RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 5080: When availability meets demand – a brief report from everyday GPU life

Sometimes a few sober figures are enough to explain the market reality of an entire GPU generation. 245 RX 9070 XTs sold at Mindfactory – compared to 25 RTX 5070s and 24 RTX 5080s, which quickly sums up the current sales week, at least from the retailer’s perspective. And yes, you don’t have to do rocket science to recognize who has the better offer here – or rather, who has an offer at all. Because what AMD is currently delivering with the RX 9070 XT is one thing above all: availability. No GPU lottery, no artificial scarcity, no RRP 200 euro jokes – you can simply buy the card. In times when NVIDIA seems to be launching its RTX 50 series from a parallel universe, this almost seems like an anachronism.

RTX 5090 – the phantom of the store shelves

The RTX 5090? No sales figures. No boxes. No stock. So no sales either. Mindfactory lists – nothing. Maybe it’s out there somewhere, deep in Silicon Valley or built into a YouTuber build, but in the reality of German retail customers, it’s currently as tangible as a unicorn with an HDMI output. A deliberate strategy? Perhaps. A logistical declaration of bankruptcy? Possibly. In any case, a disaster for all those who are seriously considering an upgrade in the high-end segment.

RDNA 4 – when solid architecture meets a functioning supply chain

AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture makes no secret of what it is – incrementally developed, more efficient, slightly improved in terms of ray tracing, but not a technological breakthrough. And it doesn’t have to be. Because what counts is not what’s on paper, but what ends up in the shopping cart. And that’s where AMD currently has a clear lead. What’s more, the company has obviously learned from past mistakes. The cards are coming on time, in quantities and – at least for now – without grotesque price mark-ups. The RX 9070 XT is not a miracle product, but it is available. And that is currently enough to take the butter off NVIDIA’s bread.

NVIDIA: When marketing meets reality

The RTX 5070 and 5080, on the other hand, seem like the inconvenient cousins that were invited but somehow nobody really cares about. Certainly not bad from a technical point of view, but poorly positioned in retail, priced out of line and practically unavailable. If you remember, NVIDIA already had to deal with similar symptoms with the RTX 40 series. Obviously, little has been learned from the chaos back then – or they are deliberately focusing on exclusivity as a sales argument. Whether this will work in the mass market is doubtful.

RDNA4 starts very strong in this week at mf:

[RX 9070 XT] => 245
[RX 7800 XT] => 70
[RTX 5070] => 40
[RTX 5070 Ti] => 30
[RX 7600] => 20
[RX 6750 XT] => 20
[RX 7900 XTX] => 20
[RTX 5080] => 20
[RX 6600] => 20
[RX 6650 XT] => 10
[RX…

— TechEpiphany (@TechEpiphanyYT) April 15, 2025

What the figures really show – beyond fanboy folklore

Anyone who reflexively wants to get into the well-known “AMD vs. NVIDIA” chant can save their breath. This is not about ideology, but about market mechanics. If you deliver, you sell. Those who don’t deliver are forgotten. The RX 9070 XT doesn’t sell because it’s the holy grail of GPU technology – it sells because it’s simply there. This is banal, but relevant. And if you also take into account that AMD apparently places the cards at a price level that doesn’t immediately max out the credit card, then it quickly becomes clear why the choice of many buyers is currently not green, but red.

Looking ahead – budget models and realism

However, the real showdown will not take place in the high-end segment, but where the masses are buying: RX 9060 vs RTX 5060, mid-range vs mediocre. And here, too, there are signs that AMD could score points with a more down-to-earth approach and less of a castle-in-the-air policy. Provided they stay on course with availability. NVIDIA, on the other hand, has to deliver more than just promises and slides with bars pointing upwards. If you want to survive in a functioning market, you also have to deliver functioning products – no rocket science, just simple market economics. The RX 9070 XT sells well because it is there. The RTX 5090 doesn’t sell because it’s missing. Everything else is smoke and mirrors rhetoric. If you want to understand the market, you just have to look – or read the figures.

Source: TechEpiphanyYT via X