AMD Radeon RX 9070: Comprehensive Review

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 aligns with the performance gap—the 9070 being about 8% slower and 9% cheaper—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 model 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 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, given its 220W power budget. My tests, however, showed peak consumption at 249W, slightly above the budget. While this doesn't necessitate superior cooling, I recommend a 600W PSU for safety.

It's worth noting that AMD isn't releasing a reference design for the RX 9070, a departure from recent trends. 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 advent of DLSS in 2018, AI upscaling has become a pivotal method for enhancing performance without compromising image quality. Previously an Nvidia-exclusive feature, AI upscaling now extends to AMD GPUs with the introduction of FSR 4.

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 approach differs from the Temporal upscaling of FSR 3, which lacked an AI algorithm and could result in artifacts like ghosting.

However, the AI model's performance cost means FSR 4 slightly reduces performance 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 this to 159 fps. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K with ray tracing enabled, the Radeon RX 9070 achieves 81 fps with FSR 3, but this falls to 76 fps with FSR 4.

Fortunately, the Adrenalin software includes a toggle allowing users to choose between FSR 4's superior image quality and FSR 3's slightly better performance. As a fan of single-player games, I opt for FSR 4, but for fast-paced online games like Marvel Rivals, sticking with 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 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 important to note that I tested a factory overclocked version of the RX 9070, the Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC. While the 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 GeForce RTX 5070, were tested on review drivers provided by their respective manufacturers.

In 3DMark, the Radeon RX 9070 shows promising potential. In the Speed Way test with ray tracing enabled, it scores 5,828 points, 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% difference 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 the Ray Tracing Ultra preset. This is a significant achievement for AMD in a game known for its Nvidia bias.

Metro Exodus, tested without upscaling due to its exclusive support for DLSS, sees the Radeon RX 9070 averaging 71 fps, compared to 64 fps from the RTX 5070—an 11% lead in another Nvidia-favored title.

Red Dead Redemption 2, using Vulkan, showcases the RX 9070's prowess, achieving 142 fps at 1440p with max settings, compared to 115 fps from the RTX 5070—a 23% performance advantage.

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 achieving 135 fps to the RTX 5070's 134 fps.

Assassin's Creed Mirage sees the RX 9070 achieving 193 fps at 1440p with the Ultra preset and FSR set to Balanced, compared to 163 fps from the RTX 5070—an 18% lead.

Black Myth Wukong, another Nvidia-favored game, results in a close contest, with the RX 9070 achieving 67 fps at 1440p, compared to 66 fps from the RTX 5070.

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—a 12% and 25% difference, respectively.

The Radeon RX 9070's timely release following 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. Moreover, with 16GB of VRAM, the RX 9070 is better equipped for future-proofing, despite its slightly slower GDDR6 compared to the RTX 5070's GDDR7. Even if performance were equal, the RX 9070's 33% more VRAM makes it the superior value. Combined with its better performance, the Radeon RX 9070 is an undeniable choice for gamers seeking a powerful 1440p graphics solution.