{"id":1040,"date":"2026-01-15T14:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/amd-promises-to-try-and-keep-gpu-prices-low-against-the-ravages-of-the-ram-shortage\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T14:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:53:25","slug":"amd-promises-to-try-and-keep-gpu-prices-low-against-the-ravages-of-the-ram-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/amd-promises-to-try-and-keep-gpu-prices-low-against-the-ravages-of-the-ram-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"AMD Promises to Try and Keep GPU Prices Low Against the Ravages of the RAM Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today\u2019s PC landscape is changing in ways few expected, and almost nobody wanted. AMD, the eponymous Team Red, is coming into the new year with an odd assortment of chips in tow. Maybe it\u2019s enough to know there\u2019s likely more in store later this year, but first AMD has to handle the ravages of the ongoing RAM shortage.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Gizmodo during CES 2026, AMD\u2019s VP in charge of Ryzen, David McAfee, talked to me about the company\u2019s full PC gaming suite. I spoke with the exec the day after one of AMD\u2019s oddest CES showcases to date, where it revealed a few new chips in existing families, including the Ryzen 7 9850X3D CPU and several more Strix Halo APUs (accelerated processing units)\u2014specifically the Ryzen AI Max+ 388 and 382\u2014which were also built for some future mobile gaming device, perhaps even more handheld PCs. However, those chips are still using older RDNA 3.5 GPUs, meaning they won\u2019t have access to AMD\u2019s latest upscaling updates that would truly push mobile devices for gaming.<\/p>\n
AMD\u2019s novel CPUs for lightweight laptops, the Ryzen AI 400 series, didn\u2019t get nearly as much time in the limelight as Qualcomm and Intel\u2019s competing CPUs. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has a higher clock speed, which means some of the most hardcore gamers can make use of a few extra frames. McAfee told me directly there won\u2019t be a huge difference in performance between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and this new, overclocked chip. Modern DirectX 12-supported games may not see as big an increase as some \u201chigh-framerate\u201d esports titles or older DirectX 9 titles, he added. Everyone else will feel safe sticking with what works, and that seems to be AMD\u2019s intent with this latest CPU. The sophomore chip and the new hotness will be sold alongside each other.<\/p>\n
AMD is pushing to keep GPU costs low(ish)<\/h2>\n\u00a9 aileenchik \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Keeping GPU costs low seems to be AMD\u2019s entire modus operandi for the start of 2026. What worked last year will work this year, so long as the company can contain the worst excesses of memory price gouging. The entire PC market is suffering under the RAM supply crunch. Sure, you should be able to buy a new Ryzen 7 9850X3D when it eventually goes on sale (we still don\u2019t have an idea of its official price), but will self-starters also suffer the 500% markup on DDR5 RAM for the sake of a new PC?<\/p>\n
AMD doesn\u2019t have a GPU to compete against Nvidia\u2019s top-end GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090. The best it can do is outcompete Team Green on performance per dollar. The Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT were both great GPUs if you could nab them for close to their suggested retail price. The XT only hit its fabled $600 close to eight months after launch. With memory prices going haywire, consumers have reasons to be concerned that all component prices could increase. Last year, a customer service rep for major AMD GPU maker PowerColor told Reddit users that prices could \u201ckick up\u201d in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have very strategic partnerships over many, many years with all the DRAM manufacturers to make sure that both the amount of supply that we need and the economics of what we\u2019re able to buy from them are what we can support in our graphics business,\u201d McAfee told Gizmodo. However, the Ryzen lead admitted that he can\u2019t predict the future. He added that AMD was trying to work with the AIC (add-in card) manufacturers to maintain prices close to what AMD suggests. Considering how long the RX 90-series kept above MSRP, that may not be enough to calm gamers\u2019 nerves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the memory at the right price, building graphics cards with our add-in-board partners that hit the right price and market, that\u2019s tough math to put together,\u201d McAfee added. \u201cSo managing that memory ecosystem very closely is absolutely something that is a core part of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being cautious around multi-frame gen<\/h2>\nThe OneXFly Apex is one of the few handhelds to use a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, though that chip is so powerful the makers created an external battery pack for the device. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
While AMD is competing with Nvidia on GPUs, it\u2019s also trying to become the fresh face of AI upscaling technology. The RX 90-series introduced FSR 4, a new model of AMD\u2019s FidelityFX Super Resolution technology that boosts game performance by making lower-resolution frames appear like they\u2019re running at a higher resolution. Last year, AMD trotted out FSR Redstone as a mid-cycle update to its upscaler. This update added multi-frame interpolation, aka multi-frame generation, to the party. Essentially, this technology takes multiple AI-generated frames and sticks them in between rendered frames, artificially increasing the frame rate.<\/p>\n
The wider PC gaming community is far more hesitant to adopt frame generation than AI upscaling. Frame gen necessarily hits at a game\u2019s latency, making controls feel floatier than they should. Redstone and Nvidia\u2019s latest DLSS 4.5 have worked to reduce the visual glitches from AI-generated frames, but these imperfections still mar the experience. McAfee tried to make it clear AMD was only taking baby steps into multi-frame generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will proceed very cautiously and listen to the gaming community and the reaction that they have to these multi-frame gen capabilities,\u201d McAfee said. \u201cI think a lot of gamers feel like [frame gen technology has] gone too far in some cases. And so I think that\u2019s why you\u2019re going to see us step very carefully as we build this out over the next several years.\u201d<\/p>\n
We may need to wait a little while longer before we see any new PC or handheld APU sporting RDNA 4, the same GPU architecture as the RX 90 series. Once that happens, we may see Redstone hit the mobile market. Smaller and cheaper devices can make better use of upscaling than $600 graphics cards, something McAfee agreed with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe value of frame interpolation and upscaling on a handheld platform is incredibly significant,\u201d he said. \u201cSo as we\u2019re looking out at what we\u2019re going to do in our handheld roadmap in the future, those are absolutely the conversations we\u2019re having about\u2026 how do we deliver a really high-quality experience and make sure that all of the benefits that go along, both power, smoothness of gameplay, etc., make their way onto those handheld platforms as well?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Amd](\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AMD-Ryzen-7-9800X3D.jpg\")
![\"Onexplayer](\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/OneXPlayer-OneXFly-Apex-.jpg\")