Gigabyte RX 9070 Review: Almost an XT, But Cooler?

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is easily one of the best GPUs from Team Red in recent times. It gives the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti a solid run for its money, especially here in India. That said, you can choose to save a handful of bucks and opt for its younger brother, the Radeon RX 9070.

On paper, the gap isn’t that wide. You still get the same amount of VRAM, and while it does have slightly fewer compute cores, it makes up for it with a much better power efficiency. The question then is how it compares against the likes of the RTX 5070 Ti, or, for that matter, the RTX 5070? And more importantly, if you’re going Team Red, should you save a couple of bucks or spend more to get the XT variant? Let’s find out.

Design

So for testing, I have the GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 GAMING 16G with me, which stands out with its signature stealthy black shroud and sharp geometric accents. It features a triple-fan WINDFORCE cooling system with alternate spinning fans, designed to reduce turbulence and enhance airflow for better heat dissipation. The metal backplate adds structural rigidity and a premium touch while also helping passively with heat dissipation.

Lighting-wise, the card includes RGB Fusion lighting on the side logo, letting users customise the look to match their setup. It’s subtle, not overly flashy, and can be synced with other GIGABYTE devices using their RGB Fusion software. There’s a sliding side plate, letting you choose from having the RGB light come as it is, or through the GIGABYTE logo, if you want to showcase the branding. The design also incorporates dual BIOS support, with a physical switch for toggling between ‘Performance Mode’ and ‘Silent Mode’, which is a handy touch for users who want to balance performance and acoustics. The entire package feels robust and gamer-ready, with both form and function in mind.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT vs 9070 XT: What’s Different?

Similar to its bigger brother, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4 architecture and brings about new improvements, especially regarding Ray Tracing and AI upscaling. The new FSR 4 feature ensures higher framerates, enabling budget shoppers to get a taste of 4K gaming with these new cards.

While both cards offer 16GB GDDR6 memory and the same memory bandwidth, the RX 9070 XT has more compute units and higher clock speeds, translating to better performance, especially in demanding tasks. But how much better exactly? Let's find out

Test Bench Explained

To evaluate the RX 9070's performance, we used the following test setup:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D – A powerhouse for both gaming and productivity.
• RAM: 32GB Kingston DDR5-8000MT/s – Ensures smooth multitasking and gaming.
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X870E AORUS PRO – Offers PCIe 5.0 support and robust stability.
• AIO Cooler: MSI MAG Coreliquid i360 Black – Keeps the CPU temperatures in check.
• PSU: MSI MAG A1000GL Black – A 1000W modular unit providing ample power.
• Cabinet: MSI MAG PANO 100R PZ Black – Spacious with excellent airflow, accommodating the triple-slot GPU comfortably.

This setup ensures that the GPU operates without any bottlenecks, providing accurate performance metrics.

AMD Radeon RX 9070: Performance Analysis

The Radeon RX 9070 is clearly designed for 1440p gaming, and it nails it for the most part. In Cyberpunk 2077, it averages a solid 120 FPS at native 1440p, and Alan Wake 2 clocks in around 112 FPS, which is pretty impressive given the game's heavy visuals.

That said, performance does take a hit in more demanding titles like Black Myth: Wukong, where the RX 9070 averages around 69 FPS, and even enabling FSR barely nudges it to 73 FPS. But this isn't entirely the GPU's fault. FSR performance heavily depends on the version being used. For example, Forza Horizon 5 supports only FSR 2.2, and ironically, turning it on actually reduces FPS — from 189 down to 178. Then again, this kind of dip isn't unheard of; earlier versions of DLSS showed similar quirks. Not to forget that our benchmarks also enabled Ray Tracing, so there's that.

Thankfully, newer FSR versions are far more refined. For instance, in God of War Ragnarok, which uses FSR 3.1, frame rates jump from 123 FPS to 160 FPS. On top of that, with FSR 4 rolling out soon to more titles, things should only get better on that front. Speaking of which, we didn't use FSR 4 right now for our benchmarks, since it wasn't available in most supported titles at the time, and despite multiple reinstalls, it refused to show up in AMD's Radeon Software. That said, the latest Adrenalin 25.5.1 update is expected to iron out some of these issues. We'll be sure to update our results once proper support is available

Now, on to 4K gaming: the RX 9070 handles it... okay-ish. It's not built for raw 4K power, but in well-optimised or slightly older titles, it manages to hold its own. Essentially, you can expect around 60 FPS on average in games like Alan Wake 2, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Red Dead Redemption 2, provided you disable FSR, Frame Generation, and Ray Tracing.

The performance gap between the RX 9070 and its elder sibling, the RX 9070 XT, is around 8–12%, depending on the game or benchmark. It's not a massive difference, but it's noticeable if you want to max everything out. Interestingly, in synthetic tests like 3DMark and GeekBench, the RX 9070 even outperforms NVIDIA's RTX 5070 Ti in native workloads, which is solid proof of AMD's efficiency-focused approach.

However, NVIDIA still has the upper hand when it comes to AI-based upscaling and ray tracing. Turn on DLSS, and the RTX 5070 Ti pulls ahead quickly. Plus, ray tracing on AMD still isn't as mature. A great (and unfortunate) example is with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Just turn on full ray tracing on the RX 9070, and the game just freezes.

To be fair, AMD has made improvements here over previous generations, and the RX 9070's ray tracing isn't terrible. It's just not competitive enough, yet, to convert a ray-tracing enthusiast away from NVIDIA.

Pricing

As of writing this review, the Radeon RX 9070 is selling for around ₹70,000, with our Gigabyte GAMING OC variant retailing at roughly ₹72,000. In comparison, the RX 9070 XT starts at around ₹80,000, although more affordable AIB models from Sapphire or PowerColor can be found for close to ₹75,000.

Price-wise, there isn't a massive gap between the two here in India. While the 9070 XT offers slightly better performance, the standard 9070 has a few things going for it — lower power consumption, for starters. The RX 9070 draws just 220W, making it more PSU-friendly, especially for existing builds with a 650W or 750W PSU. The XT version, in contrast, asks for a 750W minimum, with AMD recommending 850W.

Verdict

So, at the end of the day, if you're upgrading an older build, the RX 9070 might be the better pick. It saves on power, heat, and a bit of cash. But if you're building a new PC from scratch, spending a bit more for the XT variant makes sense, especially since a jump from a 750W to an 850W PSU won't break the bank. Plus, you can always undervolt the XT to make it a bit more efficient later on. There's also a fun little bonus for tinkerers, wherein you can mod the RX 9070 BIOS to unlock performance closer to the XT. But we haven't tested that since it's not fully stable yet and could void your warranty. Disclaimer: Proceed with caution if you're planning to go that route.

Finally, let's talk about Team Green. The RTX 5070 Ti starts at over ₹1,00,000, putting it in a whole different category. You could look at the standard RTX 5070 instead: It's closer in price (~₹80,000) but only comes with 12GB VRAM. For creators or those playing texture-heavy titles, that memory cut might be a dealbreaker. In native rasterisation, the RX 9070 still gives you better bang for your buck. But if DLSS 4, AI frame gen, and stronger ray tracing are priorities, the RTX 5070 is the more future-ready option, albeit with higher latency and a smaller memory buffer.

Editor's Rating: 8/10

Pros:

• Excellent 1440p gaming performance
• Power efficient with lower TDP
• Solid build with effective cooling
• Good value for money

Cons:

• Ray tracing still lags behind NVIDIA
• FSR performance can be unpredictable
• Small price gap to the 9070 XT