AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Review

For several generations, AMD has strived to compete with Nvidia's high-end offerings. With the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, however, Team Red strategically shifts focus, yielding the ultra-high-end market to the RTX 5090 and instead targets the majority of gamers—a goal it successfully achieves.

Priced at $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT rivals the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, instantly establishing itself as a top contender. AMD further enhances its appeal with the introduction of FSR 4, marking the first time AI upscaling is integrated into an AMD graphics card. This makes it the ideal choice for 4K gaming, particularly for those unwilling to spend $1,999 on the RTX 5090.

Purchasing Guide

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT launched March 6th, starting at $599. Note that prices may vary due to third-party cards. Aim for a price under $699.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

Specs and Features

Built on the RDNA 4 architecture, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT boasts improved shader cores, but its standout features are the new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators power FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), AMD's first AI upscaling technology. While not always offering higher frame rates than FSR 3.1, FSR 4 significantly enhances image accuracy and quality. A toggle in Adrenalin software allows disabling FSR 4 for prioritizing frame rates.

Beyond AI upscaling, enhanced shader cores deliver better per-core performance. Despite having 64 Compute Units (compared to 84 in the Radeon RX 7900 XT), the 9070 XT achieves a substantial generational leap at a lower price. Each Compute Unit features 64 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), 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 (compared to 20GB GDDR6 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. The continued use of GDDR6 is a minor drawback.

Though more efficient, the RX 9070 XT has a slightly higher power budget (304W) than the 7900 XT (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; third-party manufacturers provide all models. The reviewed Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, despite its compact triple-fan design, maintained temperatures around 72°C during testing.

Standard power connectors (two 8-pin PCI-E) are used, eliminating adapter concerns. A 700W power supply is recommended. Connectivity includes three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b ports. The absence of a USB-C port is a minor omission.

FSR 4

FSR 4, AMD's AI upscaling solution, finally rivals DLSS. Unlike previous FSR versions, FSR 4 leverages AI accelerators to analyze previous frames and game engine data for accurate upscaling. While offering improved image quality over FSR 3, it does incur a performance penalty.

In *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* (4K Extreme, FSR 3.1 Performance), the 9070 XT achieved 134 fps, dropping to 121 fps with FSR 4 (a 10% decrease). Similar performance drops were observed in *Monster Hunter Rise* (20% decrease). This performance hit is expected due to the increased computational demands of AI upscaling. The improved image quality may outweigh the performance loss, especially in single-player games. FSR 4 is optional, easily disabled in Adrenalin software.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

Performance

The Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers exceptional performance for its price. Undercutting the RTX 5070 Ti by 21%, it achieves, on average, 2% faster performance. While the RTX 5070 Ti wins in some titles, the overall competitiveness is a significant victory for AMD. The RX 9070 XT is approximately 17% faster than the RX 7900 XT and 2% faster than the RTX 5070 Ti. Its 4K performance, especially with ray tracing, solidifies its position as a top-tier entry-level 4K card.

Testing utilized the latest drivers: Game Ready Driver 572.60 (Nvidia, except RTX 5070 on review drivers), and Adrenalin 24.12.1 (AMD, except RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 on pre-release drivers). 3DMark results, while not perfectly reflective of real-world performance, offer a comparative overview. The 9070 XT outperforms the 7900 XT in Speed Way (18% increase) and Steel Nomad (26% increase), even surpassing the RTX 5070 Ti in Steel Nomad (7% increase).

Game-specific performance varied. The RX 9070 XT leads in *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* (15% over RTX 5070 Ti), *Red Dead Redemption 2* (125 fps vs RTX 5070 Ti's 110 fps), *Assassin's Creed Mirage* (12% over RTX 5070 Ti), and *Black Myth: Wukong* (8% over RTX 5070 Ti). It trails the RTX 5070 Ti in *Cyberpunk 2077* (5% difference) and *Total War: Warhammer 3* (13% difference). Performance in *Metro Exodus* is comparable to the RTX 5070 Ti, showcasing significant improvement over the RX 7900 XT (24% increase).

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 strategic move by AMD, offering a compelling high-performance graphics card at a significantly lower price than its competitors. While not the absolute fastest, it provides exceptional value for most gamers. Its performance and price point evoke the feeling of a flagship card, reminiscent of the GTX 1080 Ti.