can see, the existing RX 9070 GRE 12GB has just 3,072 stream processors compared to the 4,096 and 3,584 of the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070, respectively. Meanwhile, the RX 9060 XT has just 2,048. That leaves a massive gap that a possible RX 9070 GRE 16GB card would be ideal to fill.

However, this is all just rumor for now, with information about the card coming from a post on Chinese GPU manufacturer discussion site, Board Channels (via Videocardz), and nothing verified by AMD. In the machine-translated post, a user suggests "AMD is planning to upgrade the RX 9070 GRE model, possibly directly to 16GB memory capacity, and it will be officially launched between September and October."

Aside from this all being rumor for now, there is another factor that slightly dampens our spirits when it comes to this leak, which is that traditionally AMD's GRE range has only been sold in China (with a few exceptions, such as the RX 7900 GRE). That's the case for the current RX 9070 GRE 12GB, and it's possible this would also be the case for a 16GB variant.

However, both the phrasing of the leak and the fact that such a model would slip so perfectly into AMD's current product stack, along with the October release window being ideal for holiday season buyers, make us hopeful this could be a worldwide launch.

This possible launch also somewhat depends on AMD's current GPU pricing staying as inflated as it is right now, particularly in the US. At MSRP, the RX 9070 XT ($599) and RX 9070 ($549) offer such fantastic value that they almost leave little room for a lower-tier version. However, with prices inflated to be closer to $700 and $600, a lower-tier model that actually hits a $450 price would have a lot of potential.

For now, though, take all this information and speculation with a grain of salt, as we await some official news from AMD. Instead, for a deeper understanding of where performance for a possible RX 9070 GRE 16GB might lie, check out our RX 9070 review and RX 9060 XT review, as we'd expect typical frame rates for such a card to be somewhere between those two models.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to discuss the possibility of such a card further, why not log on to our Discord channel, where you can chat directly to us and fellow readers?