AMD previews Radeon RX 9070 GPUs with AI-powered FSR 4

AMD just previewed its next-gen graphics lineup at CES 2025, taking the wraps off the RDNA 4 architecture and the Radeon RX 9070 series.

The lineup kicks off with two models: the Radeon RX 9070 XT and Radeon RX 9070. Both are built on a 4nm process and scheduled to launch from board partners sometime in Q1, though AMD kept quiet on exact specs, pricing, and release dates.

In case you're wondering about the naming jump, AMD skipped the 8000 series on desktop because that badge was reserved for RDNA 3.5 mobile chips.

AI upscaling gets a hardware lock

The marquee feature here is FSR 4, and it represents a massive strategic pivot. Unlike previous versions of FidelityFX Super Resolution that relied on open, non-machine-learning code, FSR 4 is entirely driven by machine learning.

AMD developed the new upscaling and frame-generation tech specifically for RDNA 4 and its dedicated second-generation AI accelerators. That means FSR 4 will run exclusively on the RX 9070 series for now, though it will be backward-compatible with titles that already support FSR 3.1.

Microsoft Gaming Content and Studios President Matt Booty even took the stage to announce that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will get FSR 4 support later this year. AMD, however, did not share any direct comparisons against Nvidia's DLSS or specific performance gains.

Aiming for the 4070 tier

Beyond the AI hardware, RDNA 4 brings AMD's third-generation ray-tracing engines, upgraded media encoding, and a refreshed Radiance Display Engine.

AMD didn't drop official benchmarks, but a presentation slide subtly suggested the 9070 series aims to match the performance of Nvidia's RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070 Super. Meanwhile, Nvidia is widely expected to reveal its next-gen RTX 50 series later today.

AMD is also bundling more AI into its Adrenalin software stack. Upcoming features include local AI image generation, local document summarization, and an in-app AMD chatbot to help troubleshoot graphics settings.

Why it matters

For gamers, AMD is finally tackling its biggest competitive weakness against Nvidia: raw upscaling image quality. But tying FSR 4 strictly to new AI hardware is a double-edged sword.

On one hand, it is a smart technical concession. Pure algorithmic upscaling took AMD as far as it could go, and modern anti-aliasing reconstruction simply requires dedicated silicon to match DLSS. On the other hand, AMD just abandoned the primary advantage it held over Nvidia for years—broad, hardware-agnostic backward compatibility.

From a market standpoint, targeting the performance of existing RTX 4070 cards right as Nvidia introduces its 50 series means AMD's success will live or die entirely by its launch pricing.