The China-exclusive Radeon RX 9070 GRE isn't seeing a good demand, which is why AIBs are now selling the GPUs for a much lower price.
Lower VRAM Seems to Have Impacted RX 9070 GRE's Appeal; Prices Drop by Around 15% Compared to Launch Days
The official price tag of 4199 Yuan was apparently too high for the Radeon RX 9070 GRE to look attractive. Since the Radeon RX 9070 XT features higher VRAM capacity, it's natural that most gamers will opt for GPUs with additional VRAM capacity. The Radeon RX 9070 GRE launched in China in May at 4199 Yuan or US$590, but some premium editions went as high as 4,500 Yuan, which translates to US$630.
On the other hand, the Radeon RX 9070 XT was launched at 4,999 Yuan, which is around US$700 and offers 4 GB higher VRAM capacity. The Radeon RX 9070 is supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the Radeon RX 9070 XT with only 12 GB of VRAM capacity, but it utilizes a significantly cut-down NAVI 48 die with only 3072 Stream Processors vs 4096 SPs on the RX 9070 XT. That said, the RX 9070 GRE is already in a bad position when it comes to performance, and with lower VRAM, it further loses its appeal.
As spotted by @unikoshardware, this had a direct impact on the card's sales, as no one seems to be interested in investing $600 in a GPU that is less future-proof. The recent retailer listings reveal that the Radeon RX 9070 GRE has come down to just 3,600 Yuan, which translates to around US$505. Even the higher-end models have dropped to around 3,800 Yuan or US$533. So, compared to the launch days, the GPU has dropped by around $100 in order to have some effect on the sales.
This is obviously why AMD is reportedly considering the VRAM capacity on the Radeon RX 9070 GRE to 16 GB. However, this probably won't be enough since the Radeon RX 9070 also sees the lowest sales among all the RDNA 4 GPUs worldwide. A $100 lower price tag may not be enough to compensate for the performance loss due to 25% fewer shaders, and the new RX 9070 GRE with 16 GB memory would probably do better at $449 or $479.
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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