AMD Radeon RX 9070: In-Depth Review

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 enters the market at a peculiar time for graphics cards. Following closely on the heels of Nvidia's latest generation launch, this new $549 card from AMD is in direct competition with the underwhelming GeForce RTX 5070. Right now, AMD has a clear upper hand in this rivalry, positioning the Radeon RX 9070 as the top choice for 1440p gaming enthusiasts.

However, the situation is a bit more nuanced, and AMD's pricing strategy plays a significant role. The Radeon RX 9070 is only $50 less than the superior Radeon RX 9070 XT. While this price gap makes sense mathematically – the RX 9070 is approximately 8% slower and 9% cheaper than the RX 9070 XT – it's difficult to justify not spending the extra $50 for enhanced performance. Nonetheless, choosing between these two AMD options still leaves gamers in a favorable position.

Purchasing Guide

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is set to launch on March 6, with a starting price of $549. Be aware, though, that there will likely be higher-priced models available. If you're considering the RX 9070, my recommendation is to opt for a version as close to the starting price as possible, given its proximity in price to the Radeon RX 9070 XT.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 – Photos

4 Images

Specs and Features

Like the Radeon RX 9070 XT, the RX 9070 leverages the new RDNA 4 graphics architecture. This advancement significantly boosts performance, allowing the RX 9070 to outpace last generation's Radeon RX 7900 GRE by a wide margin, even with 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 includes one Ray Accelerator and two AI Accelerators, summing up to 56 and 112 respectively. These enhancements make the RX 9070 a strong contender in games with ray tracing, and the improved AI Accelerators enable the introduction of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4, marking AMD's debut in AI upscaling technology.

Mirroring the RX 9070 XT, the RX 9070 comes with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit bus. This memory configuration matches that of the 7900 GRE, ensuring robust performance for 1440p gaming for years to come. Although it would have been ideal to see GDDR7 memory, like Nvidia's offering, this would likely 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, I recommend a 600W PSU for added safety.

It's worth noting that AMD isn't releasing a reference design for the RX 9070, a departure from recent trends. Consequently, all versions will be crafted by third-party manufacturers. For my review, AMD provided 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 been a game-changer for enhancing performance without sacrificing much image quality. Historically, this was predominantly a feature of Nvidia's arsenal, but FSR 4 marks AMD's entry into this arena.

FSR 4 uses previous frames and in-game data, running them through an AI model to upscale lower resolution images to your native resolution. This contrasts with the temporal upscaling of FSR 3, which lacked AI, sometimes leading to 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, the RX 9070 achieves 81 fps at 4K with ray tracing enabled, but this falls to 76 fps with FSR 4.

Fortunately, the Adrenalin software includes a toggle for FSR 4, allowing users to choose between enhanced image quality and marginally better performance. As a fan of single-player games, I lean towards FSR 4 for its visual benefits, but for fast-paced online titles like Marvel Rivals, sticking with FSR 3 might be preferable.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

11 Images

Performance

Priced at $549, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 directly competes with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and consistently outperforms it. At 1440p, this mid-range GPU is, on average, 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 forward, especially considering the RX 9070's reduced core count.

It's important to note that my test unit was a factory overclocked version of the RX 9070, the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC. While the exact specifications haven't been released, GPU-Z reported a boost clock of 2,700Mhz, suggesting a 7% increase in clock speed, which translates to a 4-5% performance boost.

All graphics cards were tested using their current public drivers at the time of writing. Nvidia cards were on Game Ready driver 572.60, AMD cards on Adrenalin 24.12.1, and the RX 9070, RX 9070 XT, and RTX 5070 were tested on review drivers provided by their respective manufacturers.

In 3DMark, which measures potential performance, the RX 9070 starts strong. In the Speed Way test with ray tracing enabled, it scores 5,828 points, nearly 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 at the same price point.

Test System

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, a game AMD highlighted at CES 2025, showcases the RX 9070's prowess. At 1440p with FSR 3 set to Balanced, it achieves 165 fps, outpacing the RTX 5070's 131 fps and the RX 7900 GRE's 143 fps by 26% and 15%, respectively.

In Cyberpunk 2077, traditionally favoring Nvidia, the RX 9070 still manages a 3% lead at 1440p with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset. This is a significant achievement, given the game's Nvidia-centric optimizations.

Metro Exodus, tested without any upscaling due to its exclusive support for DLSS, further demonstrates the RX 9070's strength. It averages 71 fps compared to the RTX 5070's 64 fps, an 11% advantage in a game that prominently features Nvidia branding.

Red Dead Redemption 2 using Vulkan showcases the RX 9070's dominance, achieving 142 fps at 1440p with max settings, a 23% lead over the RTX 5070's 115 fps. While the RX 7900 GRE also performs well here, the RX 9070's lead suggests an affinity for AMD hardware in this engine.

In Total War: Warhammer 3, the RX 9070's lead is most pronounced at 4K due to the larger frame buffer. At 1440p, the performance difference is negligible, with the RX 9070 and RTX 5070 achieving 135 fps and 134 fps, respectively.

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. This aligns with AMD's historical performance advantage in this title.

Black Myth Wukong, a game that typically favors Nvidia, results in a close race at 1440p, with the RX 9070 and RTX 5070 achieving 67 fps and 66 fps, respectively, on the demanding Cinematic preset.

Forza Horizon 5, despite its age, rewards high frame rates. At 1440p, the RX 9070 averages 185 fps, surpassing the RTX 5070's 168 fps and the RX 7900 GRE's 152 fps by 12% and 25%, respectively.

Launching soon after the GeForce RTX 5070 plays to AMD's advantage. Both cards are priced at $549, yet the Radeon RX 9070 consistently outperforms its Nvidia counterpart. With 16GB of VRAM, the RX 9070 is better equipped for future-proofing, even if it uses slightly slower GDDR6 memory compared to the RTX 5070's GDDR7. The combination of superior performance and greater memory capacity makes the RX 9070 an unbeatable value proposition.