AMD add-in-board partners are reportedly working on a new version of the R9 290X card with 8GB of GDDR5.

The report comes from SweClockers, a credible source when it comes to AMD hardware. The Swedish enthusiast site reports Powercolor, Sapphire and Club3D are already on board and the first cards should be announced later this month. 

The new 8GB cards should take on Nvidia’s Maxwell-based GTX 980, but in reality an extra 4GB won’t help much. The R9 290X is roughly on a par with the GTX 970 both in terms of performance and pricing. Slapping an additional 4GB of memory on the board won’t change this, but in some scenarios it could be helpful (i.e. Crossfire 4K rigs).

It remains to be seen whether Nvidia will introduce 8GB versions of its new Maxwell cards, but there are some rumours hinting at an 8GB refresh later this year. In any case we have yet to see the 8GB Radeons and we still don’t know anything about the pricing. A hefty premium is probably out of the question and to be frank we are not sure there is much of a market for 8GB cards in this day and age.

However, consumers looking for future-proof 4K hardware could be interested.