The AMD Radeon RX 9070 arrives at an interesting juncture in the graphics card market. Hot on the heels of Nvidia's latest generation, this $549 AMD offering directly challenges the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, a card that has left gamers wanting more. AMD's Radeon RX 9070 emerges as the clear winner in this head-to-head, making it an attractive choice for gamers focused on 1440p gaming.
However, the decision isn't as straightforward as it seems, and AMD's own pricing strategy complicates matters. The Radeon RX 9070 is only $50 less than the superior Radeon RX 9070 XT. While this price difference aligns with the performance gap—the 9070 being about 8% slower and 9% cheaper—it's tough 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. Be aware that higher-priced models will likely be available. For the best value, aim to purchase a model as close to the starting price as possible, especially given its proximity to the Radeon RX 9070 XT's price point.
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 new RDNA 4 graphics architecture. This cutting-edge technology 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 games with ray tracing, while the improved AI Accelerators introduce AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4, marking the debut of AI upscaling on AMD graphics cards.
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 peak consumption at 249W, slightly above the budget. While this doesn't necessitate superior cooling, a 600W PSU is recommended for safety.
It's worth noting that AMD isn't releasing a reference design for the RX 9070, a first in several generations. This means all versions will be produced by third-party board manufacturers. 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 an Nvidia-exclusive feature, FSR 4 now brings AI upscaling to AMD GPUs.
FSR 4 uses 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 in FSR 3, which lacked an AI algorithm, often resulting in artifacts like ghosting.
The trade-off is 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 yields 165 fps, while FSR 4 drops to 159 fps. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K with ray tracing, the Radeon RX 9070 achieves 81 fps with FSR 3, but 76 fps with FSR 4.
Fortunately, 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'd opt for FSR 4, but for fast-paced online games like Marvel Rivals, FSR 3 might be preferable.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks
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Performance
-----------Priced at $549, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 directly competes with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, often outperforming 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 is a remarkable leap, especially considering the 9070's 30% fewer cores.
It's important to note 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, a 7% increase that should boost performance by about 4-5%.
All graphics cards were tested using the latest public drivers at the time of writing. Nvidia cards used Game Ready driver 572.60, while AMD cards ran on 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, which measures potential performance, the 9070 scores 5,828 points in the Speed Way test with ray tracing, nearly matching the RTX 5070's 5,845 points. 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.
The test system used included an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, an Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard, 32GB of G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RAM at 6,000MHz, a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, and an Asus ROG Ryujin III 360 CPU cooler.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, showcased by AMD at CES 2025, sees the 9070 excel at 1440p with FSR 3 set to Balanced, achieving 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 the Ray Tracing Ultra preset—a significant achievement for AMD at the same price point.
Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling due to its exclusive support for DLSS, sees the Radeon RX 9070 averaging 71 fps, an 11% lead over the RTX 5070's 64 fps, showcasing AMD's prowess in raw ray tracing performance.
Red Dead Redemption 2, using Vulkan, sees the RX 9070 achieving 142 fps at 1440p with max settings, a 23% lead over the RTX 5070's 115 fps, highlighting another strong performance for AMD.
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 the RX 9070 at 135 fps and the RTX 5070 at 134 fps.
Assassin's Creed Mirage sees the RX 9070 achieving 193 fps at 1440p with the Ultra preset and FSR set to Balanced, an 18% lead over the RTX 5070's 163 fps, reinforcing AMD's strong performance in this title.
Black Myth Wukong, a game that typically favors Nvidia, results in a close contest, with the RX 9070 at 67 fps and the RTX 5070 at 66 fps at 1440p with the Cinematic preset.
Forza Horizon 5, despite its age, benefits from high frame rates, with the Radeon RX 9070 averaging 185 fps at 1440p, compared to 168 fps from the RTX 5070 and 152 fps from the RX 7900 GRE, marking a 12% and 25% lead, respectively.
Launching shortly after the GeForce RTX 5070 plays to AMD's advantage. Both cards are priced at $549, yet the Radeon RX 9070 consistently outperforms the RTX 5070 across various tests. Moreover, with 16GB of VRAM, the RX 9070 is better equipped for future gaming demands, even if it uses slightly slower GDDR6 compared to the RTX 5070's GDDR7. The combination of superior performance and more VRAM makes the Radeon RX 9070 the superior choice for gamers seeking value and longevity.
