AMD’s rumored Radeon RX 9050 will be the solely new desktop GPU in 2026
Abstract created by Good Solutions AI
In abstract:
- PCWorld stories a leak suggesting AMD’s Radeon RX 9050 desktop graphics card with 8GB VRAM will be the sole new shopper GPU possibility in 2026.
- The entry-level RX 9050 would use the Navi 44 chip with slower clock speeds, probably competing with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5050 round $250-$300.
- Graphics card shortages persist as AMD and Nvidia prioritize profitable information heart markets over shopper GPUs, leaving desktop avid gamers with restricted choices.
RAM and storage shortages are making the headlines, however it’s fairly bleak on the market if you happen to’re in search of a brand new graphics card, too. With information facilities gobbling up all of the manufacturing capability, neither Nvidia nor AMD appear concerned about making new desktop playing cards, at the least this calendar yr. However there’s one new risk from Staff Pink—a rumored entry-level card that may slide beneath the Radeon RX 9060.
In response to a purported leak from VideoCardz, the Radeon RX 9050 can be an 8GB GPU primarily based on the Navi 44, the identical chip powering the RX 9060 XT and the 9060 (which technically doesn’t have a retail worth because it’s unique to OEM pre-builts). Although the proposed 2,048 cores are boosted over the present bottom-level card, each the 1,920MHz base clock and a couple of,600MHz increase clock are significantly slower. It’s utilizing the identical 128-bit reminiscence bus as each 9060 playing cards. The 9060 was launched in August of final yr (once more, not on to shoppers) whereas the 9060 XT got here in June, nearly a full yr in the past.
The specs roughly align with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5050 (July, if you happen to’re questioning), which retails for $250 however is hovering across the $300 mark proper now. The 8GB model of the Radeon 9060 XT is meant to be round $300 however is working significantly greater, even when its 16GB alternate is far more fashionable with PC avid gamers.
Usually we might’ve anticipated to see refreshed variations of desktop graphics playing cards a couple of month or two in the past, or possibly rumors of a summer time increase. Not so in 2026, when Nvidia’s RTX 50-series Tremendous variants are no-shows and Intel hasn’t launched a brand new Arc shopper desktop card for the reason that B570 final January. The RTX 5070 12GB improve for laptops is the only, solitary launch since final summer time. Not less than GPUs are straightforward to seek out on the cabinets—probably as a result of DIY desktop upgrades have slowed to a crawl—although costs stay elevated as GDDR reminiscence output stays low.
However don’t cry for AMD. It reported over $10 billion in income within the first quarter of this yr, greater than half of it pure revenue, most of which got here from information facilities. As for Nvidia? Good lord. Nvidia recorded $44 billion in income within the first three months of this yr, a 69 % rise year-over-year, and it wasn’t precisely consuming lean in 2025 both. Virtually all of that was from information heart gross sales. That places Nvidia’s 2026 projected earnings at greater than the GDP of most international locations on the planet.
AMD’s income purely from gaming was simply $720 million within the first quarter whereas Nvidia’s was $3.8 billion. No marvel consumer-level graphics playing cards aren’t precisely a precedence anymore.
