GPU pricing has mostly moved in one direction this year — up, driven by the memory-chip shortage pushing NVIDIA's RTX 40-series cards sharply higher. AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series just broke that pattern, with multiple retailers cutting prices by 15 to 20 percent and the RX 9070 GRE now sitting below its original launch price.
The Price Cuts, by the Numbers
The RX 9070 GRE has dropped to $499, a notable milestone since that's below its original MSRP — a genuinely rare occurrence for a graphics card still within its first year on the market, let alone one landing in the middle of an industry-wide memory shortage. The standard RX 9070 has fallen to around $519, and Notebookcheck's reporting on the broader trend found Radeon RX 9000 series pricing easing by as much as 20 percent in certain regions. NVIDIA hasn't been entirely immune to the softening either — some listings have put the RTX 5060 as low as $279 — but NVIDIA's mid-range lineup overall remains on the opposite trajectory, with the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Super both still elevated well above their launch pricing.
Why AMD Is Moving the Other Direction
AMD hasn't publicly detailed exactly why its pricing is easing while NVIDIA's climbs, but the divergence lines up with how each company's cards use memory differently and how retailers have responded to relative demand. NVIDIA's higher-end and mid-range cards lean more heavily on GDDR6X and larger VRAM pools that compete directly with the same supply being squeezed by AI data center demand, while AMD's RX 9000 lineup appears to have had more retailer inventory to clear, giving retailers more room to discount rather than hold firm on price. It's also consistent with AMD's broader pricing strategy over the past few GPU generations — undercutting NVIDIA on price at a given performance tier tends to matter most when NVIDIA's own pricing is under pressure, and that's exactly the situation right now.
Is this price drop likely to last, or is it a short-term discount? The reporting so far describes retailer-level price cuts rather than an official MSRP change from AMD, which means it could tighten back up if demand shifts — but with the RX 9070 GRE now priced below its original MSRP across multiple retailers rather than one isolated listing, this looks more like a genuine market shift than a flash sale.
What This Means If You're Buying Now
If you were on the fence about a mid-range GPU and had been waiting out the NVIDIA price spike, AMD's RX 9070 and RX 9070 GRE are worth a serious look right now — both are landing at or below their original launch pricing while NVIDIA's comparable tier remains elevated. Our RTX 4070 vs RX 7800 XT comparison and current GPU deals roundup cover the broader picture if you're still weighing which card and price point makes sense for your build.
Sources: Notebookcheck — Gaming GPU pricing appears to ease, as certain regions see AMD Radeon 9000 prices fall by 20%, Tom's Hardware — AMD RX 9070 GRE collapses to $499, VideoCardz — Multiple Radeon and GeForce GPUs drop below MSRP
