Is it just me, or is the new AMD Radeon RX 7900 actually an RX 7800 XT in disguise?

AMD Radeon RX 7900 with blue Radeon backdrop — (Image credit: AMD)

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 is now officially a thing, and while it’s currently only available in China, it comes in at roughly $649. That’s arguably a decent price point for a graphics card armed with 16GB RAM and a cut-down Navi 31 GPU, as its older RX 7900 XT sibling can set you back $250 more. However, while I’m hoping the new card on the block eventually makes its way across the globe, I can’t help but shake the feeling that it’s actually an RX 7800 XT in disguise.

The best graphics card battlefield is now occupied by various AMD and Nvidia GPUs, but the red team has yet to deploy any midrange gladiators. You could say that’s a tactical move, as letting Nvidia release the RTX 4070 and RTX 4060 first lets the company pick and choose specs based on the gaming PC scene’s reactions to available SKUs. Perhaps I’m putting more thought into this than the GPU itself has, but the release of the new AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (Golden Rabbit Edition) in China feels like a similar test.

Unveiled at China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE offers specs that currency sit between the Radeon RX 7600 and RX 7900 XT. As mentioned above, it packs 16GB GDDR6 RAM, a Navi 31 GPU with 5,120 Stream processors, and boost clock speeds up to 2,245Mhz, so there’s a bit of a gap between it and the flagship XTX.

In a “gen-to-gen” comparison, AMD pits the RX 7900 specs against the RX 6800 XT, which somewhat backs up my theory that it’s practically an RX 7800 XT. That idea is echoed across benchmarks, with figures produced by Chinese publication Expreview suggesting it surpasses RTX 4070 performance. When you consider the fact it can beat the GeForce GPU without FSR 3.0 (AMD’s yet-to-be-released answer to DLSS 3), things are looking promising for the configuration.

Three AMD Radeon RX graphics cards with red blurred backdrop — (Image credit: AMD)

Is an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT release date on the horizon?

If the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is going to show up, it’ll likely happen during 2023. There’s no guarantee it wields the exact same specs as the new AMD Radeon RX 7900, but the configuration makes a lot of sense. Providing AMD sticks with a $649 price tag, it’d make for a great RTX 4070 Ti alternative that boasts more VRAM, and it’d leave space for a potential non-XT model that could take on the RTX 4070.

I’m not opposed to AMD sticking with the RX 7900 moniker, but I do think it somewhat blurs midrange recognition. Like many gaming PC builders out there, I tend to use the GPU model to set performance expectations, and having clear class indicators helps when shopping around for GPUs. Of course, we’ll be looking to test the actual AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT as soon as it arrives, which in turn will enable us to tell you exactly where the graphics card sits in the specs food chain.

Until then, feel free to check out some of the best GPU deals below, as there are plenty of new-gen cards out there already.

Not into building your own machine? Check out the best Alienware gaming PCs for a selection of Aurora rigs. Alternatively, check out the best gaming laptops for our favourite portable powerhouse options.

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Phil is the Hardware Editor at GamesRadar+ who specializes in retro console setups, choosing the latest gaming handhelds, and navigating the choppy seas of using modern-day PC hardware. In the past, they have covered everything from retro gaming history to the latest gaming news, in-depth features, and tech advice for publications like TechRadar, The Daily Star, the BBC, PCGamesN, and Den of Geek. In their spare time, they pour hours into fixing old consoles, modding Game Boys, exploring ways to get the most out of the Steam Deck, and blasting old CRT TV visuals into their eye sockets.