The AMD Radeon RX 9070 enters the market at a peculiar time for graphics cards. With Nvidia's latest generation just launched, the Radeon RX 9070, priced at $549, directly competes with the underwhelming GeForce RTX 5070. In this head-to-head, AMD's new offering emerges as the clear winner, making it the go-to choice for 1440p gaming enthusiasts. However, the decision isn't as straightforward as it seems, primarily due to AMD's own pricing strategy. The Radeon RX 9070 is only $50 less than the superior Radeon RX 9070 XT. While the price difference reflects an 8% performance gap and a 9% cost reduction, it's challenging to justify not spending the extra $50 for the enhanced performance of the 9070 XT. Nonetheless, when choosing between these two AMD options, the outlook remains promising for Team Red.
Purchasing Guide
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is set to launch on March 6, with a starting price of $549. However, expect to see various models at higher price points. For the best value, I recommend opting for a version as close to the starting price as possible, especially given its proximity to the Radeon RX 9070 XT's price.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 – Photos
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Specs and Features
Like its sibling, the Radeon RX 9070 XT, the RX 9070 leverages the cutting-edge RDNA 4 graphics architecture. This advancement significantly boosts performance, allowing the 9070 to outshine the previous generation's Radeon RX 7900 GRE by a wide margin, despite having 30% fewer compute units.
The Radeon RX 9070 boasts 56 Compute Units, each equipped with 64 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), totaling 3,584 shaders. Each compute unit also features one Ray Accelerator and two AI Accelerators, summing up to 56 and 112, respectively. These enhancements enable the card to excel in ray tracing and introduce AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4, marking the debut of AI upscaling on AMD GPUs.
Similar to the 9070 XT, the RX 9070 comes with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit bus, mirroring the memory setup of the 7900 GRE. This configuration should suffice for 1440p gaming for years to come. Although adopting GDDR7 like Nvidia would have been ideal, it likely would have increased the price.
AMD suggests a minimum 550W power supply for the RX 9070, which has a power budget of 220W. My tests showed a peak consumption of 249W, slightly above the budget. While this doesn't necessitate superior cooling, I recommend a 600W PSU for safety.
Notably, AMD isn't releasing a reference design for the RX 9070, a first in recent generations. This means all versions will be produced by third-party board partners. I tested the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16G, a robust triple-slot card with a slight factory overclock.
FSR4
Since the rise of DLSS in 2018, AI upscaling has become a key method for enhancing performance without sacrificing image quality. Previously exclusive to Nvidia, FSR 4 now brings AI upscaling to AMD GPUs.
FSR 4 utilizes previous frames and in-game data, processing them through an AI model to upscale lower resolution images to your native resolution. This differs from the temporal upscaling of FSR 3, which lacked an AI algorithm and could result in artifacts like ghosting.
However, FSR 4 incurs a slight performance hit due to the AI model's demands. For example, in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 1440p on the Extreme preset, FSR 3 achieves 165 fps, while FSR 4 drops to 159 fps. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K with ray tracing, the Radeon RX 9070 gets 81 fps with FSR 3, but 76 fps with FSR 4.
The Adrenalin software allows you to toggle between FSR 3 and FSR 4, letting you choose between better image quality or slightly higher performance. As a fan of single-player games, I prefer FSR 4, but for fast-paced online games like Marvel Rivals, FSR 3 might be the better choice.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks
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Performance
Priced at $549, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 directly challenges the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and frequently outperforms it. At 1440p, this mid-range GPU averages 12% faster than the RTX 5070 and boasts a 22% lead over its predecessor, the RX 7900 GRE, which also launched at $549 in 2024. This represents a substantial leap forward, especially considering the 9070's reduced core count.
It's worth noting that I tested a factory overclocked version of the RX 9070, the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC. While exact specs weren't available at the time of writing, GPU-Z reported a boost clock of 2,700Mhz, suggesting a 7% clock speed increase, which should translate to a 4-5% performance boost.
All graphics cards were tested using their latest public drivers at the time of writing. Nvidia cards ran on Game Ready driver 572.60, while AMD cards used Adrenalin 24.12.1. The Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, along with the RTX 5070, were tested on review drivers provided by their respective manufacturers.
In 3DMark, the Radeon RX 9070 shows strong potential. In the Speed Way test with ray tracing, it scores 5,828 points, nearly matching the RTX 5070's 5,845. However, in the Steel Nomad test without ray tracing, the 9070 significantly outperforms the RTX 5070, scoring 6,050 to 5,034—a 20% lead at the same price point.
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
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, showcased by AMD at CES 2025, sees the Radeon RX 9070 excel. At 1440p with FSR 3 set to Balanced, it achieves 165 fps, compared to 131 fps from the RTX 5070 and 143 fps from the 7900 GRE—a 26% and 15% lead, respectively.
In Cyberpunk 2077, traditionally favoring Nvidia, the Radeon RX 9070 still manages a 3% lead over the RTX 5070 at 1440p with Ray Tracing Ultra, a significant achievement for AMD.
Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling, showcases the Radeon RX 9070's raw ray tracing prowess, averaging 71 fps compared to the RTX 5070's 64 fps—an 11% lead.
Red Dead Redemption 2, using Vulkan, sees the RX 9070 achieve 142 fps at 1440p with max settings, outpacing the RTX 5070's 115 fps by an impressive 23%.
In Total War: Warhammer 3, the RX 9070's lead is most pronounced at 4K, but at 1440p, it's neck-and-neck with the RTX 5070, with scores of 135 fps and 134 fps, respectively.
Assassin's Creed Mirage sees the RX 9070 achieve 193 fps at 1440p with the Ultra preset and FSR set to Balanced, an 18% lead over the RTX 5070's 163 fps.
Black Myth Wukong, another Nvidia-favored title, results in a close contest, with the RX 9070 achieving 67 fps compared to the RTX 5070's 66 fps at 1440p with the Cinematic preset.
Forza Horizon 5, despite its age, benefits from high frame rates. At 1440p, the Radeon RX 9070 averages 185 fps, compared to 168 fps from the RTX 5070 and 152 fps from the RX 7900 GRE, marking a 12% and 25% improvement, respectively.
The Radeon RX 9070's timely release following the RTX 5070 plays to AMD's advantage. Both cards are priced at $549, yet AMD's offering consistently outperforms Nvidia's. Moreover, the Radeon RX 9070's 16GB of VRAM ensures it will age better than the RTX 5070, despite the latter's GDDR7 memory. Even if performance were equal, the RX 9070's larger VRAM pool makes it the superior value. Combined with its performance edge, the Radeon RX 9070 is an undeniable choice for gamers seeking the best bang for their buck.
