ASRock has introduced the Radeon RX 9050 Challenger graphics card with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 64-bit bus, which is half the memory capacity and bandwidth compared to the 8 GB version. This new model is aimed at price-sensitive markets amid a memory shortage, but details on pricing, availability, and power consumption have not yet been released.

Main Specifications

According to the manufacturer's specifications, the Radeon RX 9050 Challenger with 4 GB of memory uses the Navi 44 chip and is equipped with 16 compute units (1024 stream processors), which is half the number of shaders found in the RX 9060 XT based on the same chip. Both the 4 GB and 8 GB versions use GDDR6 memory running at 18 Gbps, but the 4 GB card features a reduced 64-bit memory bus compared to the 128-bit bus of the 8 GB model. This results in a bandwidth drop from 288 GB/s to 144 GB/s.

Market Situation

The launch of the 4 GB version alongside the already limited 8 GB model highlights the current shortage and rising prices of GDDR6 memory. Demand for memory in artificial intelligence applications is pushing manufacturers toward HBM and server-grade DDR5, which affects the supply of memory for mainstream graphics cards. By reducing memory capacity, AMD and its partners can offer more affordable solutions for cost-sensitive markets.

Availability

ASRock has not yet disclosed the price, sales regions, or power consumption for either version of the RX 9050. The 8 GB model has so far only been confirmed for the Asia-Pacific and Latin American markets, with no plans for release in Europe or the US. The 4 GB version is also reportedly targeted at these regions and is not intended for a global launch.