AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700 Launches Quietly, Limited to System Integrators and Pre-Built Workstations

AMD has officially released its new RDNA 4-based professional graphics card, the Radeon AI PRO R9700, but with an important caveat: it won’t be available in the DIY market. According to XFX, AMD's board partner, the GPU will only be shipped through system integrators and included exclusively in pre-built systems, eliminating any retail availability for individual consumers and custom PC builders.

Originally unveiled during Computex 2024, the Radeon AI PRO R9700 was showcased as AMD’s next-generation professional GPU tailored for workstation and AI-centric workloads. Although AMD’s Threadripper 9000 series has already made its way to retail shelves, the R9700 was mysteriously absent from listings until now. AMD’s decision to withhold the GPU from general availability appears to be strategic, as XFX confirmed their version (featuring AMD’s reference design) will only be offered through select system builders.

This move echoes AMD’s growing focus on enterprise-grade deployments and system-level integration, particularly for AI workloads where hardware-software optimization is key. The Radeon AI PRO R9700 is based on the NAVI 48 GPU die, the same silicon found in the consumer-grade RX 9070 series, but unlike its gaming counterpart, the R9700 ships with a substantial 32GB of GDDR6 VRAM double the 16GB found on the RX 9070 XT. This enhancement is aimed at deep learning, inference workloads, and large-scale content creation, making it a better fit for AI and professional use cases.

The R9700 also integrates 2nd-generation AI accelerators, offering improved performance for neural network training and inference, further positioning it as a direct competitor to AMD’s own Radeon PRO W7700, but with twice the memory capacity, while retaining a 256-bit memory bus. As of now, AMD has not disclosed an MSRP for the R9700, and due to its limited availability through pre-built systems only, it's unlikely that we’ll see transparent pricing anytime soon.

What’s more telling is the absence of any mention of a more powerful RDNA 4 GPU beyond the NAVI 48 die. In contrast to previous generations where AMD released 80- and 90-class workstation GPUs (such as the PRO W7800 and PRO W7900) with up to 48GB of VRAM, the R9700 currently stands as the highest-end RDNA 4 workstation card announced. If AMD sticks to this approach, it may be targeting volume-focused workstation solutions rather than enthusiast-grade professional GPUs, at least for the current cycle.

For now, those interested in the R9700 will need to look at OEMs and system integrators who plan to offer it in high-performance workstation builds. This strategy mirrors recent moves by NVIDIA and Intel, where enterprise hardware is increasingly being locked behind turnkey solutions.

What do you think about AMD limiting the R9700 to system builders only? Would you prefer to see it on retail shelves for individual purchase? Let us know your thoughts!