- AMD has announced a brand new GPU targeting budget consumers, the Radeon RX 9050.
- This GPU comes in two variants, marking the return of graphics cards featuring 4GB of VRAM.
- AMD’s decision to launch a new graphics card with 4GB of VRAM in 2026 stems from persisting memory shortages and rising prices.
Memory shortages have put a lot of pressure on consumer electronics, specifically the games industry. Consoles have seen price hikes back to back, and PC graphics cards have suffered from delayed generational refreshes and a slow price creep.
At a time when GPUs could use more memory, the shortages have led to yet another drastic issue. AMD’s latest announcement marks the return to 4GB GPUs with the arrival of the Radeon RX 9050.
Why it matters: Modern games demand at least 8-12GB of VRAM, so GPUs possibly reverting to 4GB or 6GB of memory could be a major setback to PC gaming.
AMD’s recently-announced Radeon RX 9050 is based on a cutdown Navi 44 GPU, the same chip used in the RX 9060 and 9060 XT.
The gaming giant advertises a maximum of 8GB of GDDR6 memory for the graphics cards, but AIB models have confirmed that the RX 9050 XT comes in two flavors. PC gamers can find the GPU from supported vendors with both 4GB and 8GB of memory.
Thankfully, the 4GB variant is meant for prebuilt PCs, so AMD is not selling it to PC gamers just yet. For everyone else, the RX 9050 8GB will retail at $279, but it will be limited to Latin America and Asia for the initial wave of releases.
As for performance, AMD advertises 1080p 60FPS gameplay at Medium settings in a title like 007 First Light. It’s clear, therefore, that the graphics card targets budget-oriented 1080p gamers with its measly 16CUs.
It remains to be seen whether this is the first of many graphics cards with 4GB of VRAM to come in the modern era. Even if it remains an exception to the rule, it’s quite sad to see the PC industry reverting to a standard that has been outdated for more than a decade now.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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