AMD's decision to start with the mid-range RDNA 4 GPU seems to be prescient now. NVIDIA's high-end RTX 5090 and 5080 have sold more than their ridiculously high prices, if you can find any inventory at all. Although we were impressed by the RTX 5070 TI, it sold for nearly $1,000 release price of 5080. Now, the Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT will arrive at AMD on March 6, with the opportunity to get involved and have some intense competition.
According to AMD's early briefings, which included some impressive benchmarks (still not tested by us), the RDNA 4 GPU appears to be a compelling 4K and 1,440p picky gamers who aren't ready to drop four numbers on their video cards. We are still waiting to announce pricing details during this morning’s live event, but the Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT are expected to align with the RTX 5070 ($549 MSRP) and 5070 TI ($749 MSRP). According to reports from early retailers leaks, they start at $649 and $749, respectively.
In addition to the usual raw performance upgrades, the main selling point of these new cards is AMD's Fidelity FX Super Resolution 4 (FSR4) upgrade technology. Unlike previous iterations, this time it is powered by machine learning, similar to NVIDIA's DLSS. According to AMD, this allows for improved image quality from lower resolutions as well as low latency and frame generation.
So what does this mean? AMD claims that the 9070 XT can run Space Ocean 2 The 4K averages 53fps, but the FSR 4 runs at 182fps. This is similar to the performance leap we saw on NVIDIA's RTX 50 series GPUs, which can generate multiple frames. Currently, FSR 4 is supported in over 30 games, but for other games, Star Citizen and Forza Horizon 5AMD claims its HyPR-RX driver-level premium devices can also improve performance up to 3 times.
While both the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT come with 16GB of VRAM (unlike 12GB, the RTX 5070 is in a strait), the latter card may do better for a better drive to a 4K 240Hz screen. The 9070 XT Sport 64 RDNA 4 computing unit, 64 hardware ray tracing accelerators and 128 hardware AI accelerators, while the 9070 includes 56 computer and RT accelerators and 112 AI units. The 9070 XT also absorbs more power – 304 watts instead of 220W – and has cam lead over 500MHz. The standard 9070 may be better suited for players who play most of the time in 1,440p, but occasionally it may dabble in 4K.
Strangely, most of AMD's benchmarks compare the new card to the $549 RX 7900 GRE, a slightly specified card originally used in China. But the company does make some comparisons with other cards: One of the stocks claims the RX 9070 XT is 51% faster than the Radeon 6900 XT than the Radeon 6900 XT in 30 games while playing the game with the largest graphics settings in 4K games. It is also reportedly 26% faster than the RTX 3090 in the same 30 games. As for the RX 9070, AMD says 38% of the 4K/maximum setup is 26% faster than the RX 6800 XT and 26% faster than the RTX 3080. Of course, AMD can compare these cards to the RTX 40 40 lineup and the newer Rade, but these benefits won't be very high.
Aside from gaming, AMD also says its new RDNA 4 media engine will be able to encode H.264 with better image quality and supports up to 8K/80FPS encoding and decoding. As for AI, the 9070 XT is 34% faster than the RX 7900 GRE when using Davinci Resolve's Magic Mask Tracking Tool, and it is 70% faster when generating AI with Procyon SD XL.
If AMD could manage to keep the Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT in stock and also keep the price at reasonable levels, I wouldn't be surprised if some Nvidia Diehards jumped.
This article originally appeared on Engadget
