Radeon RX 7900 XT vs Radeon RX 9070

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 64 and the Radeon RX 9070 scores 60, which makes the Radeon RX 7900 XT about 7% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

The Radeon RX 7900 XT has 20 GB of video memory and the Radeon RX 9070 has 16 GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Cyberpunk 2077 (157 against 148 fps), and the smallest is in Call of Duty (145 against 137 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon RX 7900 XT is rated at 315 W and the Radeon RX 9070 at 220 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 750 W for the first and 650 W for the second. A gap of 95 W shows up in heat and fan noise, and in your electricity use over a few years.

At launch the Radeon RX 7900 XT cost $899 and the Radeon RX 9070 $549. Per dollar, the Radeon RX 9070 gave more performance (10.9 points per $100 against 7.1). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon RX 7900 XT if you want the faster card, and it also has at least as much memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon RX 9070 if the price gap matters more than the 7% speed difference, or if you want lower power draw and a quieter PC. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.