AMD has announced the Radeon RX 9050, an entry-level graphics card built on the RDNA 4 architecture and based on the 4nm 'Navi 44' silicon, marking the company's first new desktop card release in almost a year. The card comes in two memory configurations: a 4GB version and an 8GB version, both featuring 16 compute units, 1,024 stream processors, and boost clocks up to 2.6 GHz.
According to AMD, the 4GB variant is intended exclusively for OEMs and system integrators to include in pre-built, budget desktop PCs, and will not be sold as a standalone card. This version uses a halved 64-bit memory bus, resulting in memory bandwidth of 144 GB/s. The 8GB version, by contrast, uses the chip's full 128-bit memory bus and 32MB of Infinity Cache, providing 288 GB/s of bandwidth—double that of the 4GB model. PCWorld notes that a 4GB desktop card has not been released by AMD since the RDNA2-based Radeon RX 6400 in 2022, and describes the 4GB variant as a step backward for desktop graphics cards, even though it will only appear in pre-built systems.
The 8GB Radeon RX 9050 is set to carry an introductory price of $279, positioning it as AMD's most affordable current graphics card. It will initially be available only in Latin American and Asia-Pacific/Japan (APJ) markets, with no timeline announced for other regions.
Multiple add-in board partners have introduced their own versions of the 8GB card. ASRock has launched its Challenger series RX 9050 8GB, featuring a dual-fan cooler with a Striped Axial Fan design, LED indicator, and metal backplate, aimed at system integrators and mainstream users; it will be sold in LATAM and Asia-Pacific regions. Sapphire introduced its Pulse 8GB card, based on a compacted version of its RX 9060 XT Pulse board, featuring dual 70mm fans, a single 8-pin power connector, and a typical board power of 100W; Sapphire did not reveal pricing. PowerColor introduced its Reaper 8GB card, using dual 80mm fans, a single 8-pin power connector, a 1920 MHz game clock, and a 2600 MHz boost clock, also rated at 100W typical board power.
There was some initial confusion over specifications: AMD's official spec page listed a maximum memory size of 8GB, while ASRock briefly listed both 4GB and 8GB versions of its Challenger card before removing the 4GB listing, leaving only the 8GB edition. AMD has since confirmed to reporters that the 4GB version exists but is OEM-exclusive, while the 8GB version is the one being marketed to gamers as AMD's new entry-level RDNA 4 option. No Made by AMD reference designs have been reported, with add-in board partners handling the launch.