When AMD launched the Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card, it seemed poised to challenge Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5070. But in the fast-moving world of PC hardware, list prices don’t always match reality, and recent market shifts have completely changed the story. This article dives deep into how the AMD RX 9070 XT stacks up against the Nvidia RTX 5070 in real-world gaming and, more importantly, examines which one offers better value for your hard-earned money right now.
Contents
- From Ti to Standard: Why This Comparison Matters
- The Shifting Price Landscape
- Putting the Cards to the Test: 57 Games Benchmarked
- Key Game Benchmarks
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Hunt: Showdown 1896
- Rocket League
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
- Assetto Corsa Competizione
- The Last of Us Part I
- Starfield
- Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced
- Marvel Rivals
- Horizon Forbidden West
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- The Big Picture: Average Performance Across 57 Games
- 1440p Average
- 4K Average
- Value Check: Cost Per Frame
- Value vs. RTX 5070
- Value vs. RTX 5070 Ti
- Why the Price Hike?
- The Verdict: Which Card Should You Buy?
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics cards side by side
From Ti to Standard: Why This Comparison Matters
Initially, we tested the 9070 XT against the more powerful RTX 5070 Ti because, surprisingly, their market prices were closer at the time. The Radeon was about 5% slower than the 5070 Ti but also roughly 17% cheaper.
Fast forward a bit, and things have changed. Both AMD and Nvidia have released performance-boosting driver updates for their cards. More significantly, GPU prices have moved. The RTX 5070 is now easier to find near its official price, while the RTX 5070 Ti’s price has settled higher.
The real surprise? The Radeon 9070 XT’s price has actually gone up significantly in many places. It’s now often more expensive than the RTX 5070 Ti, despite being less powerful and having fewer feature advantages like Nvidia’s popular DLSS upscaling technology and ray tracing performance.
Three graphics cards stacked: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070
The Shifting Price Landscape
This price jump makes comparing the 9070 XT directly against the RTX 5070 crucial. While AMD might have intended for the 9070 XT to compete with the 5070 on price, the reality is quite different in many major markets.
- United States: The 9070 XT is currently selling for around $860, a massive 41% more than the RTX 5070’s typical price of about $610. It’s even pricier than the faster 5070 Ti ($825).
- Germany: The 9070 XT is about 745 euros, 26% more expensive than the 5070, though 11% cheaper than the 5070 Ti.
- Canada: At $1,100, the 9070 XT is 34% more expensive than the RTX 5070, while being 12% cheaper than the 5070 Ti.
- Australia: Here, the price gap is smaller, with the 9070 XT at $1,300 AUD costing 18% more than the 5070 and 14% less than the 5070 Ti.
This significant price premium for the 9070 XT in most regions sets the stage for our performance and value analysis.
Table showing price differences for RX 9070 XT compared to RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti in US, Germany, Canada, and Australia
Putting the Cards to the Test: 57 Games Benchmarked
To see exactly how these cards perform head-to-head with the latest drivers, we tested them across a massive 57 games at both 1440p and 4K resolutions. While we can’t show every single game result here, let’s look at some highlights and the overall averages.
Our test system included a powerful AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, ensuring the graphics cards were the main factor limiting performance.
Key Game Benchmarks
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
The 9070 XT shows impressive gains thanks to driver updates, now significantly outpacing both the RTX 5070 and even the 5070 Ti. It’s up to 70% faster than the 5070 in this title.
Benchmark chart for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Hunt: Showdown 1896
The 9070 XT trails the RTX 5070 by a noticeable margin (up to 18%) in this game, even with recent driver updates.
Benchmark chart for Hunt: Showdown 1896 comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Rocket League
After recent driver updates, the RTX 5070 Ti pulls ahead of the 9070 XT. However, the 9070 XT is still comfortably faster than the standard RTX 5070 (up to 31% faster at 4K).
Benchmark chart for Rocket League comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Performance has improved for both cards here. The 9070 XT holds a small but consistent lead over the RTX 5070 (around 7-10%).
Benchmark chart for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Despite driver improvements, the 9070 XT struggles against the GeForce cards in this title. It’s actually slower than the RTX 5070 at 1440p and only matches it at 4K.
Benchmark chart for Assetto Corsa Competizione comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
The Last of Us Part I
The 9070 XT shines in this game, significantly outperforming both the RTX 5070 (up to 37% faster) and the 5070 Ti.
Benchmark chart for The Last of Us Part I comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Starfield
Another strong title for the 9070 XT, where it beats the 5070 Ti and is substantially faster than the RTX 5070 (up to 36%).
Benchmark chart for Starfield comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced
Testing with ray tracing enabled and scaling off shows the 9070 XT performing less favorably compared to GeForce, being slightly slower than the RTX 5070 at 1440p and only slightly faster at 4K.
Benchmark chart for Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Marvel Rivals
The 9070 XT slots neatly between the two Nvidia cards, offering 14% better performance than the RTX 5070.
Benchmark chart for Marvel Rivals comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Horizon Forbidden West
Excellent results for the 9070 XT here, significantly faster than the RTX 5070 Ti and a whopping 34-40% faster than the RTX 5070.
Benchmark chart for Horizon Forbidden West comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
The 9070 XT delivers strong performance, leading the RTX 5070 by about 30-38%.
Benchmark chart for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Cyberpunk 2077
Using the high preset without upscaling, the 9070 XT is roughly 25-27% faster than the RTX 5070.
Benchmark chart for Cyberpunk 2077 comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
In this newer title, the 9070 XT performs similarly to the 5070 Ti and is about 21-24% faster than the RTX 5070.
Benchmark chart for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Monster Hunter Wilds
The 9070 XT beats the RTX 5070 by 20-25%, placing it clearly above the Nvidia card in terms of raw performance.
Benchmark chart for Monster Hunter Wilds comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
The Big Picture: Average Performance Across 57 Games
Looking at the average performance across all 57 titles gives us a clear overall picture.
1440p Average
Across 57 games at 1440p, the AMD RX 9070 XT was, on average, 17% faster than the Nvidia RTX 5070.
Average benchmark chart for 57 games at 1440p comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
4K Average
At the higher 4K resolution, the 9070 XT’s lead grew slightly, averaging 21% faster than the RTX 5070.
Average benchmark chart for 57 games at 4K comparing performance of 9070 XT, 5070 Ti, and 5070
Based purely on performance, the 9070 XT is definitely in a higher tier than the RTX 5070. But is that enough to justify its price tag?
Value Check: Cost Per Frame
This is where the real story unfolds. We need to look at how much performance you get for each dollar (or euro/pound/AUD) spent. We calculated the “cost per frame” based on current market prices in different regions.
Value vs. RTX 5070
Comparing the 9070 XT’s value against the RTX 5070, the results vary dramatically by region:
Cost per frame chart comparing 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 in US, Germany, Canada, and Australia
- Australia: The 9070 XT is only slightly worse value (a few percent) than the RTX 5070, making them nearly equal in terms of price-to-performance.
- Germany: The 9070 XT is about 9% worse value.
- Canada & US: This is where the 9070 XT’s high price really hurts. It offers 16-22% worse value than the RTX 5070.
While the 9070 XT offers more VRAM (16GB vs. 12GB), which is a plus for future-proofing, the RTX 5070 has the advantage of Nvidia’s mature DLSS technology and better ray tracing performance.
Value vs. RTX 5070 Ti
Comparing the 9070 XT to the faster (and often cheaper) RTX 5070 Ti paints an even bleaker picture for AMD in many regions:
Cost per frame chart comparing 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 Ti in US, Germany, Canada, and Australia
- Australia, Germany, Canada: The 9070 XT offers only marginally better value (6-9%).
- US: The 9070 XT is actually 10% worse value than the RTX 5070 Ti.
A performance difference of around 5% might be acceptable with a significant price advantage, but when the “slower” card is often cheaper or offers only minor value gains, it’s a tough sell.
Why the Price Hike?
Remember when we first reviewed the 9070 XT? We noted concerns about its initial $600 launch price, suspecting it was heavily subsidized. Industry sources indicated the real price point from board partners was much higher, potentially around $850 due to costs and tariffs.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card fan close-up
Sadly for AMD fans, those predictions seem accurate. Two months after launch, the market price has settled right around that $860 mark in the US. This makes the 9070 XT’s positioning incredibly difficult, especially as Nvidia’s pricing has become more competitive for the 5070 and 5070 Ti.
The Verdict: Which Card Should You Buy?
Based on raw performance, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is undoubtedly faster than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, averaging around 20% higher frame rates. If both cards were selling at their initial target prices, the 9070 XT’s higher performance for a slightly higher price would make it a compelling option, especially with its 16GB of VRAM being a benefit for future games compared to the RTX 5070’s 12GB.
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card from the side
However, the current market prices tell a different story.
- In the US, Canada, and Germany: The 9070 XT’s price is significantly higher than the RTX 5070, making its value proposition poor. In these regions, the RTX 5070 offers much better cost per frame. Even the faster RTX 5070 Ti often provides better value than the 9070 XT, despite the latter’s VRAM advantage.
Cost per frame chart comparing 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti in Canada
- In Australia: The price difference is less dramatic, and the 9070 XT offers roughly similar value to the RTX 5070. Here, the 9070 XT’s 16GB VRAM becomes a strong argument in its favor, making it a reasonable choice over the 12GB RTX 5070. However, the non-XT RX 9070 offers even better value in Australia right now.
Overall, what started as a promising launch for the Radeon 9070 series has been hampered by current market pricing and supply issues keeping costs high. While the 9070 XT is a capable card, its inflated price in most major regions makes it hard to recommend over the GeForce RTX 5070, and especially difficult against the RTX 5070 Ti which offers similar or better value and more performance.
For the majority of buyers globally, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti or even the standard RTX 5070 (depending on budget and specific regional pricing) currently offer better value than the Radeon RX 9070 XT.
