AMD justifies the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB edition, saying that it is enough for gaming at 1080p since most gamers play esports games.
Frank Azor Defends 8 GB GPUs but Recommends 16 GB for More Demanding Titles Than eSports Games
The statement given by AMD's Chief Director of Gaming Solutions might come as a surprise, as AMD itself advocated for a higher VRAM capacity on GPUs when it launched the RX 7000 series. AMD even mocked NVIDIA's RTX 40 series GPUs due to their lower VRAM, which throttles performance in some games.
Even with the release of newer generation cards, it seems that both AMD and NVIDIA don't prioritize higher VRAM (mostly on budget GPUs), as apparent from Frank Azor's statement. Frank said that, as the majority of gamers play eSports games at 1080p resolution, 8 GB is sufficient for them, and there shouldn't be any problem with 8 GB GPUs (RX 9060 XT 8 GB in this context).
Majority of gamers are still playing at 1080p and have no use for more than 8GB of memory. Most played games WW are mostly esports games. We wouldn't build it if there wasn't a market for it. If 8GB isn't right for you then there's 16GB. Same GPU, no compromise, just memory…
— Frank Azor (@AzorFrank) May 22, 2025
He further adds that if someone really needs higher VRAM, then the 16 GB memory capacity edition is already there. However, the issue isn't just the VRAM capacity, as a lot of users are pointing out the problem with naming the GPU with the same name. The recently launched NAVI 44-based 8 GB and 16 GB editions have been released under the same name, "Radeon RX 9060 XT". This is exactly how NVIDIA went with the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, which, according to many, is "misleading" to consumers.
As far as the VRAM capacity is concerned, it's true that the majority of gamers play eSports titles, as apparent from the Steam Charts. The top played games, according to Steam, CS: 2, Dota 2, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and Apex Legends are all eSports games. Now, even though there are a few non-eSports titles on the most-played games list, most of them are competitive multiplayer titles, which really don't require more than 8 GB of memory and have hundreds of thousands of concurrent players.
However, the RX 9060 XT isn't just aimed at eSports titles, at least as per AMD's own press release. AMD says that the Radeon RX 9060 XT is "engineered to address the toughest workloads in gaming,...". Now, this can be interpreted in different ways, but it doesn't seem to convey the same meaning as Frank's statement. AMD recommended the RX 9060 XT for "1440p" gaming multiple times in the PR, claiming that it is designed to offer an "ultra-smooth" gaming experience at this resolution, but we all know this won't be possible with many intensive Triple-A titles (even at 1080p in some cases).
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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