RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Battle of GPUs

While the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 may dominate the graphics card market with its top-tier performance, its hefty price tag of $1,999+ places it out of reach for many gamers. Fortunately, you don't need to break the bank to enjoy 4K gaming. Both the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT offer exceptional value and deliver a robust 4K gaming experience at a more affordable price point.

Despite the current elevated prices due to high demand and limited supply following their launch, these GPUs are the ideal choice for gamers seeking a high-end gaming experience without the premium cost.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

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RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Specs

Comparing the specs of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT can be challenging due to their different architectures. Nvidia's CUDA cores and AMD's Shading Units, while similar in function, differ significantly, making direct comparisons based on numbers alone less meaningful.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT features 64 RDNA 4 compute units, each with 64 shader units, totaling 4,096. Each compute unit also includes two AI Accelerators and one RT Accelerator, resulting in 128 and 64, respectively. It is equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, which is ample for current games but may be pushed to its limits in future 4K titles.

On the other hand, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti also boasts 16GB of VRAM, but it uses the newer GDDR7 memory, which offers higher speeds and bandwidth on the same 256-bit bus. It contains 70 Streaming Multiprocessors, with a total of 8,960 CUDA Cores. Although Nvidia's architecture provides twice as many Shader Units per Compute Unit, this doesn't necessarily translate to double the performance.

Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

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RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Performance

Despite the RTX 5070 Ti's superior specs on paper, real-world performance shows that both the RTX 5070 Ti and the RX 9070 XT are excellent choices for 4K gaming and top performers at 1440p. My review of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT revealed that it closely matches the RTX 5070 Ti, even in ray tracing-intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077, staying within a few frames of the more expensive Nvidia card.

While the RTX 5070 Ti does outperform the RX 9070 XT in certain titles, such as Total War: Warhammer 3, where it achieves 87fps at 4K compared to the RX 9070 XT's 76fps, the AMD card surprisingly averaged 2% faster overall. This slight edge is significant, especially considering the RX 9070 XT's lower price point.

Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti – Photos

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RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Software and Features

Choosing a graphics card today involves more than just hardware specs; software features play a crucial role. Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti benefits from the DLSS suite, which includes AI upscaling and Frame Generation. With the RTX 5000 series, Nvidia introduced multi-frame generation, capable of generating three frames for each rendered frame, significantly boosting frame rates with a minor latency cost mitigated by Nvidia Reflex. This feature is best utilized when you're already achieving at least 45fps, ideally over 60fps.

AMD's RX 9070 XT supports Frame Generation as well, but it can only generate one interpolated frame per rendered frame. The major advancement for AMD this generation is FSR 4, which introduces AI upscaling to their GPUs for the first time. Unlike the previous temporal upscaling method, FSR 4 uses the Radeon RX 9070 XT's AI accelerators for a more accurate machine learning-based upscaling, though it's not as fast as FSR 3. It's worth noting that this is AMD's first foray into AI upscaling, while Nvidia has been refining DLSS for seven years.

Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Price

The current GPU market is fraught with pricing issues, as new generation cards are often sold out and subject to inflated prices. Both Nvidia and AMD set suggested retail prices, but retailers and third-party manufacturers can set their own prices, leading to significant fluctuations. While it's hard to predict future prices, we hope they will eventually align closer to MSRP as supply improves.

At its launch price of $599, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a standout value, offering robust 4K performance with the new FSR 4 AI upscaler. This pricing harks back to when flagship GPUs launched at more reasonable prices before Nvidia's gradual price increases starting with the RTX 2080 Ti. Hopefully, this signals a return to more sensible pricing across the board.

In contrast, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, with a base price of $749, is $150 more expensive despite similar performance to the RX 9070 XT. The additional cost might be justified by features like Multi-Frame Generation, but its value depends on individual gaming needs and preferences.

Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

The Winner Is… the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Both the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti are excellent choices for high-end 1440p and 4K gaming. However, the RX 9070 XT's ability to deliver comparable performance at a significantly lower price makes it the clear winner. As prices hopefully normalize, the value proposition of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT becomes even more compelling.

For those building a gaming PC aimed at high-end 1440p or 4K gaming, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT stands out as the best option currently available. While it lacks multi-frame generation, this feature is less critical for most gamers who don't have high-refresh 4K monitors.