Even in 2026's component hellscape, AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT is that rarest of things: a high-end GPU that’s still decent value

Or, wherefore RPS is reviewing a graphics paper a twelvemonth aft it came out

As we descend ever deeper into a squelching mire of representation shortages, terms gouging, and abandonment successful favour of AI phantasy farms, determination is 1 connection supra each that game-playing PC owners should support beforehand and centre successful our doomscroll-addled brains: "relatively."

Take the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT. It’s expensive, a motorboat RRP of £569 / $599 agelong since forgotten truthful entry-partner models tin beryllium astatine £600 oregon – Yanks, look distant – $720. Its existent operation of upscaling and framework procreation technology, FSR Redstone, is bully but not rather arsenic bully arsenic Nvidia’s caller DLSS 4.5. And, arsenic helpfully illustrated by the ASRock RX 9070 XT Taichi OC mentation I’ve been testing, a batch of these spouse versions are rather spectacularly ugly.

Look astatine what it’s up against, though, peculiarly successful the 16GB, accelerated 1440p/budget 4K bracket. I liked the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti astatine launch, but it’s felt the brunt of manufacture folly arsenic painfully arsenic immoderate different graphics card: the cheapest ones person jumped from $749 successful February 2025 to $900 successful January 2026, and that’s lone if you’re fortunate capable to find 1 successful stock. Availability is truthful atrocious astatine the infinitesimal that erstwhile a rumour precocious dispersed that accumulation was prematurely ending – rapidly denied by some Asus and Nvidia themselves – thousands believed it was true, if conscionable because, well, who’d adjacent cognize the difference?

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

Now, the RX 9070 XT. It’s cheaper than the RTX 5070 Ti. It performs astir arsenic well, sometimes adjacent amended than the RX 5070 Ti. And, if thing else, it’s inactive acold easier than the RTX 5070 Ti to find successful stock. Relatively, it’s a bully choice. Which means we should astir apt person thing astatine slightest resembling a reappraisal of it.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: 4K benchmarks

With those aforesaid shortage/pricing issues tarnishing the RTX 5080’s appeal, and the RTX 5090 being retired of scope for astir mortals regardless, GPUs of the RX 9070 XT’s calibre person go overmuch much charismatic 4K engines. These benchmarks from the RPS Test Rig amusement why: it’s beauteous overmuch adjacent with the RTX 5070 Ti successful astir games, and comes awfully adjacent to the RTX 5080 successful the demanding likes of Horizon Forbidden West and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

At this rez, it can’t rather grip the ultra-luxury of way tracing: Alan Wake II, moving astatine Ultra settings with afloat PT and FSR upscaling connected Quality mode, lone averaged 22fps. The equivalent settings successful Cyberpunk 2077, positive FSR framework procreation enabled, produced 46fps – but that conscionable meant that its 'real', rendered framework number came successful good nether 30fps. The RTX 5070 Ti, by contrast, managed 33fps conscionable with Quality-level DLSS and nary framework gen astatine all, suggesting that Radeon GPUs inactive instrumentality a bigger deed from precocious lighting/shadow systems. Whack connected the GeForce’s 4x Multi Frame Generation (MFG) mode, and that 33fps becomes 117fps.

That said, framework procreation has ne'er been arsenic compelling a diagnostic arsenic Nvidia privation it to be. Given MFG noticeably worsens input lag erstwhile multiplying little rendered framerates, you’d get a smoother-feeling crippled by conscionable lowering settings. At which point, the RTX 5070 Ti’s vantage disappears. It tin inactive nutrient marginally faster results astatine upscaled 4K than the RX 9070 XT, similar however Quality DLSS got it 104fps successful HFW versus the Radeon’s 98fps with Quality FSR. But adjacent with DLSS’s representation prime benefits, which narrowed to a sliver with the motorboat of FSR Redstone, I’d alternatively support the other £160 / $180 successful my pouch and bask what is, visually, an indistinguishable level of performance.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: 1440p benchmarks

Our 1440p graph is astir a reflector representation of the 4K results: precise small successful it betwixt the RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 Ti, with the objection of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and aggregate instances wherever you’d conflict to spot the quality betwixt the Radeon and the twice-as-pricey RTX 5080. Especially so, present that we’re getting into the 100fps+ portion wherever tiny framerate variances aren’t arsenic noticeable.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

The cheaper RTX 5070 does travel into the speech here, and it remains a competent 1440p card. Still, if you tin spend it, the RX 9070 XT’s accepted framerates spell substantially higher, peculiarly successful Total War: Warhammer III and F1 24, and arguably successful HFW and Cyberpunk too.

Diminishing returns are inactive an contented astatine specified precocious FPS, though here, it chiefly makes that tiny show triumph for DLSS upscaling consciousness adjacent little significant. With DLSS Quality taking the RTX 5070 Ti up to 150fps successful Horizon Forbidden West, and FSR Quality up to 143fps, the second is easy amended worth for wealth – and connected monitors with refresh rates capping astatine 144Hz, you couldn’t comprehend the former’s other 7fps, adjacent if you had the eyesight of a combatant aviator with binoculars glued to their face.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

Where the RTX 5070 Ti doesn’t request a photograph decorativeness is, again, ray and way tracing. Where 1440p provides much headroom to crank these settings up, Nvidia tech usually remains superior: adding Pyscho-level ray tracing to Cyberpunk, positive each GPU’s respective Quality-level upscalers, had the RX 9070 XT averaging 82fps and the RX 5070 Ti averaging 94fps. With path-traced effects connected apical of that, positive 2x framework generation, the RX 9070 XT did get a playable 93fps – but the RTX 5070 Ti roseate to 111fps. The RTX 5070 Ti was besides quicker successful a path-traced Alan Wake II, scoring 55fps with Quality DLSS; the RX 9070 XT averaged 42fps.

Mind you, for garden-variety ray tracing, determination are conditions wherever the RX 9070 XT tin drawback up. With Alan Wake II connected Ultra-quality RT, 1 measurement down from way tracing, AND’s GPU averaged 73fps – lone a azygous framework down the RTX 5070 Ti’s 74fps connected equivalent settings. Considering determination was a clip erstwhile each ray-traced crippled nether the ray-traced prima would tally its premium effects faster connected GeForce hardware, that’s not a atrocious effect astatine all.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: 1080p benchmarks

1080p is usually wherever you spot higher-end GPUs commencement to clump up, arsenic the CPU – adjacent the beefy Ryzen 7 9800X3D successful our rig – becomes much of a bottleneck. Even here, though, the RX 9070 XT is routinely clinging onto the RTX 5080, portion comfortably outpacing the RTX 5070. To rather astounding effect, successful Warhammer III:

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

Not that I’d suggest, ostentation oregon otherwise, dumping this overmuch wealth connected a 1080p system. But this does marque it 3 for 3 connected resolutions where, betwixt the prime of this graphics paper oregon the much costly RTX 5070 Ti, there’s small convincing crushed to marque the bigger investment.

In erstwhile reviews, this would person been the constituent wherever I accidental "...except DLSS," earlier launching into a whinge astir however FSR conscionable doesn’t look arsenic good. Honestly, had I been timely capable to appraise the RX 9070 XT erstwhile it primitively released, that’s precisely what you’d beryllium reading. But times person changed, and not conscionable successful wealth and banal terms. FSR Redstone truly tin walk for DLSS 4 these days, and portion DLSS 4.5 has conscionable made further improvements to representation sharpness and question handling, they’re not truly worthy a astir £200 / $200 levy.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

Times tin alteration truthful fast, successful fact, that I won’t warrant this verdict volition inactive beryllium applicable successful a fewer months’ time. Maybe proviso of Radeon cards volition adust up arsenic well. Maybe AMD volition commencement charging much for it, conscionable due to the fact that they can. Maybe DRAM-addicted tech executives volition spell astir owners’ houses astatine night, stealing their GPUs and sucking retired each the representation chips similar sports-jacketed vampires. For now, though, the RX 9070 XT is the high-grade graphics paper to spell for. Relatively speaking.