AMD RX 9070 XT Review: Crushing Nvidia in Value (2025)

The graphics card market is a battlefield, and AMD just launched a missile. The Radeon RX 9070 XT is here, promising incredible performance at a price point that makes Nvidia sweat. We dive into a comprehensive review of this new card, explore its strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately determine if AMD has truly disrupted the GPU landscape. Get ready for benchmarks, comparisons, and a healthy dose of competition!

The Least Crap GPU Award Goes To... AMD!

It is quite a spectacle to behold as

AMD has been fumbling around for years, AMD has finally figured out how to manufacture and price a GPU that will actually sell, all that it took for this to happen was for Nvidia to slip on a banana peel, fall down an elevator shaft, and then have a piano dropped on them. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has finally arrived on the market. After years of playing Second fiddle, AMD is positioning itself as a leader in providing value to gamers. The RX 9070 XT is the hero, but the RX 9070 is no slouch either. But will it be enough to win over gamers who have stuck with Nvidia for years? AMD’s release of the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics cards has set the tech world abuzz. With promises of top-tier performance at competitive prices, these GPUs aim to disrupt the dominance of Nvidia in the gaming market. The RX 9070 XT, in particular, has garnered attention for its potential to deliver exceptional 4K gaming experiences. But are these cards as good as they sound? Let’s explore.

AMD Does What Nvideon't: A Focus on Value and Pricing

AMD's strategy with the RX 9070 series revolves around providing well-priced GPUs capable of both 4K gaming and ray tracing.

At $599 and $550 respectively, the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 aim to deliver performance competitive with higher-priced Nvidia offerings. However, like AMD's past, it is not without its caveats. AMD’s new cards don't skimp on the essential features. Capable of both 4K gaming and actually good ray tracing, and even add AI-powered upscaling capabilities , it sets the new cards as a huge win with the price point.

Radeon RX 9070 vs. Radeon RX 9070 XT Specification Comparison: The Details

Delving into the specifications reveals key differences between the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT. While both are built on the RDNA 4 architecture and feature 16GB of GDDR6 memory, the RX 9070 XT boasts more compute units, ray accelerators, and AI accelerators. These enhancements Translate to a higher Game GPU clock and boost GPU clock, resulting in a 14-20% performance increase over the RX 9070. A handy specifications table for easy comparison:

 | Specification         | RX 9070      | RX 9070 XT   | Change   |
 | --------------------- | ----------- | ----------- | -------- |
 | Architecture          | RDNA 4      | RDNA 4      |          |
 | Compute Units         | 56          | 64          | 14%     |
 | Ray Accelerators      | 56          | 64          | 14%     |
 | AI Accelerators       | 112         | 128         | 14%     |
 | Game GPU Clock (GHz)  | 2.1         | 2.4         |          |
 | Boost GPU Clock (GHz) | 2.5         | 3.0         | 20%     |
 | Memory                | 16GB GDDR6   | 16GB GDDR6   |          |
 | Memory Speed (Gbps)    | 20          | 20          |          |
 | Memory Bus Interface  | 256-bit     | 256-bit     |          |
 | Total Board Power (W) | 220         | 304         | 38%     |
 | PCI Express           | Gen 5       | Gen 5       |          |

Test Bench Setup: Component List

These cards, AMD says, are for high-resolution gaming, so let's talk 1080p later and jump right into 1440p rasterization.

To understand how AMD’s RX 9070 series performs, it is essential to look at the test bench setup used for benchmarking. This includes:

• Motherboard: Gigabyte X670E AORUS XTREME
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC
• Thermal Paste: Noctua NT-H2
• Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 6000MT/s 16GB x 2 CL30-38-38-96
• Storage: Samsung 980 PRO 2TB
• Windows: 24H2
• Power Supply: Seasonic Prime PX-1600 ATX 3.0
• BIOS: F32G
• NVIDIA GPU Driver: 572.16, 572.42
• AMD GPU Driver: 24.12.1, 24.30.31.03, 32.0.101.6262

Radeon RX 9070 XT: Gaming Performance Benchmarks

The RX 9070 XT shines in gaming benchmarks, demonstrating impressive performance in various titles:

• Cyberpunk 2077: RX 9070 XT gets 127 FPS

  

• The Last of Us Part 1: RX 9070 XT gets 109 FPS.

• Returnal: RX 9070 XT gets 132 FPS.

• F1 24: RX 9070 XT gets 178 FPS.

• Alan Wake 2: RX 9070 XT gets 90 FPS.

• Black Myth Wukong: RTX 5070 TI 16GB beats the RX 9070 XT by around 9%.

Enabling AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM)

For optimal performance, enable AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM) in your system's BIOS. This allows the CPU to directly access the GPU's memory, boosting performance, especially in gaming scenarios.

Leveraging AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR)

Experiment with AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) settings in supported games to achieve a balance between image quality and performance. FSR can significantly improve frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions, but can also introduce visual artifacts at lower quality settings.

Driver-Level Tweaks

Keep your AMD GPU drivers updated to the latest version. AMD frequently releases driver updates with performance optimizations and bug fixes for new games. Experiment with the driver settings, like Radeon Anti-Lag and Radeon Image Sharpening, to fine-tune your gaming experience.

Finding the Right Price

The RX 9070 XT carries a suggested retail price of $599, while the RX 9070 is priced at $550.

However, actual market prices may vary based on retailer, region, and supply. Keep in mind that as per AMD's long tradition, they also come with caveats. Like performance in productivity and power consumption.

Raytracing and FSR

The RX 9070 XT is equipped with dedicated raytracing cores, enabling realistic lighting and reflections in supported games. AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4 enhances performance while maintaining image quality using machine learning-powered upscaling.

RDNA 4 Architecture

Built on the RDNA 4 architecture,

the RX 9070 series delivers substantial performance gains per compute unit. The RDNA 4 architecture incorporates enhancements that boost performance by providing new dual media engine

and matrix accelerations.

Generative AI

AMD is on the horizon with AI capabilities, they have optimized AI models for ONNX Runtime execution.

New Media Engine

Both of the cards get an improved media engine, but the encoder performance falls just short of the quality compared to Nvidia and Intel.

High-Resolution Gaming

This GPU is ideal for gamers targeting 1440p and 4K resolutions. The card is designed for high-resolution gaming, so let's talk 1080p later and jump right into 1440p rasterization.

Ray Tracing Gaming

Game with realistic lighting and reflections can be achieved with ray tracing with this new AMD RX 9070 XT.