For the last couple of generations, AMD has been striving to compete with Nvidia at the high end. However, with the launch of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Team Red has shifted its focus from the ultra-high-end, dominated by the RTX 5090, to delivering the best graphics card for the majority of gamers – a goal it unequivocally achieves.
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is priced at $599 and stands toe-to-toe with the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, making it one of the top GPUs available today. AMD enhances its appeal with FSR 4, introducing AI upscaling to its graphics cards for the first time. This feature positions the Radeon RX 9070 XT as the ideal choice for 4K gaming, especially for those not willing to spend $1,999 on the RTX 5090.
Purchasing Guide
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT will be available starting March 6, with a starting price of $599. However, prices may vary due to third-party cards, which could be priced higher. Aim to purchase one under $699 for the best value.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos
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Specs and Features
Built on the RDNA 4 architecture, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT showcases significant enhancements in its shader cores, but the spotlight truly shines on the new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators are crucial for powering FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), marking AMD's first foray into AI upscaling. While FSR 4 doesn't necessarily boost frame rates compared to FSR 3.1, it significantly enhances image quality. Users who prioritize frame rates can easily disable FSR 4 via the Adrenalin software.
AMD has also improved the efficiency of its shader cores, allowing the Radeon RX 9070 XT to offer superior performance per core despite having fewer Compute Units (64) than the previous Radeon RX 7900 XT (84). Each Compute Unit contains 64 Streaming Multiprocessors, totaling 4,096, along with 64 ray accelerators and 128 AI accelerators.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT features 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, a slight reduction from the RX 7900 XT's 20GB on a 320-bit bus. This affects both capacity and bandwidth but remains sufficient for most 4K gaming scenarios.
With a power requirement of 304W, the RX 9070 XT is slightly more power-hungry than its predecessor, the 7900 XT, which needed 300W. Interestingly, my testing showed the 7900 XT consuming more power, peaking at 314W compared to the 9070 XT's 306W.
AMD has opted not to release a reference design for the Radeon RX 9070 XT, relying instead on third-party manufacturers. I tested the Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, which features a compact triple-fan design and maintained temperatures at a stable 72°C during testing.
The card uses two standard 8-pin PCI-E power connectors and comes equipped with three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b port, aligning with modern graphics card standards. An additional USB-C port would have been a welcome addition for enhanced flexibility.
FSR 4
AMD has long needed an AI upscaling solution to compete with Nvidia's DLSS. Earlier versions of FidelityFX Super Resolution suffered from ghosting and fuzziness, issues that FSR 4, powered by the Radeon RX 9070 XT's AI accelerators, addresses effectively. FSR 4 analyzes previous frames and game engine data to upscale lower-resolution images to native resolution, offering better image quality than FSR 3 at the cost of a slight performance hit.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Extreme settings, the Radeon RX 9070 XT achieved 134 fps with FSR 3.1 on Performance mode, but this dropped to 121 fps with FSR 4, a 10% performance loss. In Monster Hunter Wilds, the card delivered 94 fps at 4K max settings with FSR 3 and ray tracing enabled, but this fell to 78 fps with FSR 4, a 20% drop. Despite the performance trade-off, FSR 4 offers superior image quality, particularly beneficial for single-player gaming where visual fidelity is paramount. FSR 3.1 remains available and can be toggled off in the Adrenalin software.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks
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Performance
At $599, the Radeon RX 9070 XT undercuts the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 21% while being, on average, 2% faster. This competitive performance makes it a compelling choice for gamers. The RX 9070 XT is about 17% faster than the RX 7900 XT, which launched at $899 two years ago, and 2% faster than the RTX 5070 Ti. Its prowess is particularly notable at 4K, where it maintains its lead, making it an excellent entry-level 4K graphics card, even with ray tracing enabled.
All tests were conducted with the latest available drivers: Nvidia cards on Game Ready Driver 572.60 (except the RTX 5070 on review drivers), and AMD cards on Adrenalin 24.12.1 (except the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 on pre-release drivers).
In synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark, the 9070 XT outperforms the 7900 XT by 18% in Speed Way, though it lags 18% behind the RTX 5070 Ti. However, in the Steel Nomad benchmark, the 9070 XT's performance jumps to 26% over the 7900 XT and even surpasses the RTX 5070 Ti by 7%.
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
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the Radeon RX 9070 XT outperforms the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 15%. In Cyberpunk 2077, the RTX 5070 Ti leads by only 5% despite its higher price. Metro Exodus shows the Radeon RX 9070 XT achieving 47 fps at 4K, closely matching the RTX 5070 Ti's 48 fps.
Red Dead Redemption 2 highlights the Radeon RX 9070 XT's Vulkan performance, reaching 125 fps, ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti's 110 fps. In Total War: Warhammer 3, the Radeon RX 9070 XT falls 13% behind the RTX 5070 Ti, but in Assassin's Creed Mirage, it reclaims the lead by 12%.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT also excels in Black Myth Wukong, achieving 70 fps at 4K with the Cinematic Preset and FSR at 40%, surpassing the RTX 5070 Ti's 65 fps. Forza Horizon 5 sees the Radeon RX 9070 XT slightly ahead with 158 fps compared to the RTX 5070 Ti's 151 fps.
AMD's strategic move with the Radeon RX 9070 XT, unveiled quietly at CES 2025, feels like a calculated strike against Nvidia's Blackwell lineup. At $599, it brings a sense of balance to the graphics card market, offering performance that rivals more expensive options without the need for excessive spending. While it may not match the raw power of the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090, the Radeon RX 9070 XT stands as a formidable flagship for gamers seeking value and performance.
