It seems that AMD might have a leg up against its long-standing competitor Nvidia in the mid-range graphics card battle, according to the latest reports from the rumor mill.
Both AMD and Nvidia released their mid-range offerings, the AMD RX 7600 and the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti, respectively, around the same time. But according to our own reviews, AMD’s card is a much better value than Nvidia’s, and it seems like sales are reflecting that. Retailer leaks reported by PCGamesN state that despite both manufacturers supplying roughly the same amount of card stock, the 4060 Ti has sold only 1/10 of its stock, while the RX 7600 may have actually sold out in some locations.
Some choice quotes from these retailers called the RTX 4060 Ti launch “the worst I’ve seen in memory,” and another “We aren’t actually having any trouble moving 7600 stock. 4060 Ti’s a different story…” Also, a report from Wccftech seems to confirm the poor sales of the 4060 Ti from markets that normally do well for PC gaming.
The Q1 earnings reports also confirm that AMD’s gaming revenue nearly matched Nvidia, which is a pretty huge deal considering that Team Green usually sets the pace for sales versus Team Red.
This could be bad for Nvidia
If these rumors are to be trusted, then this should be a warning sign for Nvidia. The fact that AMD, which hasn’t released a card since the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT launched in 2022, seemingly is so thoroughly ahead could bode poorly for its rival’s performance in the mid-range PC gaming graphics card market.
This could be especially bad as PCGamesN also stated that an ad in board partner revealed that Nvidia is “betting hard on the 4060.” If sales are already disappointing for the 4060 Ti, imagine how bad they could be if the vanilla 4060 launches at an MSRP of $299, which is still higher than the RX 7600’s more reasonable price of $269 (about £215 / AU$405).
Thanks to factors like card scarcity in the previous gen due to chip shortages from the global Covid-19 pandemic, a rise in value for cryptocurrencies, and the current cost of living crisis, buyers are looking more for affordability rather than meager gains in power when it comes to replacing older graphics cards.
That’s why Nvidia needs to step up to the plate and offer the kinds of graphics cards that its market is clearly leaning towards, including a true budget option that could properly undercut AMD.