RX 9070 XT Review in 2026: Performance, vs RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5070 and RX 9070, PSU and Price
The RX 9070 XT is the best value high-end graphics card for 1440p in 2026. In TechPowerUp’s latest tests it is only about 6% slower than the RTX 5070 Ti, 16% faster than the RTX 5070, and its ray tracing is finally close to NVIDIA’s. You give up some upscaling and frame generation quality, and it draws more power. Prices have risen this year, so the deal is not as sharp as at launch, but it still usually costs less than an RTX 5070 Ti.
Jump to your question:
- Is the RX 9070 XT worth it?Yes, for 1440p. Verdict
- 9070 XT or RTX 5070 Ti?6% apart. Compare
- 9070 XT or RTX 5070?The 9070 XT. Why
- 9070 XT or 9070?The difference
- What PSU do I need?750W minimum. Power
- How good is ray tracing?Close to NVIDIA
We did not lab-test the RX 9070 XT. Performance, ray tracing and power figures come from TechPowerUp, noise and temperatures for the card we sell from LanOC, and specifications from AMD and ASRock, read on 8 October 2026. We sell the RX 9070 XT.
- RX 9070 XT review: the verdict
- RX 9070 XT performance at 1440p and 4K
- RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 Ti
- RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070
- RX 9070 XT vs RX 9070
- RX 9070 XT vs RX 7900 XTX, and upgrading from older cards
- RX 9070 XT ray tracing and FSR 4
- RX 9070 XT power supply requirements
- RX 9070 XT price in 2026
- ASRock RX 9070 XT Steel Legend: the version we sell
- Quick answers
The RX 9070 XT we sellThe ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend 16GB, reviewed by LanOC below. The product page shows the current price.
Asrock RX 9070 XT 16GB GPU
In stock
Original price was: £1,055.99.£981.59Current price is: £981.59.- AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics processor with 4096 stream processors
- 16GB GDDR6 memory on 256-bit bus with 20Gbps data transfer rate
- Triple fan active cooling design with ARGB lighting and Polychrome SYNC support
- PCI Express x16 5.0 interface with HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1a outputs
- 2970MHz boost clock speed, 800W minimum system power supply requirement
RX 9070 XT review: the verdict
Buy the RX 9070 XT if you game at 1440p, want 16GB of memory and would rather not pay NVIDIA prices. Choose an RTX 5070 Ti instead if you rely on DLSS frame generation or play mostly ray traced games at 4K.
TechPowerUp calls it “a fantastic card for 1440p gaming that has enough horsepower to explore gaming at 4K”. A year and a half after launch, that still holds. AMD has said it will not release a faster card this generation, so the 9070 XT is the top of AMD’s range until its next generation arrives.
- Good: close to RTX 5070 Ti speed; 16GB of memory; ray tracing much improved over AMD’s last generation; FSR 4 upscaling looks close to DLSS; standard 8-pin power on many cards, including the one we sell; around 10% overclocking headroom in TechPowerUp’s tests.
- Not so good: draws more power than the faster RTX 5070 Ti; frame generation stops at 2x, where NVIDIA goes up to 6x; prices are well above the $599 launch price.
| RX 9070 XT specification | AMD reference |
|---|---|
| Compute units | 64 (4,096 stream processors) |
| Boost clock | Up to 2,970MHz |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6, 256-bit, 640GB/s, plus 64MB Infinity Cache |
| Typical board power | 304W |
| Minimum PSU | 750W |
| Power connectors | 2x 8-pin on AMD’s reference design |
| Upscaling | FSR 4 (machine learning based) |
RX 9070 XT performance at 1440p and 4K
The RX 9070 XT runs almost every game at high settings at 1440p, and handles 4K in most games with FSR 4 upscaling or slightly lower settings.
The chart uses TechPowerUp’s April 2026 results, its most recent RX 9070 XT review with current drivers. We rescaled them so the standard RX 9070 XT is 100.
At 4K the order is the same and the gaps widen slightly: the RTX 5070 Ti leads by 7% and the RTX 5070 falls 16% behind, partly because its 12GB of memory starts to run short.
The newest game. In TechPowerUp’s Gears of War: E-Day benchmark, the RX 9070 XT ran at 47.6 FPS at 1440p on the top Ludicrous preset without upscaling, ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti at 44.9 FPS and close to the RTX 5080 at 50 FPS. At 4K the 9070 XT and 5070 Ti tied at about 25 FPS. Our Gears of War: E-Day PC requirements guide has the settings that work.
RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070 Ti
The RTX 5070 Ti is about 6% faster at 1440p and 7% faster at 4K. With ray tracing the gap is also about 6%. Both have 16GB. The 9070 XT costs less, so it usually wins on value.
- Speed: close enough that you would not notice in most games without a frame counter.
- Features: the 5070 Ti has DLSS 4.5, multi frame generation and DLSS 5. TechPowerUp says FSR 4 is “almost on par” with DLSS for image quality, but DLSS is in more games.
- Power: TechPowerUp measured 279W in gaming for the RTX 5070 Ti against 314W for the RX 9070 XT. NVIDIA is more efficient.
- Price: in April, TechPowerUp found the RTX 5070 Ti at over $900 in the US and the cheapest 9070 XT at $730.
Prefer NVIDIA, or want more speed? Our RTX 5080 review covers the step above.
RX 9070 XT vs RTX 5070
Choose the RX 9070 XT. It is about 16% faster at 1440p, 19% faster at 4K and 22% faster with ray tracing at 1440p, and it has 16GB of memory against 12GB.
The RTX 5070 is cheaper and uses less power, 229W against 314W in TechPowerUp’s gaming test. TechPowerUp warns that 12GB “becomes an issue in some titles at 4K with ray tracing and frame generation enabled”. If you play at 1080p or 1440p without heavy ray tracing, and you value DLSS, the 5070 is still a sensible budget choice. Our best graphics card guide covers the cheaper options.
RX 9070 XT vs RX 9070
The RX 9070 XT is about 8% faster at 1440p and 9% faster at 4K than the RX 9070. Both have 16GB. Pick the XT unless the plain 9070 is much cheaper or your power supply is small.
The XT has 64 compute units against 56 on the 9070, a 13% difference in shader count, according to TechPowerUp. The plain 9070 is far more frugal, at 233W in gaming against 314W.
RX 9070 XT vs RX 7900 XTX, and upgrading from older cards
The RX 7900 XTX is still about 6% faster without ray tracing, but the 9070 XT is about 10% faster with it. From an RX 7900 GRE, RX 6800 XT or RTX 3080, the 9070 XT is a real upgrade.
- From an RX 7900 GRE: about 26% faster at 1440p, 30% at 4K and about 50% with ray tracing.
- From an RTX 3080: about 37% faster, with 6GB more memory.
- From an RX 6800 XT: about 45% faster at 1440p, and far better ray tracing.
- From an RX 7900 XT or XTX: do not bother unless ray tracing matters to you.
RX 9070 XT ray tracing and FSR 4
Ray tracing is the big change. The RX 9070 XT is about 50% faster than the RX 7900 GRE with ray tracing on, according to TechPowerUp, and only about 6% behind the RTX 5070 Ti.
FSR 4 is AMD’s first upscaler that uses machine learning, built for RX 9000 cards. TechPowerUp found FSR 4 in Quality mode “comparable to native, sometimes better”, and it can be switched on through the driver in games that support FSR 3.1. Two limits remain. AMD’s frame generation still only doubles your frame rate, while NVIDIA’s multi frame generation goes up to 6x. And AMD’s newer Redstone features, such as ML frame generation, are in very few games so far.
RX 9070 XT power supply requirements
AMD recommends a 750W power supply as the minimum. For a factory overclocked card or a high-end CPU, choose 850W.
AMD rates the reference RX 9070 XT at 304W. TechPowerUp measured 314W in gaming and short spikes up to 390W. Most cards, including the ASRock Steel Legend we sell, use two standard 8-pin power cables, so you do not need a new 16-pin cable. Overclocked models such as the ASRock Taichi use the 16-pin connector and allow up to 404W. Our best power supply guide lists units that fit.
RX 9070 XT price in 2026
The RX 9070 XT launched in March 2025 at $599 in the US, and the ASRock Steel Legend we sell was £569.99 at Overclockers UK on launch day. Prices have climbed since, but less than NVIDIA’s.
- April 2026: TechPowerUp found the cheapest RX 9070 XT at $730 in the US and €640 in Europe.
- Last 12 months: German retail prices for AMD’s current cards rose 46%, against 66% for NVIDIA’s RTX 50 series, according to 3DCenter’s tracking reported by Wccftech on 7 October.
- June to September: the average AMD card price on PriceSquirrel rose 28.3% across Europe, against 41.3% for NVIDIA, reported by PC Guide. PC Guide also reports a leaked AMD price rise for the final quarter of 2026.
Memory is the reason, and our RAM and SSD prices explainer covers why. The product page on our site shows the current price.
ASRock RX 9070 XT Steel Legend: the version we sell
The ASRock RX 9070 XT Steel Legend runs at AMD’s standard clocks, so it performs like the reference results above. LanOC found it one of the quietest RX 9070 XT cards it tested.
- Noise: 34.2 dB under load, the second quietest card in LanOC’s chart, with the fans at just 32% speed.
- Temperature: 59°C on the stock fan profile. LanOC noted the memory ran warm whatever the fan speed.
- Size: ASRock lists it at 298 x 131 x 58mm, 2.9 slots, which fits most mid-tower cases.
- Power and outputs: two 8-pin connectors, three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b.
LanOC tested the white Steel Legend. ASRock sells a black version separately as the Steel Legend Dark. Its verdict: at the launch price, “you can’t go wrong”. Factory overclocked cards such as the Taichi are only about 4% faster, according to TechPowerUp. See all RX 9070 XT graphics cards.
Quick answers
For 1440p gaming, yes. It is only about 6% slower than the RTX 5070 Ti in TechPowerUp’s tests, has 16GB of memory and usually costs less.
No, the RTX 5070 Ti is about 6% faster and uses less power. The RX 9070 XT is usually better value for money.
Yes. It is about 16% faster at 1440p and 22% faster with ray tracing, and has 16GB of memory against 12GB.
AMD recommends at least 750W. TechPowerUp measured 314W in games and short spikes up to 390W.
Yes, most games run well at 4K with FSR 4 upscaling or slightly lower settings. TechPowerUp rates it as a 1440p card that can explore 4K.
Yes. FSR 4 runs on RX 9000 series cards and can be enabled through AMD’s driver in games that support FSR 3.1.
Much better than AMD’s last generation: about 50% faster than the RX 7900 GRE and about 6% behind the RTX 5070 Ti, according to TechPowerUp.
Not this generation. AMD has said the RX 9070 XT is the top of its RDNA 4 range.
How we know
We are a UK technology retailer and we sell the ASRock RX 9070 XT Steel Legend. We did not lab-test the RX 9070 XT. Performance, ray tracing and power figures come from TechPowerUp, mainly its April 2026 review of the ASRock RX 9070 XT Taichi White OC, which includes the reference RX 9070 XT and every competing card tested on the same system and drivers. We rescaled its relative performance figures so the reference RX 9070 XT is 100. Noise and temperature figures for the Steel Legend come from LanOC’s review of that card. Specifications come from AMD and ASRock, and we checked the card we sell against its EAN. Prices come from the sources named in the price section, read on 8 October 2026.
Sources
- TechPowerUp, ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi White OC review, April 2026.
- TechPowerUp, PNY RTX 5080 Slim OC review (power figures), April 2026.
- TechPowerUp, Gears of War: E-Day performance benchmark, 1 October 2026.
- LanOC, ASRock RX 9070 XT Steel Legend review.
- AMD, Radeon RX 9070 XT specifications.
- ASRock, RX 9070 XT Steel Legend 16GB specifications.
- OC3D, Overclockers UK RX 9070 series launch pricing, 5 March 2025.
- Wccftech, GPU price rises over the last 12 months, 7 October 2026.
- PC Guide, NVIDIA and AMD GPUs up to 40% more expensive in three months, 29 September 2026.
Images: Sapphire Pulse RX 9070 XT installed by Chaddy, CC BY-SA 4.0; ASUS TUF RX 9070 XT from Geekerwan’s review video, CC BY 3.0. Both cropped to 16:9 by us.
