For the last few generations, AMD has been striving to challenge Nvidia at the high end of the GPU market. With the introduction of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Team Red has shifted its focus from competing directly with the ultra-high-end RTX 5090 to delivering the best graphics card for the majority of gamers. This strategic move has paid off, as the Radeon RX 9070 XT offers exceptional value and performance.

Priced at $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT stands toe-to-toe with the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, making it one of the top GPUs available today. What sets it apart is the inclusion of FSR 4, marking the first time AMD has brought AI upscaling to its graphics cards. This feature makes the Radeon RX 9070 XT an excellent choice for 4K gaming, especially for those unwilling to spend nearly $2,000 on the 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, as third-party models could be more expensive. Aim to purchase one for under $699 if possible.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

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Specs and Features

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4 architecture, featuring enhanced shader cores, but the highlight is the new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators power FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), AMD's first foray into AI upscaling. While FSR 4 may not boost framerates beyond the capabilities of FSR 3.1, it significantly enhances image quality, particularly in details like grass and text. Users can toggle FSR 4 off in the Adrenalin software if they prefer higher framerates.

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

The RX 9070 XT comes with 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, a reduction from the 20GB and 320-bit bus of the RX 7900 XT. While this is a step down, it remains sufficient for most 4K gaming needs. The card's power consumption is slightly higher at 304W compared to the 300W of the RX 7900 XT, though actual power usage in testing was lower at 306W.

Without a reference design, buyers will rely on third-party manufacturers. The Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, with its efficient triple-fan cooling system, maintained temperatures at 72°C during testing. The card uses standard 8-pin PCI-E power connectors and offers three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b port, though a USB-C port would have been a welcome addition.

FSR 4

For years, AMD has sought an AI upscaling solution to rival Nvidia's DLSS. FSR 4, introduced with the Radeon RX 9070 XT, uses AI accelerators to analyze previous frames and game engine data to upscale lower-resolution images. While it improves image quality over FSR 3, it does so at the cost of a slight performance hit. In testing, FSR 4 resulted in a 10% performance drop in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and a 20% drop in Monster Hunter Wilds. However, the improved image quality may be worth the trade-off for those prioritizing visuals in single-player games.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

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Performance

The Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers impressive performance at its $599 price point, outperforming the RTX 5070 Ti by 2% on average while being 21% cheaper. It also offers a 17% performance increase over the RX 7900 XT, which launched at $899. The RX 9070 XT excels at 4K gaming, maintaining its lead even with ray tracing enabled.

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

In synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark, the RX 9070 XT showed a 18% improvement over the RX 7900 XT in Speed Way, though it trailed the RTX 5070 Ti by the same margin. In Steel Nomad, the RX 9070 XT's performance advantage over the RX 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 360

In real-world gaming scenarios, the Radeon RX 9070 XT showcased its prowess. In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, it led the RTX 5070 Ti by 15%, while in Cyberpunk 2077, the performance gap narrowed to 5%. Metro Exodus saw the RX 9070 XT match the RTX 5070 Ti's performance, while in Red Dead Redemption 2, it achieved a 12% lead. However, it fell behind in Total War: Warhammer 3 by 13%.

The RX 9070 XT regained its footing in Assassin's Creed Mirage, outperforming the RTX 5070 Ti by 12%. In Black Myth Wukong, it achieved an 8% lead over the RTX 5070 Ti, showcasing the effectiveness of its ray accelerators. Forza Horizon 5 saw a 5% performance edge over the RTX 5070 Ti.

With its stealthy announcement at CES 2025, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT feels like a strategic move to counter Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs. At $599, it represents a return to sensible pricing in the graphics card market. While it may not reach the performance heights of the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090, it's a more practical choice for most gamers, reminiscent of the value offered by the GTX 1080 Ti in 2017.