AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: Performance Reviewed

For several generations, AMD has been striving to compete with Nvidia at the high end of the graphics card market. With the launch of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Team Red has shifted its focus from challenging the ultra-high-end RTX 5090 to creating the best graphics card for the majority of gamers—and it has succeeded brilliantly.

Priced at a competitive $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers performance that rivals the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. This makes it one of the top GPUs available today. AMD enhances its value even further by introducing FSR 4, marking the first time AI upscaling is available on an AMD graphics card. For gamers aiming for 4K gaming without breaking the bank on the RTX 5090, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is the perfect choice.

Purchasing Guide

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT will be available starting March 6, with a starting price of $599. Be aware that prices may vary due to third-party cards, which might be priced higher. Aim to purchase one for under $699 to get the best value.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

4 Images

Specs and Features

Built on the RDNA 4 architecture, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT features significant enhancements to its shader cores, but the spotlight is on the new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators power FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), the first AI upscaling solution on an AMD graphics card. While FSR 4 may not boost frame rates as much as the older FSR 3.1, it significantly enhances image quality. For those prioritizing frame rates, the Adrenalin software allows you to easily disable FSR 4.

AMD has also optimized the shader cores for better per-core performance. Despite having fewer Compute Units (64) than its predecessor, the Radeon RX 7900 XT (84), the RX 9070 XT achieves a substantial generational performance leap at a lower launch price. Each Compute Unit contains 64 Streaming Multiprocessors, totaling 4,096, along with 64 ray accelerators and 128 AI accelerators.

However, the RX 9070 XT comes with less memory than the RX 7900 XT, sporting 16GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus compared to 20GB on a 320-bit bus. This reduction impacts both capacity and bandwidth but is still sufficient for most 4K gaming needs. It's worth noting that sticking with GDDR6 while downgrading memory is a notable compromise.

The RX 9070 XT has a slightly higher power budget of 304W compared to the 300W of the RX 7900 XT. Interestingly, my testing showed the RX 7900 XT consuming more power, peaking at 314W, while the RX 9070 XT peaked at 306W. This power budget is standard for modern GPUs, making cooling manageable. AMD has opted not to release a reference design for the RX 9070 XT, leaving third-party manufacturers to fill the gap. The Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, with its compact triple-fan design, maintained a steady 72°C during my tests.

The RX 9070 XT uses standard power connectors, requiring two 8-pin PCI-E connectors without any meltable adapters. This setup makes it an accessible upgrade for most users, provided they have a recommended 700W power supply. The card offers three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b port, typical for modern GPUs, though a USB-C port would have added more versatility.

FSR 4

For years, AMD has sought an AI upscaling solution to match Nvidia's DLSS. While previous versions of FidelityFX Super Resolution delivered performance, they often suffered from ghosting and fuzziness. The Radeon RX 9070 XT introduces FSR 4, which uses AI accelerators to upscale lower-resolution images to native resolution, offering superior image quality compared to the temporal upscaling of FSR 3.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Extreme settings, the RX 9070 XT achieved 134 fps with FSR 3.1 set to "Performance," but this dropped to 121 fps with FSR 4, a 10% performance hit but with improved image quality, especially in details like grass and in-game text. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds, the card hit 94 fps at 4K max settings with FSR 3 and ray tracing, but this fell to 78 fps with FSR 4—a 20% drop, yet with better visuals.

This performance trade-off is expected with AI upscaling, and AMD confirms it's a known outcome, emphasizing that the improved image quality should compensate for the reduced frame rates. This might appeal more to single-player gamers who prioritize visual fidelity. Importantly, FSR 4 is an opt-in feature, easily disabled in the Adrenalin software if needed.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

11 Images

Performance

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a formidable contender at its $599 price point, outperforming the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 2% on average while being 21% cheaper. Although the RTX 5070 Ti may excel in some titles, the RX 9070 XT holds its own impressively.

Across my test suite, the RX 9070 XT showed a 17% performance increase over the RX 7900 XT, which launched at $899 two years ago, and a 2% edge over the RTX 5070 Ti. At 4K resolution, the RX 9070 XT maintains its lead, making it an excellent choice for entry-level 4K gaming, even with ray tracing enabled.

All graphics cards were tested with the latest available drivers: Nvidia cards with Game Ready Driver 572.60 (except the RTX 5070, which used review drivers), and AMD cards with Adrenalin 24.12.1 (except the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070, which used pre-release drivers).

3DMark, while not a playable game, provides a useful comparison of graphics card potential. The RX 9070 XT outpaced the RX 7900 XT by 18% in Speed Way but trailed the RTX 5070 Ti by the same margin. However, in the Steel Nomad benchmark, the RX 9070 XT's performance surged to 26% over the RX 7900 XT and even surpassed 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 RX 9070 XT led the RTX 5070 Ti by 15%, while outperforming the RX 7900 XT by 6%. In Cyberpunk 2077, traditionally favoring Nvidia, the RTX 5070 Ti edged out the RX 9070 XT by just 5%, a notable improvement given the price difference.

Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling, saw the RX 9070 XT achieve 47 fps at 4K, closely matching the RTX 5070 Ti's 48 fps and significantly outperforming the RX 7900 XT's 38 fps. Red Dead Redemption 2 showcased the RX 9070 XT's Vulkan prowess, delivering 125 fps compared to the RTX 5070 Ti's 110 fps.

However, the RX 9070 XT fell 13% behind the RTX 5070 Ti in Total War: Warhammer 3, with 76 fps versus 71 fps for the RX 7900 XT. In Assassin's Creed Mirage, the RX 9070 XT rebounded with 163 fps, outpacing the RTX 5070 Ti's 146 fps and the RX 7900 XT's 150 fps.

A surprising victory came in Black Myth Wukong, where the RX 9070 XT achieved 70 fps at 4K with the Cinematic Preset and FSR set to 40%, beating the RTX 5070 Ti's 65 fps. This demonstrates the significant improvements in AMD's Ray Accelerators over the RDNA 3 architecture.

Forza Horizon 5 saw the RX 9070 XT edge out the RTX 5070 Ti with 158 fps versus 151 fps, a testament to its competitive performance.

Announced quietly at CES 2025, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT feels like a strategic move against Nvidia's Blackwell graphics cards. At $599, it brings a sense of balance back to the graphics card market. While it doesn't match the raw power of the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090, those cards are overkill for most gamers and significantly more expensive.

The last truly great flagship graphics card was arguably the GTX 1080 Ti, which launched at $699 in 2017. While the RX 9070 XT may not claim the title of the fastest consumer card, it feels like the first worthy flagship since then, offering exceptional value and performance for the majority of gamers.