AMD RX 9070 XT vs Nvidia RTX 5070: $600 GPU showdown

There’s been a lot going on in the world of graphics cards, and a lot of the frenzy is focused around AMD’s new RX 9070 XT and Nvidia’s RTX 5070. Both GPUs clock in around $600, they both target 1440p with enough grunt to scale up to 4K, and they both come with AI-assisted upscaling and frame generation. That might leave you with the impression that these two GPUs are similar, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

After taking both GPUs out for a spin, there’s a clear performance winner. I’ll hit all the high-level details here, from performance to pricing, but make sure to read our RTX 5070 review and RX 9070 XT review for a full breakdown of these two cards.

• 

  Nvidia RTX 5070 Founder’s Edition
  

  The Nvidia RTX 5070 is a midrange graphics card featuring the Blackwell architecture, and it offers around 20% faster performance than last-gen’s RTX 4070.

  Pros & Cons

  • Cool and quiet Founder’s Edition design
  • Over 20% faster than an RTX 4070
  • DLSS 4 can multiply your frame rate

  • Marginal gains over the RTX 4070 Super
  • DLSS 4 calls for a high base frame rate

• 

  ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend
  

  AMD’s RX 9070 XT is the flagship card from the RDNA 4 range. It targets 1440p, but its 16GB frame buffer allows it to achieve solid performance at 4K, too. Like other RDNA 4 cards, it also comes with FSR 4 support.

  Pros & Cons

  • Excellent 4K performance
  • Vastly improved ray tracing and upscaling
  • FSR 4 can more than double FPS

  • FSR 4 support is somewhat limited
  • Still not quite as good as Nvidia for RT

RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070: Some important spec differences

Keep that frame buffer in mind

• AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
  

  Ray Accelerators/Cores

  64

  AI Accelerators/Cores

  64

  Stream Processors

  4096

  Base Clock Speed

  1660 MHz

  Boost Clock Speed

  2970 MHz

  Memory Clock Speed

  2518 MHz

  Memory Capacity

  16 GB GDDR6

  Memory Bus

  256-bit

  Memory Bandwidth

  644.6 GB/s

  Power Draw

  304 W

  Architecture

  RDNA 4

  Process

  5 nm

  Price

  $599

  Expand

• Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5070
  

  Ray Accelerators/Cores

  48

  AI Accelerators/Cores

  192

  Stream Processors

  6144

  Base Clock Speed

  2325 MHz

  Boost Clock Speed

  2512 MHz

  Memory Clock Speed

  1750 MHz

  Memory Capacity

  12GB GDDR7

  Memory Bus

  192-bit

  Memory Bandwidth

  672 GB/s

  Power Draw

  250W

  Architecture

  Blackwell

  Process

  TSMC 4N

  Price

  $549

  Expand

AMD and Nvidia use entirely different architectures, so it isn’t worth comparing the majority of the specs. Nvidia may come with higher base clock speeds, for example, but that doesn’t inherently make the RTX 5070 faster. With different core designs and architectures, specs like clock speed react differently depending on the specific GPU.

There are two areas where some spec comparisons between the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 XT are worth it, though — memory and power. For memory, AMD comes out on top with 16GB of GDDR6 memory. Nvidia sports less capacity on the RTX 5070 at 12GB, though it’s leveraging faster GDDR7 memory. Despite sporting less capacity and a thinner memory bus as a result, Nvidia actually has a slight lead in bandwidth due to the speed of GDDR7.

Capacity is a point in AMD’s favor, though, particularly if you plan on playing at 4K. Both of these GPUs are capable of running games at 4K with a mixture of upscaling and frame generation, but VRAM-limited games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will prompt you to reduce your texture quality at 4K on the RTX 5070. The RTX 5070 is still usable in these games, but the bump to memory on the RX 9070 XT still earns a point for Team Red.

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For power, Nvidia comes in lower with a TDP of 250W while AMD lists the TDP of the RX 9070 XT at the odd level of 304W. I won’t split hairs over 50W when talking about two powerful GPUs, but Nvidia comes out slightly ahead on that front.

AMD has a slight lead here due to the RX 9070 XT’s 16GB frame buffer, but that’s only relevant if you’re playing at 4K and running games that can saturate 16GB of VRAM. Given the bandwidth and Nvidia’s use of faster GDDR7 memory, as well as the power advantage of the RTX 5070, this round is deadlocked.

Winner: Tie

RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070: Similar prices (on paper)

They’re both sold out, too

On paper, the RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 cost $599 and $549, respectively. However, as has been the case with the last several generations of GPUs, the MSRP is merely a suggestion. Both of these cards are sold out at most retailers, short of a few models floating around physical retail locations like Micro Center. Both AMD and Nvidia promise that cards will be back in stock soon, but they likely won’t arrive at list price again.

Looking over the listings, you’ll find the RTX 5070 from $550 up to $740. The RX 9070 XT is slightly more expensive, ranging from $600 to $800, though there are far fewer models listed at MSRP. It’s impossible to say now where prices will end up given how few cards are in stock, but it’s reasonable to assume that you’ll be able to find the RTX 5070 for around $50 less than the RX 9070 XT.

Right now, the best indication of where prices will end up is the secondhand market. There, the RX 9070 XT sold for between $900 and $1,100, while the RTX 5070 sold for between $800 and $1,000. That hints that, once inventory is back to normal levels, the RX 9070 XT will sell for more than the RTX 5070. That isn’t confirmed, but it’s a good indication of what could happen.

Winner: RTX 5070

RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070: Two different performance classes

But one clear winner between them

I’ll get this out of the way up front — the RX 9070 XT is faster than the RTX 5070. Although Nvidia boasts up to quadruple your base frame rate with Multi-Frame Generation (MFG), AMD’s GPU is the more powerful of the two looking at raw numbers. That’s even true in games with ray tracing, which is a shocking change of pace. Nvidia has dominated in ray tracing for the last few generations.

The RTX 5070 is a 1440p GPU with 4K aspirations, but the RX 9070 XT feels like a 4K GPU. Cyberpunk 2077 serves as a great demonstration of that. Both cards post triple-digit frame rates at 1440p, but going up to 4K, only AMD is able to achieve a frame rate above 60 fps. This is just one game, but it’s a good showcase of how the RX 9070 XT passes certain performance thresholds at 4K in a way that the RTX 5070 doesn’t.

Other games are more competitive, notably Forza Horizon 5 and The Witcher 3, but the margins of victory for the RTX 5070 are slim. Those margins are quickly overshadowed by other games, too. In both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Doom Eternal, the RX 9070 XT posted results about 20% ahead of the RTX 5070. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Nvidia’s own $750 RTX 5070 Ti is about 20% faster, too, meaning AMD is offering essentially a step-up in performance class for a similar price as the RTX 5070.

The main thing Nvidia has going for it with the RTX 5070 is MFG. This allows you to double, triple, or quadruple your frame rate in supported games via frame generation. It works great, especially if you can feed MFG with a base frame rate north of 60 fps. The problem in many cases is actually getting the card there, particularly in demanding ray tracing scenarios that you’ll find in games like Black Myth: Wukong and Alan Wake 2.

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The RX 9070 XT includes frame generation via FSR 4, and it works great. But you don’t have access to MFG, at least not in an official capacity. Tools like Lossless Scaling can close the gap, albeit with lower quality. The right GPU largely comes down to your monitor. If you have a super high refresh rate and can benefit from MFG, the performance loss with the RTX 5070 is justified. If generating even a single frame is enough — and it is in most cases — the RX 9070 XT wins.

From my perspective, a touch of upscaling and a single generated frame is enough for everyone who isn’t on the cutting-edge of display technology. And for that reason, the RX 9070 XT wins this round.

Winner: RX 9070 XT

Which one should you buy?

You could make an argument for either of these GPUs depending on where prices end up, but based on the raw performance advantage of the RX 9070 XT, it’s the winner. You’re not only getting better performance overall, but also a larger frame buffer that can handle modern 4K gaming. You may not get access to MFG like the RTX 5070 offers, but you can still generate frames with FSR 4.

ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend

The RTX 5070 is a solid GPU, despite its disappointing generational improvement. In a lot of cases, however, it’s a vessel to deliver MFG and the improvements available in DLSS 4. The RX 9070 XT is worth spending an extra $50 on, but if the price gap is larger than that, keep the RTX 5070 in mind.

Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5070