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

While the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 sits comfortably at the top of the graphics card market, its steep $1,999+ price tag is beyond the reach of most gamers. Fortunately, you don't need to spend a fortune to enjoy 4K gaming. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT offer a more budget-friendly yet powerful alternative, delivering exceptional performance at 4K resolutions.

Currently, prices are high due to the surge in demand and limited supply following their launch. However, the RTX 5070 Ti and RX 9070 XT remain the top choices for gamers seeking a high-end experience without breaking the bank.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

4 ImagesRTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Specs

Comparing the specs of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT can be challenging due to their different architectures. Nvidia's CUDA cores and AMD's Shading Units, though similar in function, differ in structure, making direct comparisons tricky.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT features 64 RDNA 4 compute units, each equipped with 64 shader units, totaling 4,096. It also includes 128 AI Accelerators and 64 RT Accelerators. Coupled with 16GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, this setup is well-suited for modern 4K gaming, though it might face challenges in the future.

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

Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

11 ImagesRTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Performance

Despite the RTX 5070 Ti's superior specs on paper, real-world performance shows both cards are excellent for 4K gaming and top contenders for 1440p gaming. My review of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT revealed it stayed competitive with the RTX 5070 Ti, even in ray-tracing intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077.

In some titles, such as Total War: Warhammer 3, the RTX 5070 Ti edges ahead with 87fps at 4K compared to the RX 9070 XT's 76fps. However, overall, the RX 9070 XT averaged 2% faster performance, a significant win given its lower price point.

Winner: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti – Photos

6 ImagesRTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Software and Features

Choosing a graphics card today involves more than just hardware specs; software features play a crucial role. Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti stands out with its DLSS suite, including AI upscaling and Frame Generation. The latest DLSS 4 introduces multi-frame generation, capable of creating three AI-generated frames for each rendered frame, boosting frame rates at the cost of slight latency, mitigated by Nvidia Reflex.

AMD's RX 9070 XT supports Frame Generation as well, but only one interpolated frame per rendered frame. The significant update for AMD this generation is FSR 4, which introduces AI upscaling. This marks a shift from the previous temporal upscaling method to a machine learning-based approach, improving image quality, though it's not as fast as Nvidia's solution.

It's worth noting that AMD's AI upscaler is in its first generation, while Nvidia has been refining DLSS for seven years.

Winner: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

RTX 5070 Ti vs. RX 9070 XT: Price

GPU pricing is a contentious topic, especially with the new generation cards selling out fast and often at inflated prices. Both Nvidia and AMD set suggested retail prices, but actual prices can vary widely due to retailer and third-party manufacturer markups.

At launch, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, priced at $599, offers excellent value for a 4K-capable card, especially when using the new FSR 4 AI upscaler. This pricing harks back to more reasonable flagship GPU prices before Nvidia's price escalation with the RTX 2080 Ti.

Conversely, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, while similarly performing, starts at $749, a $150 increase over the RX 9070 XT. The additional features like Multi-Frame Generation may justify the cost for some, but the price difference is significant for cards with such comparable performance.

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 excellent choices for high-end 1440p and 4K gaming. However, the AMD card emerges as the clear winner due to its significantly lower price point, making it a more accessible option for gamers looking to build a powerful gaming PC without spending excessively. While the RTX 5070 Ti offers advanced features like multi-frame generation, most gamers won't benefit from these without high-refresh 4K monitors, making the RX 9070 XT the better overall value.