AMD Radeon RX 9070: Expert Review and Analysis

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 enters the market at a curious juncture for graphics cards. Following closely on the heels of Nvidia's latest generation, this $549 AMD offering directly challenges the underwhelming GeForce RTX 5070. At this moment, the Radeon RX 9070 emerges as the clear winner in this duel, making it an excellent choice for gamers targeting 1440p gaming experiences.

Yet, the situation is nuanced, with AMD partly to blame for the complexity. The Radeon RX 9070 is only $50 less than the superior Radeon RX 9070 XT. While this price difference aligns with the 8% slower performance and 9% lower cost compared to the 9070 XT, it's tough to justify not spending the extra $50 for the enhanced performance. Nevertheless, when the choice is between two AMD options, Team Red is in a strong position.

Purchasing Guide

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 launches on March 6, with a starting price of $549. However, expect various models to be priced higher. If you decide to purchase the 9070, aim for a model as close to the starting price as possible, especially given its proximity to the RX 9070 XT's price point.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 – Photos

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Specs and Features

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, like its XT counterpart, leverages the cutting-edge RDNA 4 graphics architecture. This technology significantly boosts performance, enabling the 9070 to far surpass the previous generation's Radeon RX 7900 GRE, despite featuring 30% fewer compute units.

With 56 Compute Units, each containing 64 Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), the RX 9070 boasts a total of 3,584 shaders. Additionally, each compute unit includes one Ray Accelerator and two AI Accelerators, totaling 56 and 112 respectively. These enhancements in Ray and AI Accelerators enable the card to excel in ray tracing-enabled games. Moreover, the upgraded AI Accelerators introduce FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4, marking the first time AMD GPUs support AI upscaling.

The RX 9070, akin to the 9070 XT, is equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit bus. This memory configuration mirrors that of the 7900 GRE, promising longevity for 1440p gaming. While GDDR7, adopted by Nvidia, would have been preferable, it likely would have increased the card's cost.

AMD recommends a minimum 550W power supply for the RX 9070, given its 220W power budget. My testing revealed a peak consumption of 249W, suggesting a 600W PSU for safety. Notably, AMD isn't releasing a reference design for the RX 9070, leaving production to third-party board partners. I reviewed the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16G, a robust triple-slot card with a slight factory overclock.

FSR4

Since DLSS's debut in 2018, AI upscaling has revolutionized performance and image quality in gaming. Initially exclusive to Nvidia, AMD's FSR 4 now brings this technology to its GPUs. FSR 4 utilizes past frames and in-game data, processing them through an AI model to upscale lower-resolution images to native resolution. This method differs from FSR 3's Temporal upscaling, which lacked an AI model and often resulted in visual artifacts like ghosting.

However, the AI model's performance cost means FSR 4 slightly underperforms compared to FSR 3. 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 RX 9070 achieves 81 fps with FSR 3, but 76 fps with FSR 4.

The Adrenalin software offers a toggle to switch between FSR 3 and FSR 4, allowing users to choose between superior image quality or slightly better performance. As a single-player game enthusiast, I prefer FSR 4, but for fast-paced online games like Marvel Rivals, FSR 3 might be more suitable.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

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Performance

Priced at $549, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 competes directly with 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, despite having 30% fewer cores.

Note that my testing used a factory overclocked version of the RX 9070, the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC. While specific details on this model's specs are pending, GPU-Z indicates 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 the latest public drivers available at the time. Nvidia cards were run on Game Ready driver 572.60, while AMD cards used Adrenalin 24.12.1. Both the RX 9070 and 9070 XT, as well as the RTX 5070, were tested with review drivers provided by their respective manufacturers.

In 3DMark benchmarks, which reflect potential rather than actual gaming performance, the RX 9070 performs admirably. In the Speed Way test with ray tracing, it scores 5,828 points, closely matching the RTX 5070's 5,845. However, in the Steel Nomad test without ray tracing, the RX 9070 significantly outperforms the RTX 5070, scoring 6,050 to 5,034—a 20% difference.

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, a showcase title for the RX 9070 at CES 2025, demonstrates the card's prowess. At 1440p with FSR 3 on Balanced, the RX 9070 achieves 165 fps, outpacing the RTX 5070's 131 fps and the RX 7900 GRE's 143 fps by 26% and 15%, respectively.

Cyberpunk 2077, traditionally favoring Nvidia, sees the RX 9070 outperform the RTX 5070 by 3% at 1440p with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset—an impressive feat given Nvidia's historical advantage in this title.

Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling due to its exclusive support for DLSS, showcases the 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, utilizing Vulkan, sees the RX 9070 soar to 142 fps at 1440p with all settings maxed out, significantly ahead of the RTX 5070's 115 fps—a 23% performance advantage.

In Total War: Warhammer 3, the RX 9070's lead is pronounced at 4K but narrows at 1440p, where it achieves 135 fps compared to the RTX 5070's 134 fps—a negligible difference.

Assassin's Creed Mirage sees the RX 9070 achieve 193 fps at 1440p with the Ultra preset and FSR on Balanced, surpassing the RTX 5070's 163 fps by 18%.

Black Myth Wukong, a title favoring Nvidia, results in a close contest, with the RX 9070 achieving 67 fps at 1440p compared to the RTX 5070's 66 fps.

Forza Horizon 5, despite its age, remains a benchmark for high framerates. At 1440p, the RX 9070 averages 185 fps, outperforming the RTX 5070's 168 fps and the RX 7900 GRE's 152 fps by 12% and 25%, respectively.

Launching shortly after the RTX 5070, the Radeon RX 9070's competitive performance at the same $549 price point underscores AMD's strong position. With 16GB of VRAM, the RX 9070 is better equipped for future gaming demands than the RTX 5070, despite its slightly slower GDDR6 memory. This, combined with superior performance in numerous tests, positions the RX 9070 as a compelling choice for gamers seeking value and performance.