AMD has long aimed to challenge Nvidia in the high-end graphics market. With the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, the company shifts focus to delivering a top-tier graphics card for mainstream gamers, a target it hits with precision.
Priced at $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT competes closely with the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, making it a standout choice among today’s GPUs. AMD enhances its appeal with FSR 4, introducing AI-driven upscaling to its graphics cards for the first time. This makes it the go-to option for 4K gaming, especially for those unwilling to spend $1,999 on the RTX 5090.
Purchasing Guide
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT launches on March 6, starting at $599. Prices may vary due to third-party models, but 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 boasts enhanced shader cores, but its new RT and AI Accelerators steal the spotlight. The AI Accelerators power FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), marking AMD’s first venture into AI upscaling. While FSR 4 doesn’t boost framerates compared to FSR 3.1, it significantly improves image clarity. For those prioritizing performance, the Adrenalin software offers a toggle to disable FSR 4.
Beyond AI, AMD has refined its shader cores for better per-core performance. With 64 Compute Units—down from 84 in the Radeon RX 7900 XT—the RX 9070 XT still achieves a significant performance leap at a lower $599 price. It features 4,096 Streaming Multiprocessors, 64 ray accelerators, and 128 AI accelerators.
Memory takes a step back with 16GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, compared to the RX 7900 XT’s 20GB on a 320-bit bus. This reduction in capacity and bandwidth is sufficient for most 4K games but feels like a compromise.
The RX 9070 XT is more power-efficient than its predecessor, requiring 304W compared to the 7900 XT’s 300W. Testing showed the 9070 XT peaking at 306W, slightly below the 7900 XT’s 314W. Cooling is manageable, though AMD skips a reference design, relying on third-party models. The Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, with its compact triple-fan setup, maintained 72°C during testing.
The card uses two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, avoiding problematic adapters, and pairs with a recommended 700W power supply. It includes three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b, standard for modern GPUs, though a USB-C port would add versatility.
FSR 4
AMD has long needed a robust AI upscaling solution to rival Nvidia’s DLSS. FSR 4, powered by the RX 9070 XT’s AI accelerators, analyzes past frames and game engine data to upscale lower-resolution images with improved clarity over FSR 3’s temporal approach. However, this comes at a performance cost.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Extreme settings with FSR 3.1 on “Performance,” the RX 9070 XT achieves 134 fps. Switching to FSR 4 drops this to 121 fps, a 10% loss, but with sharper visuals, particularly for grass and text. In Monster Hunter Wilds, it hits 94 fps at 4K max settings with FSR 3 and ray tracing, but falls to 78 fps with FSR 4—a 20% drop.
This performance trade-off is expected, as AI upscaling is more demanding. AMD notes that the enhanced image quality targets single-player gamers who value visuals over raw framerates. FSR 4 is optional, with FSR 3.1 still available via the Adrenalin software, disabled by default in early drivers.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks
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Performance
The Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers impressive performance at $599, outpacing the $749 Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 2% on average while costing 21% less. It surpasses the $899 RX 7900 XT by 17%, excelling particularly at 4K, even with ray tracing enabled, making it an ideal entry-level 4K GPU.
Testing used the latest drivers: Nvidia’s Game Ready Driver 572.60 (except for the RTX 5070 on review drivers) and AMD’s Adrenalin 24.12.1 (with pre-release drivers for the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070). In 3DMark’s Speed Way, the RX 9070 XT outperforms the RX 7900 XT by 18% but trails the RTX 5070 Ti by 18%. In Steel Nomad, it leaps 26% ahead of the RX 7900 XT and 7% ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the RX 9070 XT leads the RTX 5070 Ti by 15%, with the RX 7900 XT trailing by just 6%. In Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K Ray Tracing Ultra with FSR 3 (Performance), it achieves 71 fps, close to the RTX 5070 Ti’s 75 fps with DLSS—a 5% gap despite the price difference.
Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling at 4K, sees the RX 9070 XT at 47 fps, nearly matching the RTX 5070 Ti’s 48 fps and beating the RX 7900 XT’s 38 fps by 24%. In Red Dead Redemption 2, it hits 125 fps at max settings, surpassing the RTX 5070 Ti’s 110 fps and the RX 7900 XT’s 106 fps.
Total War: Warhammer 3 sees the RX 9070 XT lag 13% behind the RTX 5070 Ti at 76 fps, close to the RX 7900 XT’s 71 fps. In Assassins Creed Mirage, it rebounds with 163 fps, outperforming the RTX 5070 Ti’s 146 fps by 12% and the RX 7900 XT’s 150 fps by 9%.
In Black Myth Wukong at 4K Cinematic Preset with FSR at 40%, the RX 9070 XT achieves 70 fps, beating the RTX 5070 Ti’s 65 fps by 8% and the RX 7900 XT’s 60 fps. In Forza Horizon 5, it edges out the RTX 5070 Ti with 158 fps to 151 fps, a 5% lead.
Announced quietly at CES 2025, the RX 9070 XT feels like AMD’s strategic counter to Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs. At $599, it restores balance to the graphics card market, offering flagship-level performance without the $400+ premium of the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090. It echoes the value of the GTX 1080 Ti from 2017, making it a compelling choice for gamers seeking high performance at a reasonable price.
