February 28 marked a big reveal from AMD as they officially took the wraps off their RDNA 4 GPUs. They didn’t just come to the party empty-handed; they brought loads of stats on performance and prices to dig into.
I’ll admit – I had my doubts. I was concerned AMD might mess up the announcement with sky-high prices, subpar performance, or underwhelming updates to FSR 4.
But, here’s the real kicker from AMD: The RX 9070 XT holds its own against NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti, trailing by a mere 2% when running games at 4K ultra settings. This is all before applying any of the FSR 4 or DLSS 4 upscaling magic.
So, did AMD trip over its own feet again with the pricing? Not at all.
The RX 9070 XT comes with a friendly price tag of $599, which is a cool $150 less than NVIDIA’s suggested price for the RTX 5070 Ti. Yet, in reality, the 5070 Ti is flirting with the $1,000 mark on the market—if you don’t count the prices scalpers are slapping on. This discrepancy gives AMD a golden chance to grab more of the GPU market than ever before.
Launching on March 6 with promises of “wide availability,” AMD’s RDNA 4 lineup, which includes the RX 9070 XT and its cheaper sibling at $549, looks promising. If AMD keeps that promise, expect me to be first in line for what they’re touting as “the world’s best graphics card under $600.”
We’ve been crying out for a mid-range GPU that’s both affordable and capable of meeting today’s gaming demands. Unfortunately, NVIDIA’s RTX 5000 “Blackwell” lineup made the mid-range market a wasteland, mostly due to a toxic combo of low supply, steep third-party prices, and the usual suspects—scalpers.
NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti has become ridiculously scarce despite a $749 MSRP. Meanwhile, their new RTX 5070 is on the horizon for a March 6 launch, but honestly, who knows if it’ll be any easier to get your hands on it?
Thankfully, there’s optimism with AMD. Retailers have reportedly been gearing up with RDNA 4 cards since late last year, aligning with AMD’s loud claims of plenty of stock. Having more options in the mid-tier is nothing short of refreshing for PC enthusiasts. NVIDIA finally has the competition it sorely needs.
In terms of raw grunt, the 9070 XT goes toe-to-toe with NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Ti, and it does so with a much sweeter deal—offering an impressive 23% better performance-per-dollar ratio.
Ray tracing remains NVIDIA’s game, but AMD isn’t too far behind anymore. I can live without ray tracing in some games, and it looks like the RX 9070 XT can hold its ground in titles where you can’t toggle it off.
While AMD’s ray tracing still trails NVIDIA, it’s catching up slowly but surely. The RX 9070 XT shows noteworthy performance gains over its predecessor, the RX 7900 GRE, especially striking at 1440p where I prefer to game.
Where AMD truly shines is with their FSR 4. This update has taken a leaf from NVIDIA’s book by embracing machine learning, aligning itself more closely with DLSS. The results are impressive, allowing huge performance boosts seen in notable numbers across a variety of games.
With FSR 4 enabled, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 jumps from 43 FPS to 191 FPS, and Spider-Man 2 goes from 48 FPS to 192 FPS at 4K. That’s a mega leap, and while DLSS 4 still holds the crown for upscaling, AMD’s FSR 4 now stands as a respectable rival.
Finally, despite the initial stumbles and delays, AMD’s RX 9070 XT launch is timed perfectly to capitalize on the growing dissatisfaction with NVIDIA’s latest offerings. Issues like melting power cables and soaring prices are just chipping away at NVIDIA’s longtime standing among PC gamers.
AMD’s new RDNA 4 lineup might just be the breath of fresh air the mid-range market needs. So, are you considering the RX 9070 XT? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
