The AMD Radeon RX 9070 enters the market at an intriguing time for graphics cards. Right on the heels of Nvidia's latest generation, this new $549 AMD offering directly competes with the underwhelming GeForce RTX 5070. In this showdown, AMD emerges as the clear winner, making the Radeon RX 9070 an attractive choice for 1440p gaming enthusiasts.

However, the decision isn't straightforward, and AMD's own pricing strategy adds complexity. The Radeon RX 9070 is only $50 less than the superior Radeon RX 9070 XT. While the 9070 is 8% slower and 9% cheaper, it's hard to resist spending an extra $50 for the enhanced performance of the 9070 XT. Yet, when choosing between these two AMD cards, 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 higher-priced models to hit the market. If you're set on the 9070, aim for a model as close to the starting price as possible, especially considering its close pricing to the Radeon RX 9070 XT.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 – Photos

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Specs and Features

Built on the new RDNA 4 graphics architecture, the Radeon RX 9070 mirrors the RX 9070 XT in many ways. This cutting-edge tech significantly boosts performance, allowing the 9070 to surpass the last-gen Radeon RX 7900 GRE by a wide margin, despite having 30% fewer compute units.

The RX 9070 features 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, resulting in 56 and 112 total units, respectively. These enhancements make the card competitive in ray tracing-heavy games. Additionally, the improved AI Accelerators enable the introduction of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 4, marking AMD's entry into AI upscaling.

Like its XT counterpart, the RX 9070 comes with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit bus, a configuration akin to the 7900 GRE. This should suffice for 1440p gaming for years to come, though the absence of GDDR7, adopted by Nvidia, might have been a missed opportunity to keep pace with the latest memory technology without raising the price.

AMD recommends a 550W power supply for the RX 9070, which has a power budget of 220W. My testing, however, showed a peak consumption of 249W, suggesting a 600W PSU as a safer choice.

Notably, AMD isn't releasing a reference design for the RX 9070, marking a shift from recent trends. All versions will be produced by third-party manufacturers. I tested the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16G, a robust triple-slot card with a slight factory overclock.

FSR4

Since the advent of DLSS in 2018, AI upscaling has revolutionized gaming performance while maintaining image quality. Previously exclusive to Nvidia, this technology now extends to AMD GPUs with the introduction of FSR 4.

FSR 4 leverages previous frames and in-game data, using an AI model to upscale lower resolution images to your native resolution. Unlike the temporal upscaling in FSR 3, FSR 4's AI model enhances detail, reducing artifacts like ghosting.

The trade-off is a slight performance hit due to the AI model's computational demands. For example, in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 1440p on the Extreme preset, FSR 3 achieved 165 fps, while FSR 4 dropped to 159 fps. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K max settings with ray tracing, the RX 9070 hit 81 fps with FSR 3 but fell to 76 fps with FSR 4.

The Adrenalin software offers a toggle to switch between FSR 3 and FSR 4, allowing users to prioritize either performance or image quality. As a single-player gamer, I prefer FSR 4 for its superior visuals, but FSR 3 might be better for fast-paced multiplayer titles like Marvel Rivals.

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, despite having 30% fewer cores.

It's important to note that my test unit was the factory overclocked Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC, with a reported boost clock of 2,700Mhz, a 7% increase that should translate to a 4-5% performance boost.

I conducted all tests using the latest public drivers available at the time: Nvidia cards on Game Ready driver 572.60 and AMD cards on Adrenalin 24.12.1. The RX 9070 and 9070 XT were tested with review drivers provided by AMD, as was the RTX 5070 with Nvidia's review drivers.

In 3DMark, the RX 9070 demonstrates its potential. In the Speed Way test with ray tracing, it scores 5,828 points, nearly matching the RTX 5070's 5,845 points. However, in Steel Nomad without ray tracing, the RX 9070 significantly outperforms the RTX 5070, scoring 6,050 to 5,034 points—a 20% lead at the same price point.

Test System

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, showcased by AMD at CES 2025, sees the RX 9070 excel. At 1440p with FSR 3 set to Balanced, it achieves 165 fps, compared to 131 fps for the RTX 5070 and 143 fps for the RX 7900 GRE, marking a 26% and 15% lead, respectively.

In Cyberpunk 2077, traditionally an Nvidia stronghold, the RX 9070 edges out the RTX 5070 by 3% at 1440p with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset, a significant achievement for AMD.

Testing Metro Exodus without upscaling due to its exclusive support for DLSS, the RX 9070 still leads with 71 fps compared to the RTX 5070's 64 fps, an 11% advantage.

In Red Dead Redemption 2 using Vulkan at 1440p with max settings, the RX 9070 achieves 142 fps, a remarkable 23% lead over the RTX 5070's 115 fps.

Total War: Warhammer 3 shows a close race at 1440p, with the RX 9070 at 135 fps and the RTX 5070 at 134 fps, essentially a tie.

Assassin's Creed Mirage sees the RX 9070 at 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-friendly title, results in a close call, 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, highlights the RX 9070's prowess, averaging 185 fps at 1440p compared to 168 fps for the RTX 5070 and 152 fps for the RX 7900 GRE.

Launching shortly after the GeForce RTX 5070 benefits AMD tremendously. Both cards retail at $549, but the RX 9070's superior performance and 16GB of VRAM make it a standout choice. Even if performance were equal, the RX 9070's larger VRAM capacity would make it the better value. With its edge in performance, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is an undeniable winner in its category.