Finally, we’ve come to the moment you’ve all been waiting for: a real, bona fide AMD and Nvidia head-to-head for the first time this generation. While Team Green is on its fourth Blackwell graphics card with GeForce RTX 5070 now on the scene, AMD has only just waded in with Radeon RX 9070 XT showing off its RDNA 4 chops. It’s only right that we put the two in a boxing ring (read: gaming PC) to duke it out.
Team Red is doing things a little differently this time around, which comes part and parcel with a distinct name change. Leaving its rival unchecked in the high-end, its own 70-class card is where the buck stops, drawing the best performance RDNA 4 architecture has to offer. By comparison, GeForce RTX 5070 is where it all starts for Nvidia – at least until the as-yet unconfirmed RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti rear their heads.
Specs
For the first time in a long while, both AMD and Nvidia rely on the same size manufacturing process, utilising a 4nm node. Specifically, Radeon opts for TSMC N4P while GeForce utilises an unnamed custom process in collaboration with TSMC that won’t be worlds apart. Combine that with a substantially larger die as RX 9070 XT’s 357mm² surface area dwarfs RTX 5070’s comparatively tiny 263mm², and it gives Team Red plenty of room to pack more subcomponents.
| RX 9070 XT | RTX 5070 | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released | Mar 2025 | Mar 2025 | – |
| Codename | RDNA 4 | Blackwell | – |
| GPU | Navi 48 | GB205 | – |
| Process | TSMC N4P (4nm) | TSMC 4N (4nm) | – |
| Transistors | 53.9bn | 31.1bn | 1.73 |
| Die size | 357mm² | 263mm² | 1.36 |
| Stream processors | 4,096 | 6,144 | 0.67 |
| Boost clock | 2,970MHz | 2,512MHz | 1.18 |
| FP32 Boost TFLOPS | 49 | 30.9 | 1.59 |
| Compute unit | 64 of 64 | 48 of 50 | 1.33 |
| RT cores | 64 (3rd Gen) | 48 (4th Gen) | 1.33 |
| RT TFLOPS | – | 93.6 | – |
| AI and Tensor cores | 128 (2nd Gen) | 192 (5th Gen) | 0.67 |
| FP16 Acc TFLOPS | 97 | 246.9 | 0.39 |
| ROPs | 128 | 80 | 1.60 |
| Memory | 16GB | 12GB | 1.33 |
| Mem. type | GDDR6 | GDDR7 | – |
| Mem. clock | 20Gb/s | 28Gb/s | 0.71 |
| Mem. interface | 256-bit (PCIe Gen 5) | 192-bits | 1.33 |
| Mem. bandwidth | 640GB/s | 672GB/s | 1.50 |
| Board power | 304W | 250W | 0.95 |
| Launch MSRP | $599 | $549 | 1.09 |
For starters, AMD’s flagship sits comfortably with 73% more transistors than its rival and 33% more compute units and ray tracing accelerators. Impressively RX 9070 XT also races past its rival in boost clocks, reaching lofty heights of 2,970MHz compared to 2,512MHz. However, as one-sided as this affair sounds on paper, it’s far from a clean sweep.
Nvidia’s focus on artificial intelligence places emphasis on its streaming processors and AI accelerators, better known as Tensor Cores on GeForce, giving its midranger a 50% win for each. It also storms ahead with 155% more FP16 Acc TFLOPS, which help reduce memory usage at the expense of accuracy.
Speaking of memory, much of Nvidia’s improvements rely on inflated bandwidth courtesy of brand-new GDDR7 modules. Running a supremely high 28Gb/s clock speed, you’ll get a total of 672GB/s across its 12GB of VRAM, spread over a 192-bit bus, but it’s still a tough sell. Radeon RX 9070 XT sticks with slower GDDR6 but instead amps up capacity to 16GB riding on a 256-bit bus. Not only does this keep AMD’s bandwidth right on its competitor’s tail, but it also affords the card more legroom in demanding games, of which there are more than ever.
Of course, new graphics cards aren’t solely comprised of core counts. Both AMD and Nvidia have overhauled their AI accelerators and RT cores, elevating them up a generation. This makes them better at mixed-precision and high-performance computing tasks.
Given its slimmer approach, RTX 5070 unsurprisingly asks for less to run, warranting a 250W power budget compared to AMD’s 304W. These can both scale a bit depending on board partners, but Nvidia assures that you don’t need more than a 650W PSU, while RX 9070 XT comes with a 750W recommendation. All in all, a worthy sacrifice for the extra bits and bobs if performance lines up with specs.
With just $50 in it between both MSRPs, RX 9070 XT costs just 9% more. We’ll need to see how the performance translates before we can judge value, but it’s already looking good for Radeon.
How I tested
Both AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 have spent a stint in the Club386 test bench, guided by the glorious Ryzen 9 7950X3D. We put each to the test using an assortment of benchmarks using Windows 11 24H2.
Our 7950X3D Test PCs
Club386 carefully chooses each component in a test bench to best suit the review at hand. When you view our benchmarks, you’re not just getting an opinion, but the results of rigorous testing carried out using hardware we trust.
Shop Club386 test platform components:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Motherboard: MSI MEG X670E ACE
Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB
GPU: Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 7800 XT
Memory: 64GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
Storage: 2TB WD_Black SN850X NVMe SSD
PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1,300W
Chassis: Fractal Design Torrent Grey
Even though these graphics cards target 1440p (QHD) more than any other resolution, we’ve not shied away from seeing their 1080p (FHD) and 2160p (UHD) chops, either.
Application and AI
Ray tracing has typically remained Nvidia’s domain for quite some time, but AMD has finally flipped the script. Earning its first win, RX 9070 XT starts benchmarks off strong with a 9% lead in 3DMark Speed Way.
Switch ray tracing off, and the distance grows even further, affording Radeon RX 9070 XT a whopping 43% improvement in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Rasterised is still firmly AMD’s speciality, even with the strides it’s made elsewhere.
AMD’s first place in Geekbench AI is still top spot no matter if by a hair, emphasised solely by the fact artificial intelligence is Nvidia’s playground. Still, you can’t go wrong with either graphics card as there’s just 2% between them in half precision tasks.
Seeing Nvidia’s Blackwell in action using large language models (LLMs) is a different story, as there’s simply no competition. Running Llama 3.1, GeForce RTX 5070 dominates AMD’s best and brightest by 62%.
Gaming
It’s almost a one-sided fight in synthetic benchmarks, but can Nvidia pull it back in our gaming suite?
Cranking Assassin’s Creed Mirage up to maximum settings, both graphics cards handle Ubisoft’s stealthy action-adventure with grace, but there’s a clear winner. What you get using RTX 5070 at FHD, you’ll achieve the same frame rate using RX 9070 XT at QHD, affording you plenty more detail at no extra performance cost. The gap only grows with the resolution, as AMD storms ahead with a 32% smoother picture at UHD.
It’s a much closer affair in Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail thanks to a smattering of upscalers. Radeon RX 9070 XT takes no more than a 10% leap over its rival at QHD, making it difficult to eyeball the differences side-by-side.
Forza Motorsport stands as a true test of a graphics card’s mettle being as demanding as it is with all settings as high as they’ll go. Neither model achieves what I’d consider a pleasing frame rate at UHD, falling short of the 60fps bar, but RX 9070 XT’s higher minimums at least keep stutters above 30fps.
Similarly, AMD doesn’t exactly leave its competitor in the rearview mirror, tracking a 10% advantage at both FHD and QHD. Nvidia isn’t entirely out the spotlight with comfortable performance relative to how this racing game burns rubber, but remember, 9070 XT only costs 9% more.
Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord isn’t particularly taxing on the GPU being more CPU-bound, but one model certainly offers more value than the other. With no less than a 17% boost and over 340fps at FHD, Radeon RX 9070 XT already profits from the extra $50, but it truly rubs salt in the wound with up to 24% better performance at higher resolutions.
It’s the same story in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction, where AMD touts a minimum of 15% more than RTX 5070, but rises as high as 32% at QHD. It’s all much of muchness as both graphics cards muscle triple-figure frame rates at every resolution, but I know where I’d put my money.
Although RTX 5070’s first gaming victory should be cause for celebration, achieving just 2fps more in Cyberpunk 2077 puts a dampener on things, especially as it doesn’t align with its savings. It also loses its lead at UHD with frame rates cut in half.
Of course, this is almost hypothetical given we’re running midrange cards at the most extreme ray tracing preset Cyberpunk has to offer, as none come close to silky smooth.
Add AMD FSR or Nvidia DLSS into the mix and both cards immediately feel good to play Cyberpunk 2077 at FHD. Both models are neck-and-neck, so there are no losers in this category.
With one last trick up its sleeve, Nvidia pulls out Multi Frame Generation (MFG) for a resounding victory at all resolutions. By sandwiching up to three AI-created frames in between rasterised ones, it uplifts performance anywhere between 61% and 77% at UHD.
Overall, MFG is something of a monkey’s paw in that you see frame rates climb to shocking new heights but there are questions of added latency if the base frame rate is below 60fps. In this case, it’s worth sticking with FHD on your RTX 5070 to keep everything running fluidly.
| Game | 5070 to 9070 XT uplift at 4K |
|---|---|
| Assassin’s Creed Mirage | 32.1% |
| Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail | 5.1% |
| Forza Motorsport | 16.2% |
| Mount and Blade | 22.5% |
| Rainbow Six Extraction | 31.3% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 with upscaling + FG (QHD) | -39.1% |
It’s almost a full house for Radeon RX 9070 XT, with the exception of its lack of MFG. It’ll all come down to whether your favourite games support the feature when determining value, as Multi Frame Gen requires developer implementation to work.
Vitals
Comparing vitals proves tough since AMD doesn’t have a reference design for its RDNA 4 graphics cards like Nvidia does for RTX 5070. Instead, our tests hinge on Sapphire’s premium Nitro+ cooler, which guzzles a bit more power than most RX 9070 XT models, but also proves cooler and quieter.
Still, both GPUs sit in the same ballpark. The only thing to note is that Sapphire’s top-end Radeon RX 9070 XT asks for 34% more power than its Founders Edition competition, necessitating a meatier PSU.
Conclusion
AMD pulls no punches in its RTX 5070 beatdown, blocking most of Nvidia’s attempts to take a swing. The only dig GeForce manages to get in is with Multi Frame Generation, which would otherwise be a haymaker if not for so many caveats. Hinging on better native frame rates than Team Green’s midranger can achieve in most cases and relying on developer implementation substantially limits the card, making it tough to recommend.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
“There’s a new midrange marvel in town.” Read our review.
GeForce RTX 5070
“Gear up for game-changing experiences with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and AI-powered DLSS 4.” Read our review.
There’s something to be said about MSRPs slipping and sliding every which way depending on manufacturers, vendors, and overall demand, but this isn’t exclusive to either model. All we can say for sure is that RTX 5070 does come cheaper at $549 and isn’t a bad investment if you can’t stretch your budget. However, if there are enough pennies in the old bank account, RX 9070 XT takes the crown at just $50 more.
