Introduction
AMD is back with a strong contender in the high-performance GPU market, introducing the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT. These cards come with pricing and solid performance, shaking up the competition. But do they finally offer a compelling reason to switch from NVIDIA? Let’s break it down.
Pricing & Competitive Landscape
One of the strongest selling points of the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 is their price:
- RX 9070 XT – ₹75,000
- RX 9070 – ₹65,000
Compared to NVIDIA’s RTX 50 Series:
- RTX 5070 Ti – ₹1,00,000
- RTX 5070 – ₹75,000
This means AMD is offering at least a 25% discount compared to NVIDIA, making these GPUs a tempting option for budget-conscious gamers.
Performance Breakdown
Rasterization Performance
1440p Gaming:
- RX 9070 XT is nearly on par with the RTX 5070 Ti (only 3% behind) while being ₹25,000 cheaper.
- RX 9070 beats the RTX 5070 by 9% and leads in some games (e.g., 17% better in Alan Wake 2).
- Weakness: Frame pacing issues cause poor 1% lows in Red Dead Redemption 2.
4K Gaming:
- The 16GB GDDR6 VRAM advantage eliminates stutters in memory-hungry games like The Last of Us Part One (23% lead over RTX 5070).
- Almost hits 60 FPS at 4K native—a few tweaks can push it over the edge.
Ray Tracing Performance
Mixed results:
- Playable in most cases but trails NVIDIA slightly.
- In next-gen games like Black Myth: Wukong, the RTX 50 Series leads by 9% (path tracing).
- Alan Wake 2: RX 9070 ≈ RTX 5070; RTX 5070 Ti still beats the RX 9070 XT.
- F1 24: AMD dominates, RTX 5070 even loses to the 4070 SUPER.
If a game is optimized for consoles, AMD performs better. If built with NVIDIA in mind, their GPUs win.
AI Upscaling – FSR vs. DLSS
FSR 4 (AMD’s Upscaling Tech):
- Sharper than FSR 3.1 and DLSS 4 in games like Horizon Forbidden West.
- Performance uplift is lower than DLSS, but FSR 3.1’s Frame Generation outperforms NVIDIA’s version.
- Adoption issues: Limited game support; ML upscaling locked to RDNA4.
While AMD has made strides, DLSS remains the more mature and widely supported option.
Productivity & Content Creation
AI & Machine Learning:
- RTX 4070 SUPER still leads in AI workloads (Stable Diffusion, text generation).
- AMD’s 16GB VRAM helps with larger models, but NVIDIA’s CUDA support keeps them ahead.
Content Creation:
- Great for Premiere Pro & After Effects, matching NVIDIA in performance.
- DaVinci Resolve works well, but newer features favor NVIDIA GPUs.
- Blender still leans towards CUDA, giving NVIDIA an edge.
Encoding Performance:
- Better H.264/AV1 quality than last-gen AMD cards.
- Still far behind NVIDIA, especially in 4:2:2 subsampling.
For creators, AMD is a solid choice, but NVIDIA remains the better long-term investment.
Final Verdict: Should you buy it?
If you’re a gamer, AMD finally delivers a GPU that’s worth considering.
Why You Should Buy It:
- ₹25,000 cheaper than NVIDIA while nearly matching gaming performance.
- 16GB VRAM advantage is great for 4K gaming and AI workloads.
- Competitive rasterization performance.
Why You Might Hesitate:
- Ray tracing is playable, but NVIDIA still leads.
- FSR 4 is great but lacks widespread adoption.
- Productivity and AI workloads still favor NVIDIA.
The Reality Check
- Ray Tracing: Good, but with compromises.
- AI & Ecosystem: CUDA dominates the industry, making NVIDIA the safer long-term choice.
- Productivity: If you’re doing more than gaming, NVIDIA is the better pick.
- Price Cuts Incoming: NVIDIA will likely drop prices soon, making them more competitive.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you pick AMD or NVIDIA, competition is good for the market. History suggests NVIDIA will respond with price cuts, making GPUs more affordable for everyone.
For now, if you’re purely gaming and can live without cutting-edge ray tracing and AI features, the RX 9070 XT is a solid deal. But if you want better software support and future-proof AI performance, waiting a few weeks for NVIDIA’s price adjustments might be the better bet.What are your thoughts? Will you switch to AMD, or are you sticking with Team Green? Let us know in the comments!
