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- There won't be any Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs from MSI
- It's currently unclear why, but could be down to MSI's successful Nvidia partnership
- AMD has supposedly prioritized distribution for Asus, XFX, and PowerColor
AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series GPU lineup has another twist to its tale, this time regarding its board partners - and it could have a potential impact on Team Red's battle against its fierce rival Nvidia.
As reported by our friends at Tom's Hardware, MSI won't be releasing any partner Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, with AMD reportedly prioritizing Asus, XFX, and PowerColor board partners for distribution (as highlighted by Wccftech). This comes as something of a surprise, since MSI has manufactured third-party cards for previous Radeon GPU generations: the Radeon RX 5000, 6000, and 7000 series have all received support from the Taiwanese company, but the 9000 series will be skipped entirely.
It's unclear whether MSI's omission from releasing Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs stems from AMD's choice to prioritize other board partners, or if it was a decision on MSI's part made before learning about Team Red's distribution plans. It wouldn't be far-fetched to suggest that MSI’s successful ongoing partnership with Nvidia (particularly in terms of sales) may be the reason here - and perhaps, MSI has secretly struck an exclusivity deal with Team Green.
It's also worth noting that AMD won't have any reference cards for RDNA 4 GPUs: consumers will be left relying on board partners like Asus and XFX to supply the goods. Now, that isn't exactly good news for gamers, since Asus has implemented price hikes on new GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia, so the notable exclusion of MSI this generation could put Team Red at a disadvantage against Nvidia.
Nvidia may have the upper hand again...
Again, since AMD won't have any reference cards for its new lineup, I'm willing to believe that Nvidia has an advantage in this region. While there are still no RTX 5000 series Founders Edition GPUs currently available for purchase, Team Green has the likes of MSI and numerous other board partners currently selling Blackwell GPUs.
I feel that this puts Team Red on the back foot - especially because gamers only have one way of purchasing the RDNA 4 GPUs, and that's via third-party retailers. Unless you get lucky and find a retailer that implements a buying queue scheme, you'll likely end up paying above MSRP.
Meanwhile, Team Green has resumed its 'Verified Priority Access' scheme, which gives US buyers a special chance to obtain an RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 GPU directly from Nvidia on a first come, first served basis. Now, this isn't exactly ideal, since it's region-based and there are certain stipulations around the scheme (you must have made an Nvidia account on or before January 30), but it's at least an option that allows consumers to keep tabs on Founders Edition and AIB cards.
I won't downplay Asus, XFX, and PowerColor when it comes to releasing RDNA 4 GPUs - all three are well-established AIB partners for AMD - but I'm hoping that MSI's dropout doesn't have too much of an impact, because the GPU market needs lively competition right now more than ever.