For the past few generations, AMD has strived to compete with Nvidia at the high-end. However, with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Team Red strategically targets the majority of gamers, rather than directly challenging the ultra-high-end RTX 5090. The result? A graphics card that excels in its price range.
Priced at $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT rivals the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, immediately establishing itself as a top contender. AMD further enhances its appeal with the inclusion of FSR 4, marking the debut of AI upscaling on an AMD graphics card. This makes it an exceptional choice for 4K gaming, especially for those unwilling to invest the $1999 required for the RTX 5090.
Purchasing Guide
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT launched on March 6th, with a starting price of $599. Remember that prices may vary depending on the manufacturer and retailer. Aim for a price under $699 if possible.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos
Specs and Features
Built on the RDNA 4 architecture, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT boasts significant improvements in shader cores, RT, and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators power FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), AMD's first AI upscaling technology. While not always resulting in higher frame rates compared to FSR 3.1, FSR 4 delivers noticeably improved image quality. Fortunately, Adrenalin software allows users to disable FSR 4 if frame rate is prioritized.
Beyond AI upscaling, enhancements to shader cores provide better per-core performance. Despite having 64 Compute Units (fewer than the 84 in the Radeon RX 7900 XT), the RX 9070 XT achieves a substantial generational leap at a lower price point. Each Compute Unit features 64 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), totaling 4,096, along with 64 ray accelerators and 128 AI accelerators.
The RX 9070 XT features 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus (compared to the RX 7900 XT's 20GB on a 320-bit bus). While this represents a reduction in capacity and bandwidth, it remains sufficient for most 4K gaming. The continued use of GDDR6, however, is a minor drawback.
Despite a more efficient architecture, the RX 9070 XT has a slightly higher power budget (304W) than its predecessor (300W). However, testing showed the 7900 XT consuming more power (314W) than the 9070 XT (306W). This standard power budget simplifies cooling. Unlike previous generations, AMD isn't releasing a reference design, meaning reliance on third-party manufacturers is necessary. My review unit, the Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, maintained a temperature of 72°C during testing despite its compact triple-fan design.
The RX 9070 XT uses two standard 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, simplifying upgrades for most users with a recommended 700W power supply. Connectivity includes three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b ports; the absence of a USB-C port is a missed opportunity.
FSR 4
FSR 4, AMD's AI upscaling solution, finally provides a competitor to DLSS. Previous FSR versions suffered from ghosting and fuzziness. FSR 4 utilizes AI accelerators to analyze frames and game engine data for accurate upscaling. While resulting in a performance hit (around 10-20% in testing), the improved image quality, especially in details like grass and text, is significant. FSR 4 is an optional feature, easily disabled via Adrenalin software.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks
Performance
The Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers impressive performance for its price. At $599, it's 21% cheaper than the RTX 5070 Ti while offering comparable performance (within a 2% margin of error). In my testing, the RX 9070 XT was 17% faster than the RX 7900 XT and 2% faster than the RTX 5070 Ti. Its strength is particularly evident in 4K gaming, even with ray tracing enabled.
Testing was conducted using the latest drivers (Nvidia Game Ready Driver 572.60 and AMD Adrenalin 24.12.1, with pre-release drivers for the RX 9070 XT). While 3DMark results don't always reflect real-world performance, they indicate the card's potential. The RX 9070 XT outperformed the 7900 XT by 18-26% in 3DMark benchmarks, even surpassing the RTX 5070 Ti in Steel Nomad.
Game benchmarks showed varied results. The RX 9070 XT outperformed the RTX 5070 Ti in *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* (15% lead), *Red Dead Redemption 2* (15% lead), *Assassin's Creed Mirage* (12% lead), and *Black Myth: Wukong* (8% lead). However, it fell behind in *Cyberpunk 2077* (5% deficit) and *Total War: Warhammer 3* (13% deficit). In *Metro Exodus* and *Forza Horizon 5*, performance was nearly identical to the RTX 5070 Ti.
Test System: CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero, RAM: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo @ 6,000MHz, SSD: 4TB Samsung 990 Pro, CPU Cooler: Asus ROG Ryujin III 360
The Radeon RX 9070 XT represents a significant value proposition. While not as powerful as the RTX 5080 or 5090, its performance at a significantly lower price point makes it a compelling option for most gamers. It offers a compelling return to a more reasonable flagship graphics card pricing, reminiscent of the GTX 1080 Ti.
