AMD looks to have hit it out of the park with the Radeon 9070 XT. Reviews have been universally positive, and reception from gamers has been even better. Now, AMD just needs to follow through with the next step: getting these GPUs into the hands of gamers at the expected MSRP. Hopefully, we'll see this happen over the next few days.

Before that, we need to take a closer look at the cheaper option – the Radeon RX 9070 (the non-XT model). Interestingly, AMD has priced it at $550, the same alleged MSRP as the RTX 5070.

The new vanilla Radeon RX 9070 should generally be faster than Nvidia's RTX 5070, at least based on what we saw from the XT before. As an added bonus, AMD's GPU comes with more VRAM – 16GB vs. 12GB for the GeForce, which is less than ideal for those looking to take full advantage of RTX features like frame generation and ray tracing.

However, in our opinion, the RTX 5070 competition isn't the biggest issue for the RX 9070 – that would be its big brother, the 9070 XT, which is fetching a mere extra $50.

This means the standard RX 9070 is offering a small 8% discount, which on its own may not seem like much. However, looking at the specs, it has 13% fewer cores and texture mapping units, suggesting that the performance downgrade will be greater than the price difference suggests.

We have a lot of data to go over, but before diving into performance benchmarks, let's take a look at some of the graphics cards we have on hand to test.

The Cards

For testing, we used the Sapphire Pure RX 9070, along with the PowerColor Hellhound and XFX Quicksilver. Let's see how they compare.

The Hellhound had a GPU junction temperature of 59°C, while the Quicksilver was slightly cooler at 58°C. The Pure was the coolest of the three, reaching just 53°C.

Looking at hotspot temperatures, the Quicksilver was the coolest at 69°C, followed by the Pure at 71°C, and the Hellhound at 76°C, which is still a very reasonable hotspot temperature.

All three models had a peak memory temperature of 86°C, with VRM temperatures staying below 70°C, so there were no concerns in that area.

In terms of fan speed, the Hellhound operated the quietest, running at just 930 RPM. The Pure and Quicksilver were also quiet, with fan speeds ranging between 1,000 and 1,100 RPM.

Regarding clock speeds, the Hellhound had the lowest, averaging 2,745 MHz. The Pure clocked 4% higher, averaging 2,840 MHz, while the Quicksilver was close behind at 2,810 MHz.

Overall, all three models delivered excellent results.

Now, let's dive into the FPS data…

Test System Specs

Benchmarks

Marvel Rivals

First, let's take a look at Marvel Rivals performance. The 9070 is essentially on par with the 5070 at 1440p, rendering 77 fps on average. This makes it 13% slower than the 9070 XT and 7% slower than the 7900 XT.

When increasing the resolution to 4K, the 9070 falls behind the 5070 by a 7% margin, rendering just 41 fps on average – similar to the old RTX 3080 and only 5% faster than the 7900 GRE.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Next, we have Stalker 2, where the 9070 is just 5% slower than the 9070 XT at 1440p, which allows it to edge out the RTX 5070 by a narrow 6% margin.

However, moving up to 4K significantly impacts performance, making the 9070 18% slower than the XT version. It renders just 32 fps on average, putting it roughly on par with the RTX 5070.

Counter-Strike 2

For Counter-Strike 2, the 9070 doesn't stand out at 1440p. Although it is only 6% slower than the XT version, it also lags 7% behind the RTX 5070.

Increasing the resolution to 4K doesn't improve the situation. Here, the 9070 is 10% slower than the 5070 and 8% slower than the 9070 XT.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

The Space Marine 2 performance is quite strong. The 9070 is just 5% slower than the XT version, putting it on par with the RTX 4070 Super, 7900 XT, and, surprisingly, the RTX 5080. For some reason, the new Blackwell GPUs struggle in this title, which explains why the 9070 appears 24% faster than the RTX 5070.

Things get even worse for Blackwell GPUs at 4K, where the 9070 is 57% faster than the 5070. Something is clearly off here, and Nvidia will likely need to address this at the driver level.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Next, we have Cyberpunk 2077, a title where Radeon GPUs have always performed well – provided ray tracing is disabled. At 1440p, the 9070 is 10% slower than the XT version but 15% faster than the RTX 5070, making for a strong win.

At 4K, this margin increases to 20%, keeping the 9070 comfortably ahead of the RTX 5070.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 tends to favor AMD hardware, and the results reflect that. At 1440p, the 9070 is 8% slower than the 9070 XT but, more importantly, 40% faster than the RTX 5070. These results might seem surprising, but the data is accurate.

At 4K, the 9070 trails the XT version by 10%, yet still outperforms the 5070 by an impressive 44% margin.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the 9070 is 7% slower than the XT version, which puts it neck and neck with the RTX 5070 at 1440p, both averaging 79 fps.

At 4K, the situation remains the same, with both the 5070 and 9070 averaging 53 fps, making them 7% slower than the 9070 XT.

Hogwarts Legacy

Testing Hogwarts Legacy at 1440p shows the 9070 coming in just 2% slower than the 9070 XT, allowing it to surpass the RTX 5070 by 7%.

At 4K, the gap widens slightly, with the 9070 trailing the XT by 8%, yet still outperforming the 5070 by a solid 21% margin.

The Last of Us Part I

The final individual game we'll examine is The Last of Us Part I, though we'll also discuss ray tracing performance shortly.

At 1440p, the 9070 is 15% slower than the 9070 XT, putting it exactly on par with the RTX 5070.

At 4K, the 9070 remains 23% slower than the XT version, once again matching the 5070, both averaging 48 fps.

Performance Summary

1440p

Across the 18 games tested, the Radeon 9070 was on average 8% slower than the 9070 XT – not a terrible result. However, it was also just 4% faster than the RTX 5070 in mostly raster-based gaming, which may not be a big enough advantage.

4K

At 4K, the Radeon 9070 ends up 12% slower than the 9070 XT, which is disappointing given that it is only 8% cheaper based on MSRP. It was also 8% faster than the RTX 5070, which is a slight improvement, but not a major win considering both should be priced at $550.

Power Consumption

When it comes to power consumption, the Radeon 9070 draws anywhere from 15% to 23% less power than the 9070 XT in our testing, making it the more efficient option.

Compared to the RTX 5070, power consumption varies from just a few extra watts to as much as 20% higher. A worst-case scenario was Starfield, where the 9070 consumed 20% more power than the 5070 for only a 6% performance gain.

Ray Tracing Benchmarks

RT - Metro Exodus Enhanced

Now for some ray tracing performance, starting with Metro Exodus Enhanced at 1440p. Here, the 9070 was 15% slower than the XT version, placing it right alongside the RTX 5070 – not a bad result.

At 4K, it remained 15% slower than the XT model and 6% slower than the 5070. While not spectacular, this is a much more competitive showing compared to the previous generation.

RT - Alan Wake II

In our 9070 XT review, we found that RDNA4 GPUs struggle with Alan Wake II at the High RT preset. Unsurprisingly, the 9070 doesn't fare well, averaging just 31 fps. While that makes it 21% slower than the RTX 5070, it's worth noting that the 5070 also struggles, delivering just 39 fps.

At 4K, performance is completely unplayable, but since we have the data, we're including it for those interested.

RT - Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Next is Cyberpunk 2077, using the Ultra RT preset with quality upscaling at 1440p. Here, the 9070 is 16% slower than the XT version, roughly matching the RTX 5070 at 57 fps.

At 4K, the 9070 averages 31 fps, making it 14% slower than the 9070 XT, once again matching the RTX 5070.

RT - Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered

In Spider-Man Remastered, the 1440p results are mostly CPU-limited, meaning the 9070 performs identically to the 9070 XT and RTX 5070.

At 4K, where the CPU bottleneck is reduced, the 9070 is 7% slower than the XT model but manages to be 10% faster than the RTX 5070 – an excellent result for AMD.

RT - Dying Light 2 Stay Human

The 9070 trails the 5070 in Dying Light 2 at 1440p, coming in 6% slower, and it is also 11% slower than the 9070 XT. However, it does manage to be 10% faster than the 7900 XT.

At 4K, it falls 13% behind the XT model and is also 11% slower than the RTX 5070.

RT - Black Myth: Wukong

Unfortunately, the RDNA4 GPUs struggle in Black Myth: Wukong with Very High RT enabled. While the RTX 5070 delivers an unimpressive 46 fps at 1440p with upscaling, it is still significantly better than the 25 fps the 9070 manages.

With performance this low, there's little reason to discuss 4K upscaled results, but we've included the data for those interested.

RT - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Lastly, in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the Full RT setting is essential for the best experience. However, in this case, ray tracing isn't viable on either the 9070 or the 5070. For this game, a 5080 or 5090 is necessary, which will undoubtedly make Nvidia very happy.

Ray Tracing Performance Summary

1440p

Across the six games tested for ray tracing performance, the Radeon 9070 was on average 13% slower than the 9070 XT and 16% slower than the RTX 5070. Not a bad result for a Radeon GPU, and it also means the 9070 is a whopping 26% faster than the 7900 XTX previous-gen flagship.

4K

The 4K upscaled data is less relevant since both the 9070 and 5070 often fail to deliver acceptable ray tracing performance at this higher resolution. However, for those interested, the 9070 was 28% slower than the 5070 in this scenario.

Cost per Frame

MSRP

Now, let's look at the cost per frame data. This analysis now includes results from Space Marine 2 and Black Ops 6, meaning the data is based on an 18-game average. Both titles favor AMD, though we expect Nvidia to address its issues in Space Marine 2 at some point. However, so far, there have been no updates on that front.

The data shows the 9070 XT offering the best value per frame, with the non-XT version providing 4% worse value per frame. While the Radeon 9070 offers better overall value compared to the very poor RTX 5070, it still doesn't make full sense in our opinion, and should be priced at $500.

Retail Pricing

Compared to retail pricing from last year, the Radeon 9070 series still slots in quite favorably, offering the best value. However, the 9070's $550 MSRP still doesn't make much sense relative to the 9070 XT, meaning the XT version is the obvious choice at these price points.

What We Learned

The most obvious conclusion we can make about the Radeon RX 9070 is that if available at the MSRP, this model should be ignored in favor of the 9070 XT. For an extra $50 (a 9% price increase), you get ~14% better performance. Everything else is identical: same VRAM, same architecture, etc. so the XT is simply the better buy.

Not surprisingly though, in the current turbulent GPU market, pricing and availability will ultimately determine the Radeon 9070's value. While supply of the RX 9070 series GPUs appears strong, there are concerns about the availability of MSRP models. We will revisit this topic next week with a detailed update on GPU pricing, and we'll continue to monitor the situation closely.

As it stands, the Radeon 9070 is an unusual product, though not out of character for AMD. Last generation, AMD priced the 7900 XT just $100 below the 7900 XTX – a 10% discount, despite having 17% less VRAM and 17% lower performance. This pricing strategy didn't make sense and was largely met with negative reviews.

But that didn't stop AMD. They repeated the same pricing strategy with the 7800 XT and 7700 XT, making the 7700 XT only 10% cheaper, even though it had 25% less VRAM and was 16% slower. Once again, this resulted in mostly negative reviews for the 7700 XT. So, this is a repeat strategy from AMD – a bold move, to say the least. However, no one outside of AMD seems to understand this approach, and even some within AMD appear equally confused.

Now, setting aside the fact that the Radeon 9070 XT is the obvious choice, let's pretend that option doesn't exist and make this a straight RX 9070 vs. RTX 5070 battle, who wins there?

In terms of value, the Radeon RX 9070 offers 8% better cost per frame for raster performance. However, for ray tracing-heavy workloads, the RTX 5070 is on average 16% faster – assuming you don't exceed its 12GB VRAM buffer (as happened in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle). The memory limitations of the RTX 5070 will likely become a bigger issue in the future, raising concerns about its long-term viability.

You could certainly argue that, right now, RT performance is a win for the RTX 5070, with DLSS 4 upscaling being another advantage. However, early impressions of FSR 4 suggest it is competitive, making it a viable alternative.

In our opinion, the Radeon RX 9070 appears to be the better product overall. It is generally faster and has 16GB of VRAM, which should age better over the next 3 – 4 years. Though ultimately, it doesn't matter as you wouldn't buy either product at the proposed MSRP, you would simply buy the faster 9070 XT and call it a day.

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