AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Review: The New Midrange Champion?

AMD is back in the GPU game, and this time, it means business. The Radeon RX 9070 XT is a high-performance graphics card aimed at 4K gaming and ray tracing, competing directly with NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti—but at a significantly lower price.

At just $599, this card delivers outstanding value, especially with FSR 4 AI upscaling, improved ray-tracing performance, and efficient power consumption. But does it truly beat its competitors? Let’s dive into the details.

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AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: Specs & Features

The RX 9070 XT is built on AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture, featuring 4,096 stream processors, a 2970 MHz boost clock, and 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. It includes 128 AI accelerators and 64 ray-tracing cores, which greatly improve both upscaling and real-time lighting effects.

Compared to NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti, which costs $150 more, AMD’s GPU offers competitive rasterization performance while keeping power consumption at a reasonable 304W. Unlike NVIDIA’s latest GPUs, the RX 9070 XT sticks with standard dual 8-pin PCIe connectors, making it an easier upgrade for most users.

FSR 4: AMD’s Answer to DLSS

One of the biggest improvements in the RX 9070 XT is FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), AMD’s AI-powered upscaling technology.

This new version brings better image quality with less blurring and ghosting compared to previous FSR versions. It doesn’t necessarily boost frame rates over FSR 3.1 but offers much sharper visuals, especially in textures and fine details.

However, FSR 4 does come with a performance hit of around 10-20% in some games. Thankfully, AMD allows users to toggle between FSR 3.1 (for better FPS) and FSR 4 (for higher visual quality) in the Adrenalin software.

RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 5070 Ti: Performance Breakdown

The RX 9070 XT delivers strong competition to NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti, often matching or surpassing it in gaming performance.

• In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Ultra settings, the RX 9070 XT reaches 134 FPS, slightly outperforming the RTX 5070 Ti. Similarly, in Red Dead Redemption 2, AMD’s card hits 125 FPS at 4K, while NVIDIA’s offering lags behind at 110 FPS.
• In Cyberpunk 2077 at Ray Tracing Ultra settings, the RTX 5070 Ti maintains a slight lead with 75 FPS compared to the RX 9070 XT’s 71 FPS. However, in AMD-optimized titles like Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Black Myth: Wukong, the RX 9070 XT holds a solid advantage, delivering 8-12% higher frame rates.

For ray tracing, the RX 9070 XT still trails NVIDIA slightly, but it performs significantly better than AMD’s previous generation. Metro Exodus at 4K with ray tracing sees the RX 9070 XT reaching 47 FPS, only one frame behind the RTX 5070 Ti. This marks a major improvement for AMD in real-time lighting effects.

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Thermals & Power Efficiency

Despite its high performance, the RX 9070 XT runs impressively cool. The Sapphire Pulse variant maintained a temperature of 72°C under load, running cooler than the RTX 5070 Ti.

The card uses dual 8-pin PCIe connectors instead of NVIDIA’s controversial 12VHPWR connectors, reducing the risk of compatibility issues. AMD recommends a 700W power supply, though a 750W PSU is ideal for overclocking.

AI & Content Creation Performance

While the RX 9070 XT excels in gaming, its AI processing still lags behind NVIDIA.

In AI text generation benchmarks, AMD’s AI accelerators performed below expectations, with NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti delivering faster token processing speeds. Similarly, Adobe Premiere Pro rendering was slightly better on NVIDIA’s hardware.

For Blender rendering and AI-driven workloads, NVIDIA remains the preferred choice due to its superior AI cores. However, for gamers who don’t need AI-heavy workloads, the RX 9070 XT still offers better raw performance per dollar.

FAQs About the Radeon RX 9070 XT

Is the RX 9070 XT good for 4K gaming?

Yes! It delivers great 4K performance, often matching or surpassing the RTX 5070 Ti in non-ray-traced titles.

How does FSR 4 compare to DLSS 3?

FSR 4 improves image quality significantly, but DLSS 3 still produces better AI-generated frames with less performance loss.

What power supply do I need?

AMD recommends a 700W PSU, but a 750W PSU is a safer choice, especially for overclocking.

Is this better than the RX 7900 XT?

Despite having fewer compute units, the RX 9070 XT is often faster, thanks to its higher clock speeds and improved architecture.

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Final Verdict: Is the RX 9070 XT Worth It?

Why You Should Buy It

• Priced at $599, it undercuts NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti by $150.
• Strong 4K performance and excellent rasterization speeds.
• Big improvements in ray tracing compared to last-gen AMD GPUs.
• Runs cooler and uses standard power connectors for easier upgrades.

Why You Might Skip It

• NVIDIA still leads in AI and content creation performance.
• Ray tracing performance, while improved, is still slightly behind NVIDIA’s RTX 50-series GPUs.

Overall, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is an outstanding choice for high-end gaming at a midrange price. If you’re looking for the best value 4K gaming GPU of 2025, this is the card to get.

If AMD can keep the RX 9070 XT in stock at $599, this could easily be the best midrange GPU of the year.

Are you planning to buy the RX 9070 XT? Let us know in the comments!