Sapphire may be the only AIB manufacturer to launch AMD reference Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU

Ordinarily, when AMD unveils a new graphics card, they introduce their reference Made by AMD (MBA) cards, which are manufactured by AIB partners. Simultaneously, AMD permits these AIBs to craft and release their custom editions to diversify the product range. However, AMD has now confirmed it will not be launching a reference Radeon RX 7700 XT. According to reports from Videocardz, Sapphire is currently the sole AIB known to be releasing an AMD reference RX 7800 XT.

Last month, at the Cologne International Gaming Fair, AMD officially announced two new graphics cards: the Radeon RX 7800 XT and the Radeon RX 7700 XT. These latest additions to the RX 7000 series, both crafted from the RDNA 3 architecture’s Navi 32 core, will launch on September 6, 2023. AMD’s GPU partners like PowerColor, XFX, Sapphire, ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and Yeston will be providing these cards. Concurrently, the Radeon RX 7800 XT reference card will also be available for purchase on AMD.com from September 6, 2023.

As the release of these two graphics cards draws near, numerous manufacturers have revealed their custom series for the RX 7800 XT and Radeon RX 7700 XT. Generally, custom editions, compared to their reference counterparts, tend to boast higher frequencies, power consumption, and superior cooling specs, albeit often at a premium price.

Presently, Sapphire is the only confirmed AIB to release a reference RX 7800 XT. This may be attributed to AMD’s unhurried approach to market the Radeon RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT. Given AMD’s delayed release of these cards, AIBs had ample time to design their custom cards, which often yield greater profits. Perhaps this explains why, currently, only one manufacturer has opted to introduce the RX 7800 XT reference card.