PC Building

[cpurpe91]

Earlier I complained about the price above MSRP at Best Buy before the launch, but looking around on the internet there are still quite a few models still in stock at or near MSRP on other retailer sites. Many Microcenters still have them at decent prices as well. Scalpers are scalping. This is to be expected, but there is still stock on many retailer sites. This leads me to believe that this launch is going well, in terms of availability. 

On the performance side of things, I feel good about the where the RX 9000 series fit in on the charts. Of course, it isn't an RTX 4090. It's comparable to the RX 7900 class cards. For the price this is actually very good. Had I not gotten a RX 7900 XTX in November, I would be looking into buying the RX 9070 XT as an upgrade over my RX 7900 XT. 

I feel good about this launch.

Here's hoping AMD can grab onto some more of the GPU market, since this was the goal of targeting the mid-range. 

How do you all feel about this launch?

[2Ponies1Apple]

They might not see such a huge drop for black Friday but this is also not a flagship. This is a midrange card and we need atleast a entry level and enthusiast card from amd

[zll]

A midrange card for $600 to $700，AIB advertises it as the flagship GPU. For the same price, Gigabyte's RX9000 are more advanced. Most AIBs are too brazen.

[ardankyaosen]

This was AMD's big chance to gain market share.  Their warehouses should have been bulging at the seams with stock.  Yet, here are all the current RX 9700 prices:

PCPartPicker RX 9700 Prices

and here are the RX 9700 XT prices:

PCPartPicker RX 9700 XT Prices

And, of course, AMD isn't making reference cards any more and is no longer selling cards in their own store.  Just terrible.

[Qoojo]

and who is buying at those prices?! Those people are the ones that are the problem.

[eebiii]

Not AMD. Just look around. As of this morning, there is 1 OC 9070XT card available at my local microcenter. If you look on the website, they have 7 cards at $599 and the rest are OC cards that range from $619-849. 

ASUS AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT TUF Gaming Overclocked Triple Fan 16GB GDDR6 PCIe 5.0 Graphics Card - Mic...

It is Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg, eBay and all the other online retailers that are allowing this to happen. Have you ever heard of some of these stores selling you products? No because they opened an account on amazon a month ago to sell you msrp 5070 and 9070 cards to triple the price $1368 for the same card. 

Amazon.com: ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 Gaming Graphics Card (PCIe® 5.0,...

List of cards at Microcenter. Compare it with everywhere else. You will see where the problem is. Doesn't matter how many cards are pushed out. 

9070xt : Micro Center

I know a lot of people do not live near a microcenter and I am trying to show you that is it the same problem that's been here for the last 5-6 years. Bots and Resellers! Everyone is a pawn shop now except for triple the price.

[ardankyaosen]

If AMD had continued selling their reference cards in their own store, that might have put a damper on these prices and behaviors.  But, they sided with their card manufacturing partners instead of with the end users.  I guess it makes sense since it's easier to have a handful of customers (i.e., the manufacturers) than it is to have millions of them (i.e., us).  But, it's a bit disappointing.

[eebiii]

They announced that like 3 months ago. No impact here. They also have been tinkering with the idea since 2020 with the 6000 series. So, this was inevitable. Plus, just AMD making cards wouldn't have filled gaps and as you can see, no number of cards on the market can stop what's happening with reselling.

[sadfasdfasdfasdfas]

newest features of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition

1. FSR 4

2. MSRP Upscaling

[ardankyaosen]

Not that we need confirmation, but here's Gamers Nexus' video on this launch:

https://youtu.be/SPE95_RnL_Q?si=l_GQWfo2DO9oUP7G 

[Eudicots]

It's a really good product, too bad it's sold out in all the retailers near me. Not too much of an issue for me since I usually avoid the first run, so I'm just hoping for a larger restock. Otherwise it's a pretty solid launch.

[mengelag]

The stock should be back in no time. This is just the initial day-one release. The same would happen with any hyped item, say, like a new Xbox or PS6. It would sell out instantly. Us regular folk, I think, just have to wait a little while longer, unfortunately.

[Bmacek01]

My local Micro Center just restocked a handful of Power Color RX 9070's at MSRP, so that's something at least.

[mjevans]

Tuesday 11am PST.

NewEgg has _some_ bundles in stock, but only bundles.

Most pair one of the overpriced (greater than ~600 USD launch card 'OC' models, even accounting for possible tariff markups), and a PSU that's not quite what I'd pick to build a system with a beefy GPU in. E.G. 750W models, mostly Asrock, some Corsair. I've been eyeing Seasonic models in the 1000W range to give headroom and operate with safety margin for running it the more efficient portion of their power curves. Since they bundle with precise internal stock numbers, it's also rather hell to figure out _what_ is the thing bundled with it on the summary page.

One bundle comes close, pairing a 670 USD Asrock launch price + tariff card ... unfortunately with a 9700X, no 9800X3D 😞 So close, but not what I, nor most gamers buying one of these cards, want.

It's too bad NewEgg doesn't have a method of building my own bundle to E.G. fulfill a requirement like 'must be 300+ USD of other PC parts + Items in bundle must be returned with full bundle or for RMA exchange'.

[eebiii]

Have you considered buying all the parts and building it yourself? May end up being cheaper overall.

If you do go with the pre-built, I wouldn't use anything under a 1000w PSU. Especially for what you're looking at with the x3d, 9070xt, x or b 600's, 800's. 

IMO

[mjevans]

Where is the confusion.  Of COURSE I'd prefer to buy just the GPU directly and build things myself.

There IS NO BRICK AND MORTAR near me (other than individual BestBuys, but they don't have any mention of taking in person back-orders to be delivered to the store).

Microcenter seems to be mostly US East coast.  There's a reseller that's only in the Cali bay area.

The entire rest of the USA is shafted by distribution and parasitic resellers.

[ajlueke]

The death of Fry's certainly didn't help the West Coast folks.

[mjevans]

Their (near Seattle) Renton location was in a terrible spot.  On I-405 which has some of the worst traffic I've ever known, and surely the worst in the region.  At least a 20 min drive if not longer from the unusually sparse (thanks hills and lakes) swath of suburbs.   Time and gas factored in, someone would drive there only for a _really_ good deal or something they had to have right now.

As far as I can tell from MicroCenter's website and a friend lucky enough to have one near them, that store still functions by keeping prices low and (aside from super scalped items like GPUs... 😞 ) enough items in stock to build or repair a PC _now_.  Which allows them to compete with online prices at a parity on price and a benefit on time.

My memory is that the Fry's that opened near me mostly filled with junk, pushy sales people (I think the employees all worked on individual commissions?).  Also it was a bit of a luck draw if they even had a useful item, even then it wouldn't be priced well compared to the market as a whole.

Back of napkin daydreaming:

.oO ( MicroCenter opens a location somewhere east of Seattle / Bellevue on I-90 where the land is cheaper but they're still within King County's bus range so someone from Seattle without a car can get there easily.  Ideally near one of the major transit corridors.  Highway 18 might offer a back route around the 405 nightmare for those visiting from the south end.  North End, unfortunately a MicroCenter would need to bias in the county to the north, closer to Everett.  Crossing the city cores is _expensive_ in terms of time and gas, so a real bias to either side isn't fun.  The more affluent area(s) are probably 'east side' (I-90 location services that, and bus ties in those renting in the downtowns), and 'north side'.

It would be great if MicroCenter also had some sort of delivery assistance for those visiting by bus, maybe a reasonable fee for an employee living near that direction brings the box of parts by someone's place option (with sort of tightly timed delivery so people in apartments can pick it up at the curb as a dropoff). ) Oo.

[BigAl01]

I think Amazon is your best choice.  

[ardankyaosen]

I don't see how Amazon could be of any use.  As I type this, the cheapest AMD RX 9700 XT listed on PCPartPicker is supposedly selling at $939.89 (I believe that's something like $340 over list price).  It happens to be from Amazon and is showing there as in stock.  Clicking on the listing, takes me to an Amazon page with nothing for sale.  The other 5 supposedly "in stock" cards showing on PCPartPicker (ranging all the way up to $1,879.99) are also all showing as being available solely from Amazon.  Clicking on them results in their own "nothing for sale here" Amazon page.  And, doing a search on Amazon, itself, for the RX 9700 XT gives nothing (just random video cards that Amazon throws out there).  So, Amazon is less than worthless.

[mjevans]

It gets worse than that.

On Amazon LAST generation's cards of similar memory size not-infrequently show up at price points held by the newer generation cards as aspiring retailers no doubt try to capitalize on the magical numbers of suggested MSRP for the current generation to prompt panic-buys of people who expect that if they don't buy it now some bot will do that for them.

[eebiii]

This is kind of the point I was making earlier. Amazon is one of a few big retailers allowing this to happen.

This is insane. Do you see how they let these so-called retailers sell on their site? Its BS. Most are under 10 reviews. They just opened to sell MSRP 5070 and 9070 cards to you for triple and sometime quadruple the price. Amazon makes money off this too.

[ajlueke]

I stopped shopping on amazon years ago now because of this very thing.  It has essentially become a wasteland, where the goods aren't necessarily houses in Amazon's own warehouses.  

They allowed third parties to pay for store fronts but don't do really anything to vet who is operating there.

[Suai]

我在中国买不到发布价格的卡……所以我注册微AMD论坛账号，想知道什么时候才可以买到发布价格的产品

[BigAl01]

Chinese translation:

I can't buy a card with a published price in China...... So I signed up for a micro AMD forum account to find out when I would be able to buy the product at the release price.

[Darkstar82]

"How Do You Feel About The Radeon RX 9000 Series Launch"

That for the most part it has been non existent, and that AMD are at the very least equal con artist grifters to Nvidia due to AMD's faked AIB rebate based single day MSRP after which it has allowed prices to skyrocket,  20% price hikes across the board on every card from every seller here across the UK and EU and that is 20% at a minimum as some have risen far more which ensures, once again, that we are all paying in USD terms $700 to $900 for an upper mid range GPU, which is disgusting.

AMD like Nvidia is an either incompetent joke or malevolent force of a company whose graphics division has evidently long since given up giving a **bleep** about customers.  It has the power to constrain pricing by threat of AIB expulsion but does nothing, it has the power to constrain store pricing by threatening to remove authorised retailer status but does nothing, it has the power to crush scalpers by changing the terms of sale printed on the box to state that any card sold to a customer remains the property of AMD for the first 30 days then reverts fully to the ownership of the consumer thereafter which ensures that for the first 30 days AMD has all the power to be able to dictate where their products are sold and can at that point order places like eBay, Facebook market place, gumtree, to BAN all secondary scalper sales of their products for that first 30 days post launch or face civil legal penalties due to not being an authorised reseller,

but instead, as usual, AMD, DOES, NOTHING.

[Qoojo]

You can't beat greed, impatience, and capitalism. Low supply, high demand, you get this. The only way to truly beat this is create more supply and/or sell from their store. When it comes to custom AIB GPUs, there is little AMD can do.

It sucks if you have a gpu go dead during these new release periods, but there are so many advantages to simply waiting 6-9 months after release. The 9070 and 5000s GPUs have a lot teething pains judging by feedback on release notes post and the fixes in release notes.

[mjevans]

I disagree: there ARE things AMD could do.

• A _GLOBAL_ across AIBs drawing list / line up queue for those who want authorization to buy a card. (AMD would have to run this, and would have to require it by contract).
• Similarly, by contract, require AIBs to restock the MSRP model at (MSRP or less with) a minimum production level as long as it sells out at authorized resellers.
• Auction off to the highest bidder _some_ of those restock slots, valid for any model card less than the bidder's bid price.  Which would let people beat scalpers to the premium models.
• Make it easier for smaller (single store) shops to become authorized resellers (and get in on the above!)

That third point would help AMD and AIBs move the premium models and (via some contractual language) share the profits.

Any models that remain on the shelf for longer than a week without being redeemed by the program could be sold at their asking price.  (Should be reported back to AMD).

[ajlueke]

Even the 7900XT which was available for around $700 before the 9000 series launch is now retailing for $900+ which is awful since it actually performs worse than a 9070XT.

Prices seem to have gone up since the launch as opposed to down.

I have a couple GPUs I bought during various lulls for MSRP over the last couple years, so I am set for now.  The best way to fight this trend is to never, ever reward the scalpers.   

[johnnyenglish]

Over here were actually seeing the 7900XT dropping fast as online & retailers want to get rid of old stock.

Some local shops are even going as low as sub700

Had a chance to see a rare sub 500EURO 7800XT too

[SubtleIQ]

Hi Everyone,

    I know it's been forever since my last post... hope everyone is doing well.

    I do not know enough about business to make any worthwhile comments about the current unacceptable

state of all computer hardware prices.  Other than maybe do not release all available stock to online vendors...

i.e. release it in small batches at random times over a period of time, so maybe we can actually hit purchase

before the scalpers can.  Also do the same for physical stores (unless somehow this helps scalping).

  Other than that, besides some people not being able to get a card at MSRP...I think is crazy awesome so

many people were able to get cards on launch day.  Though I feel really sad for those people that do not live

close to a Microcenter.

   I would like to add... I have never paid more than MSRP for any GPU I have bought for myself or computers

that I built.  There is an extremely good reason for this, scalping did not exist for 85% of systems I have built over the last 27 years. The other 15% I've simply done what a lot of people have been saying over and over again...wait.

  Sadly the only benefit now when you build your own is you get to pick and choose your parts, it's cheaper

to buy prebuilt now.

Anyway, Happy Gaming Everyone!

P.S.  I am hoping to make a Gen5 system sometime this year 😉

[mjevans]

I hope Friday (03-28)'s earthquake in SE Asia doesn't have much impact, but it was fairly large for an area that I don't frequently recall seeing news reports of earthquakes in.

Have AMD or any other manufacturers released statements about the earthquake / impacts to supply chain?