While the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 sits comfortably on the high of the graphics card market, not many individuals realistically have the money to throw at its $1,999+ price ticket. Luckily, you don’t should lose out on 4K gaming simply because you’ll be able to’t afford the very best graphics card. Both the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT are rather more reasonably priced and ship a particularly stable 4K gaming expertise.
While costs proper now are sadly elevated – due largely to the heightened demand and low provide any GPU faces proper after launch – the RTX 5070 Ti and RX 9070 XT are the graphics playing cards most individuals ought to be taking a look at for a high-end gaming expertise.
RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Specs
Comparing two graphics playing cards that use completely completely different graphics architectures on specs is extremely sophisticated. While Nvidia’s CUDA cores and AMD’s Shading Units serve an identical function, they’re completely different sufficient {that a} direct comparability from a purely amount perspective is actually pointless.
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT consists of 64 RDNA 4 compute models, every with 64 shader models, making for a complete of 4,096. Each of these compute models additionally has two AI Accelerators and one RT Accelerator, making for 128 and 64, respectively. AMD pairs these compute models with 16GB of GDDR6 reminiscence on a 256-bit bus, which ought to be greater than sufficient for contemporary video games, although it might be stretched sooner or later, particularly at 4K.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti additionally has 16GB of VRAM, however as an alternative of choosing GDDR6, Team Green went with the brand new GDDR7, which is theoretically a lot quicker. That’s additionally on a 256-bit bus, however due to greater reminiscence speeds, it has greater bandwidth. The RTX 5070 Ti is constructed with 70 Streaming Multiprocessors – Nvidia’s identify for Compute Units, with a complete of 8,960 CUDA Cores, or Shading Units. That’s twice as many Shader Units per Compute Unit, one thing Nvidia has been pulling off because the RTX 3080 again in 2020. However, that doesn’t immediately result in double the efficiency.
Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Performance
While on paper the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti appears to be like far superior to the Radeon RX 9070 XT, the efficiency doesn’t fairly work out that manner. Instead, each graphics playing cards are wonderful entry-level playing cards for anybody who needs to play at 4K, and are among the many greatest graphics playing cards available on the market for 1440p gaming.
When I reviewed the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, I anticipated it to be inside reaching distance of the RTX 5070 Ti, falling additional behind in video games with loads of ray tracing. However, I discovered that even in video games like Cyberpunk 2077, the AMD graphics card had no downside staying inside just a few frames of the rather more costly RTX 5070 Ti.
There are actually video games the place the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti pulls forward. For instance, in Total War: Warhammer 3, the RTX 5070 Ti will get 87fps at 4K, in comparison with the 9070 XT’s 76fps. But even with Nvidia’s occasional wins, I discovered that the Radeon RX 9070 XT was on common 2% quicker than the 5070 Ti. That’s a minor distinction, however even 2% is a large win for a card that theoretically prices 21% much less.
Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Software and Features
These days, choosing the right graphics card is extra than simply taking a look at what the {hardware} can do. Both Nvidia and AMD provide a whole suite of software program options that additional stretch what the graphics card can do.
The huge promoting level for the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti, and actually all Nvidia graphics playing cards, is the suite of options that now falls beneath the DLSS umbrella. This consists of issues like AI upscaling and Frame Generation, however for DLSS 4, Team Green discovered a solution to broaden the latter. Now, with RTX 5000 graphics playing cards, Nvidia has enabled multi-frame era, which may use AI to generate three frames for every naturally rendered body. This significantly improves body charges, but it surely does include a small latency price – although that’s largely offset by Nvidia Reflex. Just like DLSS 3’s Frame Generation, you’re solely going to wish to allow this function in the event you’re already getting an honest body price – not less than 45, however ideally greater than 60fps.
AMD additionally helps Frame Generation, however Team Red GPUs can nonetheless solely generate one interpolated body per rendered body. Instead, the massive enchancment this time round is FSR 4, which brings AI upscaling to AMD graphics playing cards for the primary time. Before this era, FSR was based mostly on a temporal upscaling methodology, which delivers wonderful efficiency however might lead to fuzzy pictures. FSR 4 makes use of the Radeon RX 9070 XT AI accelerators to upscale the picture utilizing a machine studying algorithm, very similar to how DLSS has labored since 2018. This upscaling methodology is rather more correct, although it’s not fairly as quick as FSR 4.
It’s additionally vital to needless to say that is solely the primary era of AMD’s AI upscaler, and Nvidia has been coaching DLSS for seven years now.
Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Price
GPU pricing is a hot-button situation proper now as just about each graphics card of this new era is totally bought out, with many seeing extremely inflated costs. The downside is that each Nvidia and AMD set a ‘”prompt” retail worth for these graphics playing cards, however then retailers and third-party producers are primarily free to cost them nonetheless they wish to. I can’t predict what GPU costs will appear like in six months, however hopefully the costs begin falling nearer to MSRP as soon as provide catches up with the demand.
At its launch worth, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is an absolute triumph. At $599, the 9070 XT is an unbelievable little 4K graphics card, simply able to working any sport available on the market with every thing maxed out, offered you employ the brand new FSR 4 AI upscaler. This is the value level flagship graphics playing cards used to launch at earlier than Nvidia began steadily escalating costs, beginning with the RTX 2080 Ti. Hopefully this implies GPU producers will begin returning costs to sanity, however that is determined by if costs normalize once more.
Nvidia took a distinct method with the 5070 Ti, although. While it trades blows with the 9070 XT, it has a base worth of $749, an enormous $150 worth carry. That’s an enormous distinction between two graphics playing cards that carry out extraordinarily equally. There are just a few options that you just get by going with a GPU from Team Green, like Multi-Frame Generation, however whether or not that’s price it’s largely going to rely upon what you’re on the lookout for and the video games you really play.
Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
The Winner Is… the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
While each the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti are wonderful 1440p graphics playing cards, it’s inconceivable to flee the truth that AMD is ready to commerce blows with Team Green’s card at a a lot lower cost. Assuming costs return to normality, the hole between the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and the 5070 Ti makes AMD’s card a transparent winner.
If you’re seeking to construct a gaming PC for high-end 1440p gaming, and even wish to stretch into 4K, it’s arduous to consider a greater graphics card to purchase proper now. Because, positive, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT doesn’t have multi-frame era, however most individuals don’t have the high-refresh 4K gaming displays that will really profit from it.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC parts queen. You can comply with her @Jackiecobra.
