Modders have discovered a way to flash Radeon RX 9070 with BIOS files sourced from more-powerful Radeon RX 9070 XT. Doing so unlocks a wealth of performance for those brave enough to perform the procedure on their own graphics cards, as it’s not without risks.
Gurdi, a PC Games Hardware (PCGH) form user, successfully replaced the BIOS of their Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 with that of an Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT OC. While this practice isn’t new, it is surprising to see it work on a modern graphics card as manufacturers tend to make this practically impossible.
After the successful flash, Gurdi was able to push the operating frequencies and power limits of their Radeon RX 9070 to XT levels. More specifically, they enjoyed a 19% boost in clock speeds (from 2.6GHz to 3.1GHz) thanks to a massive 44% increase in TDP (from 220W to 317W). It’s important to note that the BIOS flash itself won’t inherently raise either of these variables and some overclocking is necessary after the fact.
Running their supercharged Radeon RX 9070 through 3DMark, Gurdi observed a 15-20% uplift over stock scores. The user also reports that this didn’t come at the expense of uncontrollable operating temperatures either, with peaking at 57°C under load with a 86°C hotspot. This isn’t too surprising since the cooler design across the Asus Prime models in question is identical.
Unfortunately, this higher level of performance isn’t entirely stable. Gurdi says they have to tweak some settings down a touch via AMD Software to avoid encountering issues. Furthermore, the card’s ULPS (Ultra-Low Power State) no longer works as a result of the mod but this shouldn’t bother enthusiasts in search of higher performance.
It’s impressive to see such performance increases come from a free modification, narrowing the gap between Radeon RX 9070 and Radeon RX 9070 XT. Perhaps we’ll see similar stories emerge surrounding Radeon RX 9060 and Radeon RX 9060 XT following their release.
