AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: Performance Reviewed

For the last couple of generations, AMD has been striving to compete with Nvidia at the high end of the graphics card market. With the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Team Red has strategically shifted focus, conceding the ultra-high-end to the RTX 5090 while aiming to deliver the best graphics card for the majority of gamers—a goal they have triumphantly achieved.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, priced at $599, goes head-to-head with the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, establishing itself as one of the premier GPUs available today. AMD enhances its appeal with the introduction of FSR 4, marking the debut of AI upscaling on an AMD graphics card. This feature makes the RX 9070 XT an exceptional choice for 4K gaming, particularly for those who can't justify spending $1,999 on the RTX 5090.

Purchasing Guide

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT will be available starting March 6 at a base price of $599. Be aware that prices may vary, as third-party cards 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 boasts enhancements in shader cores, but the spotlight shines on the new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators power FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), introducing AI upscaling to AMD for the first time. While FSR 4 may not boost framerates beyond FSR 3.1, it significantly enhances image accuracy, resulting in superior visual quality. For those prioritizing framerate, the Adrenalin software offers a convenient toggle to disable FSR 4.

AMD has also significantly improved the performance of its shader cores, allowing the Radeon RX 9070 XT to deliver a substantial generational leap despite having fewer Compute Units (64) compared to the Radeon RX 7900 XT (84). Each Compute Unit contains 64 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), totaling 4,096, alongside 64 ray accelerators and 128 AI accelerators.

However, the RX 9070 XT features less memory than its predecessor, with 16GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, compared to the 20GB on a 320-bit bus in the RX 7900 XT. While this represents a reduction in capacity and bandwidth, it remains sufficient for most 4K gaming needs.

Despite the efficiency of the new architecture, the RX 9070 XT requires a slightly higher power budget of 304W compared to the 300W of the 7900 XT. Interestingly, in testing, the 7900 XT consumed more power, peaking at 314W versus the 9070 XT's 306W.

Cooling the RX 9070 XT is manageable given its standard power budget. Notably, AMD has foregone a reference design, leaving the field open to third-party manufacturers. The Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, with its compact triple-fan design, maintained temperatures at 72°C during testing.

The RX 9070 XT uses standard power connectors, requiring two 8-pin PCI-E connectors, making it an easy upgrade for most users with a recommended 700W power supply. The card features three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b port, though the addition of a USB-C port would enhance its versatility.

FSR 4

For years, AMD has sought an AI upscaling solution to rival Nvidia's DLSS. The Radeon RX 9070 XT introduces FSR 4, powered by AI accelerators within the Compute Units. FSR 4 analyzes previous frames and game engine data to upscale lower-resolution images to the native resolution, offering improved image quality over the temporal upscaling of FSR 3, albeit with a performance trade-off.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Extreme settings with FSR 3.1 set to "Performance", the RX 9070 XT achieved 134 fps. Switching to FSR 4 resulted in a 10% performance drop to 121 fps, yet it delivered enhanced image quality, particularly in details like grass and text. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K max settings with FSR 3 and ray tracing, the RX 9070 XT hit 94 fps, but dropped to 78 fps with FSR 4, a 20% decrease.

While this performance hit is notable, it's an expected outcome of AI upscaling's more intensive workload. AMD acknowledges this and emphasizes the improved image quality as a compensating factor, particularly appealing to single-player gamers who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rates.

Fortunately, FSR 3.1 remains available, and FSR 4 can be disabled in the Adrenalin software for those who prefer the older model. 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

The Radeon RX 9070 XT is a powerhouse at its $599 price point, outperforming the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, which is priced 21% higher. On average, the RX 9070 XT is 2% faster, with performance varying by game. This competitive edge at a lower price is a significant victory for AMD.

Across the 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% advantage over the $749 RTX 5070 Ti. The RX 9070 XT excels at 4K, maintaining its lead and establishing itself as an entry-level 4K graphics card, even with ray tracing enabled.

Testing was conducted with the latest drivers available. Nvidia cards used Game Ready Driver 572.60, except for the RTX 5070 on review drivers. AMD cards were tested on Adrenalin 24.12.1, with the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 on pre-release drivers.

While 3DMark isn't a playable game, it provides insight into potential performance. The RX 9070 XT outperformed the 7900 XT by 18% in Speed Way, though it lagged 18% behind the RTX 5070 Ti. In Steel Nomad, the performance gap widened to a 26% increase over the 7900 XT, and the RX 9070 XT even surpassed the RTX 5070 Ti by 7%.

The test system included an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard, 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RAM at 6,000MHz, a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, and an Asus ROG Ryujin III 360 CPU cooler.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the RX 9070 XT led the RTX 5070 Ti by 15%, with the RX 7900 XT trailing by only 6%. Cyberpunk 2077, traditionally favoring Nvidia, saw the RTX 5070 Ti ahead by just 5% at 4K with Ray Tracing Ultra and FSR 3 in performance mode. In Metro Exodus at 4K without upscaling, the RX 9070 XT achieved 47 fps, nearly matching the RTX 5070 Ti's 48 fps, while the RX 7900 XT managed 38 fps.

Red Dead Redemption 2 showcased the RX 9070 XT's Vulkan performance, reaching 125 fps compared to the RTX 5070 Ti's 110 fps. However, in Total War: Warhammer 3, the RX 9070 XT fell 13% behind the RTX 5070 Ti. In Assassin's Creed Mirage, the RX 9070 XT regained its lead, achieving 163 fps, outperforming the RTX 5070 Ti by 12% and the RX 7900 XT by 9%.

The 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%, compared to the RTX 5070 Ti's 65 fps. Forza Horizon 5 saw the RX 9070 XT slightly ahead with 158 fps versus the RTX 5070 Ti's 151 fps.

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 sensible pricing in the graphics card market. While not as fast as the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090, those cards are overkill for most users and significantly more expensive.

The RX 9070 XT evokes memories of the GTX 1080 Ti, the last great flagship graphics card 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.