Radeon RX 9070 XT vs Radeon RX 7900 XT

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon RX 9070 XT scores 67 and the Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 64, which makes the Radeon RX 9070 XT about 5% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

The Radeon RX 9070 XT has 16 GB of video memory and the Radeon RX 7900 XT has 20 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 Red Dead Redemption 2 (212 against 203 fps), and the smallest is in Cyberpunk 2077 (163 against 157 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 9070 XT is rated at 304 W and the Radeon RX 7900 XT at 315 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 750 W for the first and 750 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon RX 9070 XT cost $599 and the Radeon RX 7900 XT $899. Per dollar, the Radeon RX 9070 XT gave more performance (11.2 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 9070 XT if you want the faster card, and you can accept 16 GB of memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon RX 7900 XT if the price gap matters more than the 5% speed difference, and you value the extra video memory. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.