Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti vs. AMD RX 9070 XT: Battle of the GPUs

While the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 dominates the high-end graphics card market with its impressive performance, its hefty price tag of $1,999 and above is beyond the budget of most gamers. Fortunately, you don't need to break the bank to enjoy 4K gaming. Both the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT offer a more budget-friendly yet robust 4K gaming experience.

Currently, the market is experiencing elevated prices due to high demand and limited supply following the launch of these GPUs. However, for those seeking a high-end gaming setup, the RTX 5070 Ti and RX 9070 XT are the top contenders to consider.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

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RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Specs

Comparing the specs of these two graphics cards is complex due to their different architectures. Nvidia's CUDA cores and AMD's Shading Units, while similar in function, differ significantly, making direct comparisons challenging.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT features 64 RDNA 4 compute units, each equipped with 64 shader units, totaling 4,096. These units are complemented by two AI Accelerators and one RT Accelerator per compute unit, resulting in 128 and 64 accelerators, respectively. It comes with 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, which is sufficient for current games but may be pushed to its limits with future 4K titles.

In contrast, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti also boasts 16GB of VRAM but uses the faster GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, offering higher bandwidth. It includes 70 Streaming Multiprocessors with a total of 8,960 CUDA Cores. Although this is double the shader units per compute unit compared to AMD, it doesn't necessarily translate to double the performance.

Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

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RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Performance

Despite the RTX 5070 Ti's superior specs on paper, its performance advantage over the RX 9070 XT isn't as clear-cut. Both cards are exceptional for 4K gaming and excel at 1440p, making them top choices for high-end gaming setups.

During my review of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, I anticipated it would lag slightly behind the RTX 5070 Ti, particularly in games with heavy ray tracing. However, in titles like Cyberpunk 2077, the AMD card consistently stayed within a few frames of the pricier RTX 5070 Ti.

While the RTX 5070 Ti does outperform the RX 9070 XT in certain games, such as Total War: Warhammer 3, where it achieves 87fps at 4K compared to the RX 9070 XT's 76fps, the overall performance difference is minimal. On average, the RX 9070 XT was found to be 2% faster, a significant achievement considering its 21% lower price.

Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti – Photos

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RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Software and Features

Choosing the right graphics card involves more than just hardware specs. Both Nvidia and AMD offer robust software features that enhance the capabilities of their GPUs.

The Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti stands out with its DLSS suite, which includes AI upscaling and Frame Generation. With the RTX 5000 series, Nvidia introduced multi-frame generation, capable of generating three frames for each rendered frame, significantly boosting frame rates. This feature does add a slight latency, mitigated by Nvidia Reflex, and is best used when already achieving at least 45fps, ideally over 60fps.

AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT supports Frame Generation but only generates one interpolated frame per rendered frame. The highlight of AMD's offering is FSR 4, introducing AI upscaling for the first time. Unlike previous temporal upscaling methods, FSR 4 leverages the card's AI accelerators for more accurate image upscaling, though it's slightly slower than FSR 3. As this is AMD's first foray into AI upscaling, it has room to grow compared to Nvidia's seven years of DLSS refinement.

Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Price

GPU pricing remains a contentious issue, with new generation cards often sold out and priced above suggested retail. Both Nvidia and AMD set initial prices, but third-party sellers often inflate them. While future price trends are unpredictable, we hope they will eventually align closer to MSRP as supply improves.

At launch, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a standout with a price of $599, delivering robust 4K gaming performance, especially when paired with the new FSR 4 AI upscaler. This pricing reflects a return to more reasonable flagship GPU costs, a trend we hope continues.

Conversely, the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti, while competitive in performance, starts at $749, a significant $150 more than the RX 9070 XT. The extra cost might be justified for some by Nvidia's unique features like Multi-Frame Generation, but this depends on individual gaming needs and preferences.

Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

The Winner Is… the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Both the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti are stellar choices for high-end 1440p and 4K gaming. However, AMD's ability to deliver comparable performance at a significantly lower price makes the RX 9070 XT the clear winner.

For gamers building a PC aimed at high-end 1440p or 4K gaming, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is an unbeatable option. While it lacks multi-frame generation, this feature is less critical for those without high-refresh 4K monitors.