For the last couple of generations, AMD has been fiercely trying to match Nvidia's prowess at the high end of the graphics card market. However, with the launch of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, AMD has strategically shifted its focus. Instead of challenging the ultra-high-end RTX 5090, Team Red is now aiming to deliver the best graphics card for the majority of gamers—and they've nailed it with this release.
Priced at a competitive $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT goes head-to-head with the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, offering remarkable value and performance. This positioning alone makes it one of the top GPUs available today. To sweeten the deal, AMD introduces FSR 4, marking the first time AI upscaling is available on an AMD graphics card. This makes the Radeon RX 9070 XT an exceptional choice for 4K gaming, especially for those not willing to splurge on the $1,999 RTX 5090.
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 find 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, particularly in its shader cores and the new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators are pivotal, powering FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), which introduces AI upscaling to AMD graphics cards for the first time. While FSR 4 doesn't boost framerates beyond what FSR 3.1 offered, it significantly enhances image quality. Gamers prioritizing framerates over visuals can easily toggle FSR 4 off using the Adrenalin software.
AMD's advancements in shader core efficiency mean that, despite having fewer Compute Units (64 compared to the 84 in the Radeon RX 7900 XT), the Radeon RX 9070 XT still achieves a substantial performance leap at a lower launch price. Each Compute Unit contains 64 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), totaling 4,096, along with 64 ray accelerators and 128 AI accelerators.
However, the Radeon RX 9070 XT has less memory than its predecessor, with 16GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus versus the 20GB on a 320-bit bus. This reduction impacts both capacity and bandwidth, but it's still sufficient for most 4K gaming scenarios. The continued use of GDDR6, despite the downgrade, is a notable point.
The new architecture offers better efficiency, yet the RX 9070 XT requires a slightly higher power budget of 304W compared to the 300W of the RX 7900 XT. Interestingly, my testing revealed that the RX 7900 XT consumed more power, peaking at 314W, while the 9070 XT maxed out at 306W.
Cooling the RX 9070 XT is straightforward due to its standard power budget. Notably, AMD isn't launching a reference design for this GPU, meaning third-party manufacturers are your go-to. I reviewed the Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, which features an impressive triple-fan design in a compact form factor, maintaining temperatures at 72°C during tests.
The card uses standard power connectors, requiring two 8-pin PCI-E connectors, making it a hassle-free upgrade for most users, provided you have a 700W power supply as recommended by AMD. The port selection includes three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b, fitting modern expectations, though the addition of a USB-C port would have been a welcome feature.
FSR 4
-----For years, AMD has sought an AI upscaling solution to rival Nvidia's DLSS. Previous iterations of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) were hampered by issues like ghosting and fuzziness. With the Radeon RX 9070 XT, AMD introduces FSR 4, an AI-powered solution that leverages AI accelerators to upscale lower-resolution images to native resolutions effectively.
FSR 4 delivers superior image quality compared to the temporal upscaling of FSR 3, though it incurs a slight performance cost. In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Extreme settings, the Radeon RX 9070 XT achieved 134 fps with FSR 3.1, dropping to 121 fps with FSR 4—a 10% performance loss but with enhanced image clarity, especially in details like grass and text. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds, the 9070 XT managed 94 fps at 4K max settings with FSR 3 and ray tracing, but dropped to 78 fps with FSR 4—a 20% performance hit.
This trade-off is expected, as AI upscaling is more computationally intensive than temporal methods. AMD confirmed that this performance drop is within expected parameters, hoping that the improved image quality would offset the loss in framerate. For gamers prioritizing visuals over raw performance, especially in single-player games, this could be a worthwhile compromise.
Fortunately, FSR 3.1 remains an option, and FSR 4 can be toggled off in the Adrenalin software. My review sample had FSR 4 disabled by default, possibly due to early drivers.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks
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Performance
-----------AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers impressive performance at a $599 price point, undercutting the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 21% while being, on average, 2% faster. While there are games where the RTX 5070 Ti outperforms the Radeon RX 9070 XT, the fact that they compete so closely is a testament to AMD's efforts.
Throughout my testing, the RX 9070 XT proved to be about 17% faster than the RX 7900 XT, which launched at $899 two years ago, and 2% faster than the new $749 RTX 5070 Ti. At 4K, the 9070 XT's performance lead remains consistent, making it an excellent entry-level 4K graphics card, even with ray tracing enabled.
All graphics cards were tested with the latest available drivers. Nvidia cards used Game Ready Driver 572.60, except for the RTX 5070, which was on review drivers. AMD cards were tested on Adrenalin 24.12.1, with the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 using pre-release drivers provided by AMD.
3DMark benchmarks provide a glimpse into the potential of each graphics card. The 9070 XT outperformed the 7900 XT by 18% in Speed Way, though it lagged 18% behind the RTX 5070 Ti. However, in the Steel Nomad benchmark, the 9070 XT's lead over the 7900 XT increased to 26%, and it 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 360In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the Radeon RX 9070 XT leads the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 15%, demonstrating a clear preference for AMD hardware, as the Radeon RX 7900 XT only trailed by 6%.
Cyberpunk 2077 has historically favored Nvidia cards, yet the RTX 5070 Ti only outperformed the Radeon RX 9070 XT by 5% at 4K with Ray Tracing Ultra and FSR 3 in performance mode, showcasing a significant value proposition given the price difference.
Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling at 4K, saw the Radeon RX 9070 XT achieve 47 fps, closely matching the RTX 5070 Ti's 48 fps, while the RX 7900 XT lagged at 38 fps, marking a 24% improvement.
Red Dead Redemption 2, an excellent test for Vulkan performance, saw the Radeon RX 9070 XT hit 125 fps with all settings maxed, outpacing the RTX 5070 Ti's 110 fps and the 7900 XT's 106 fps.
Total War: Warhammer 3 showed the Radeon RX 9070 XT falling 13% behind the RTX 5070 Ti, with 76 fps compared to the 7900 XT's 71 fps.
In Assassin's Creed Mirage, the RX 9070 XT regained its footing, achieving 163 fps, surpassing the RTX 5070 Ti's 146 fps by 12% and the 7900 XT's 150 fps by 9%, highlighting AMD's strength in this title.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT's most surprising victory came in Black Myth Wukong, where it achieved 70 fps at 4K with the Cinematic Preset and FSR at 40%, beating the RTX 5070 Ti's 65 fps by 8%. This is notable given the game's intense ray tracing effects, demonstrating significant improvements in AMD's Ray Accelerators over RDNA 3.
Forza Horizon 5 saw the Radeon RX 9070 XT edge out the RTX 5070 Ti with 158 fps to 151 fps, a 5% improvement that underscores the 9070 XT's competitive edge.
Announced quietly at CES 2025, the Radeon RX 9070 XT feels like AMD's strategic move against Nvidia's Blackwell graphics cards. At $599, it represents a return to a more reasonable pricing model in the graphics card market. While it doesn't reach the performance heights of the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090, those cards are overkill for most users and come with a significant price premium.
The last truly great flagship graphics card was arguably the GTX 1080 Ti, which launched at $699 in 2017. While the Radeon RX 9070 XT doesn't claim the title of the fastest consumer card, it feels like the first worthy flagship we've seen since then, offering a compelling blend of performance and value.
