Hit nvidia, where it hurts

AMD finally did it. For many years, he tried to undermine Nvidia a slightly cheaper, but less capable video card like Radeon 6700 XT And 7900 XTThe field and of course, this still follows the same strategy with the new Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT. This time, however, AMD produced much more capable equipment, especially when it comes to 4K performance and rays. And there is a hope that he will finally be able to catch up with AI Nvidia Dlss AI, with his new Fidelityfx Super Resolution 4 (FSR4) technology.

These are not perfect video cards to be clear. But for $ 549 and 599, Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT are much more convincing than the previous AMD composition. This is especially true, since 9070 XT is 150 dollars less than NVIDIA RTX 5070And in our testing it is sometimes faster than this card.

AMD must still prove that it can catch up with DLSS NVIDIA, which had several years to steadily improve its capabilities for the scaling of AI. In particular, AMD must correspond to the performance of NVIDIA multiple generation in DLSS 4, which led to some surprisingly high FPS indicators when testing the RTX 50 graphic processors. AMD Fluid Motion Frames technology is the beginning, but at the moment this is not enough.

Hardware

Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT are the first graphic processors of AMD RDNA 4, a new platform equipped with more powerful and effective computing units, third -generation rays and second generation AI accelerators. There is no huge technical difference between the two cards: RX 9070 is equipped with 56 computing units, 56 rays accelerators and 112 AI accelerators, while 9070 XT has eight more computing accelerators and 16 additional AI processors. As expected, the XT model is slightly higher, and it also attracts more power (304W versus 220 W). It is noteworthy that both cards are also delivered from 16 GB of VRAM GDDR6, while NVIDIA slid a bit and laid only 12 GB of RAM in the RTX 5070 US dollars.

When I compared our XFX-designed reviews of unitsHowever, it was almost impossible to say RX 9070 and 9070 XT from each other, without reading a small font on their shortcuts. This is quite typical for AMD maps with XT options, and it makes sense, since they are technically so similar. XFX SWIFT GPUS, which I tested, were in an elegant frosty white case, with three large fans and surprisingly massive radiators. They are both cards with 3.5 stoves, so they also occupy more space than RTX 5090, which is dense beasts of two slots.

Thanks to the effective design of the RDNA AMD, you also do not need to rely on complex power to control these cards. They both have two PSU connections directly, and XFX recommends at least 800-watt power sources at least. This is much higher than the minimum AMD specification for 650 watts, so it may happen that the XFX just tries to use it with a massive cooling adjustment. (However, if you plan to disperse these cards, you probably want more than only 650 watts.

In use: Large step up for AMD

I knew that the AMD was special when I found out that Radeon RX 9070 scored an average of 60 frames per second Cyberpank 2077 In the overload mode 4K beams. Of course, he needed to make FSR 3 to get there, but he was still better than 50 frames that I saw on Radeon 7900XT several years ago. The game sometimes dropped below 60 frames per second, but it was still very playable. 1440p as a whole was much more smooth, an average of 117 frames per second. Radeon 9070 XT, meanwhile, an average of 68 frames per second in 4K and 130 frames per second at 1440p.

Of course, these numbers are far behind the raw figures from the NVIDIA RTX 5070, which used the magic of multiple generation for the delivery of 115 frames per second in 4K with a trace of rays and maximum graphics. This card also reached 205 frames per second at 1440p. But no matter how I have impressed 5070, most of these personnel were simply designed to deliver the illusion of smoothness. During the real gameplay, it was difficult for me to see a lot of slowdown with any Radeon card in 4K, and the difference between the NVIDIA card was almost erased in 1440p. Remember that FPS figures are not the whole story, although Nvidia wants you to believe differently.

I remembered this idea when I checked FSR 4, which surprised me when it was about 20 frames per second less than FSR 3 in Call of Duty: Warzone On both graphic processors. Radeon 9070 XT reached 250 frames per second 4K with FSR 3, touching the schedule and frame generation, while it reached 229 FPS in FSR 4. AMD tells me that this is not an error, this is expected because the AI ​​FSR 4 scale is more focused on a higher quality schedule, and not on a clean pereplam. I could not see a huge difference, dodging bullets in CodBut I noticed that the thinner textures, such as the chain fences, looked a little clearer in FSR 4 (I also saw several random textures that were a common occurrence in DLSS, in the early stages.

At the moment, the inclusion of FSR 4 is also a little illogical. You must include it in the Driver AMD software, and then turn FSR 3.1 in a compatible game. Military zone It also took a reboot to completely turn on this function, but the game did not encourage me to do this. And if you want to generate frames, this is another option that should be switched beyond the game. We hope that this process will be smoothed over time, along with wider availability for FSR 4. In addition to Black operations 6This is supported in recently neglected FragpunkIN Civilization 7, Marvel rivals and a handful of PlayStation 5 ports, such as Spider-Man games but it has not been found anywhere in Recognized or Dragon Age: VulgardWhere will you get stuck with FSR 3.

For games that do not work with FSR at all, AMD also has a Hypr-RX mode, which allows functions such as Super Resolution Radeon Super Resolution (separate technology at the driver level) and generation of Fluid Motion Frames AMD. In general, they led to the fact that I saw 200 frames per second in Forza Horizon 5 Using the RX 9070 XT in 4K with the maximum schedule settings, compared with 85 frame per second. But again, these are just FPS figures – AMD indicates that Super Resolution Radeon may not look as clear as FSR alternatives. (I did not notice any oddity in ForszaBut I may have been distracted by excellent racing prospects in Mexico.)

When it comes to criteria, the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT hold their own against 5070 and 5070 Ti NVIDIA in most 3DMark tests. IN Steel nomad Bendchmark, 9070 scored 1100 points higher than 5070, and 9070 XT knocked out more expensive 5070 Ti almost 3000 points in Timespy Extreme. I was also surprised to see that the RX 9070 scored almost 2,000 points higher than the RTX 5070 in the standard stage of Port Royal Ray trace. Previously, the tracking of any kind was an Achilles heel AMD.

Both of our XFX cards also remained surprisingly cool during tests and expanded game sessions. They never went beyond 65C under load, and usually they were loaled below 40 ° C. And since they never became very hot, I barely heard their fans rotate.

Should I buy Radeon RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT?

On paper, both new AMD graphic processors are convincing alternatives of the NVIDIA middle -class maps for 1440P gamers, which sometimes indulge in 4K. The RX 9070 XT is especially interesting, since it costs 150 dollars less than RTX 5070 Ti. But we also deal with chaotic time in the world of players, where shares of graphic processors can quickly disappear, and prices can grow rapidly.

If you can get either Radeon Card at their listed prices, they will be good transactions. But now it is not worth too much. It is also not known how the combat tariffs of the Trump administration will affect the prices of hardware and electronics of the PC. Prices can easily rise by 20 or more percent to cover these expenses.

While NVIDIA DLSS 4 technology is more mature and leads to a higher inter -polished frequency of personnel, there is also a good argument in favor of AMD cards, since they have 16 GB VRAM. They will be better suited for processing larger textures in games in the future, and there is also a potential for improving FSR 4.

Wrap

Now it is clear why AMD has focused on updating my Radeon cards in the middle range. Not so much competition with NVIDIA at an extreme high level, as it was with Radeon RX 7900 XT and XTXThe field is more important to focus on maps that people can buy. Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT also solve many problems that I had with AMD graphic processors in the past. They can go to their feet with NVIDIA cards, they have the best support for tracing rays, and, finally, they have AI. It is still unknown whether AMD will actually rely on the promise of these functions, but these cards are a reliable beginning.