AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

The Verdict

The data positions the AMD Radeon RX 9070 as the clear performance leader over the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, winning 8 of 10 head-to-head benchmark comparisons. Its average benchmark score of 23,877 points places it 5.9% ahead of the RX 7700 XT’s 22,549 points, and it holds a 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs versus the 7700 XT’s 67th percentile. The most decisive gap appears in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RX 9070 scores 6,290 against 3,316 — a massive 89.7% advantage. In contrast, the RX 7700 XT wins only in Geekbench OpenCL (138,383 vs 131,539, a 4.9% edge) and Passmark DirectX 12 (79 vs 74, a 6.3% edge). Buyers prioritizing raw rasterization and modern API performance should choose the RX 9070; those targeting compute workloads in OpenCL or legacy DirectX 12 titles may find the RX 7700 XT competitive despite its lower overall standing.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 leads with an average benchmark score of 23,877, compared to the RX 7700 XT’s 22,549. That is a 5.9% gap in favor of the RX 9070.

Q: How large is the performance difference in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RX 9070 scores 6,290 while the RX 7700 XT scores 3,316, giving the RX 9070 an 89.7% advantage. This is the single largest delta between the two cards across all tested benchmarks.

Q: In which benchmarks does the RX 7700 XT outperform the RX 9070?

A: The RX 7700 XT wins in Geekbench OpenCL (138,383 vs 131,539, a 4.9% edge) and Passmark DirectX 12 (79 vs 74, a 6.3% edge). These are the only two wins for the RX 7700 XT out of ten comparisons.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RX 9070 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7700 XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Passmark G3D?

A: The RX 9070 scores 25,381 in Passmark G3D, which is 12.6% higher than the RX 7700 XT’s 22,547. This aligns with the RX 9070’s overall performance advantage.

Q: What are the transistor counts and die sizes?

A: The RX 9070 uses 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, while the RX 7700 XT packs 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die. The RX 9070’s transistor density is 151.0M per mm² versus 81.2M per mm² for the RX 7700 XT.

Architecture Differences

The RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture using the Navi 48 chip, while the RX 7700 XT employs RDNA 3.0 with the Navi 32 chip (codenamed “Wheat Nas”). This generational leap is reflected in the manufacturing process: the RX 9070 uses a 4 nm node from TSMC, whereas the RX 7700 XT uses a 5 nm node. The smaller process node allows the RX 9070 to integrate 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 151.0M per mm². The RX 7700 XT, by comparison, contains 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die with a density of 81.2M per mm² — meaning the RX 9070 packs nearly twice the transistors per square millimeter.

The RX 9070 belongs to the Navi IV (RX 9000) generation, succeeding the Navi III line that includes the RX 7700 XT. The RX 7700 XT’s successor is listed as Navi IV, confirming the direct lineage. In terms of compute resources, the RX 9070 has 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, 128 ROPs, and 56 ray tracing cores. The RX 7700 XT trails slightly with 3,456 shading units, 216 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 54 RT cores. Despite the RX 7700 XT having higher base and boost clocks (1,435 MHz and 2,544 MHz respectively) compared to the RX 9070’s 1,330 MHz base and 2,520 MHz boost, the RX 9070’s architectural efficiency and larger memory subsystem deliver superior performance in most tests.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical. However, the RX 9070 offers DisplayPort 2.1a outputs (3x) and HDMI 2.1b, while the RX 7700 XT provides DisplayPort 2.1 (2x), HDMI 2.1a, and a USB Type-C port. The RX 9070 also uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RX 7700 XT is limited to PCIe 4.0 x16, which may impact bandwidth in certain workloads.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge across nearly every major specification category. The RX 9070 uses a 4 nm process node versus the RX 7700 XT’s 5 nm node. Transistor counts differ substantially: 53,900 million for the RX 9070 versus 28,100 million for the RX 7700 XT, with die sizes of 357 mm² and 346 mm² respectively — a mere 11 mm² difference despite the vast transistor disparity.

Clock speeds show the RX 7700 XT with higher base (1,435 MHz vs 1,330 MHz), boost (2,544 MHz vs 2,520 MHz), and game clocks (2,171 MHz vs 2,070 MHz). However, the RX 9070 has faster memory clocks at 2,518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) versus 2,250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). Memory capacity favors the RX 9070 at 16 GB versus 12 GB, with a wider 256-bit bus compared to 192-bit, and bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s against 432.0 GB/s.

Compute resources lean toward the RX 9070: 3,584 shading units vs 3,456, 224 TMUs vs 216, 128 ROPs vs 96, and 56 RT cores vs 54. Pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s for the RX 9070 versus 244.2 GPixel/s for the RX 7700 XT, and texture rates are 564.5 GTexel/s versus 549.5 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 performance both measure 36.13 TFLOPS for the RX 9070 and 35.17 TFLOPS for the RX 7700 XT.

Power consumption favors the RX 9070 at 220 W TDP versus 245 W for the RX 7700 XT, despite the former’s higher performance. Both use dual-slot designs and dual 8-pin power connectors, with a recommended 550 W PSU for each. The RX 9070 supports PCIe 5.0 x16, while the RX 7700 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the RX 9070 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a; the RX 7700 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C. Physical dimensions are only listed for the RX 7700 XT: 267 mm length, 135 mm height, and 50 mm width.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test delivers the most dramatic separation. The RX 9070 scores 6,290 versus the RX 7700 XT’s 3,316, an 89.7% advantage that dwarfs every other benchmark delta. This suggests the RX 9070’s architectural improvements in RDNA 4.0 provide exceptional scaling in modern DirectX 12 workloads, far beyond what the raw specification differences might predict.

Geekbench Vulkan shows a substantial 26.4% win for the RX 9070, with scores of 58,705 against 46,443. This reinforces the RX 9070’s strength in contemporary graphics APIs. Passmark DirectX 11 sees the RX 9070 ahead by 21.1% (281 vs 232), and DirectX 10 shows an 18.5% edge (141 vs 119). Even in older DirectX 9, the RX 9070 leads by 16.7% (343 vs 294).

The RX 9070 also wins in compute-oriented tests: Passmark GPU Compute shows 14,737 versus 12,912, a 14.1% advantage, and Passmark G3D delivers 25,381 versus 22,547, a 12.6% gap. The 2D performance difference is smaller at 10.2% (1,280 vs 1,161), but still favors the RX 9070.

The RX 7700 XT’s two victories are notable for their context. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 138,383 against the RX 9070’s 131,539 — a 4.9% edge that suggests its higher clock speeds and RDNA 3.0 architecture may benefit certain OpenCL compute tasks. In Passmark DirectX 12, the RX 7700 XT wins narrowly with 79 against 74, a 6.3% advantage, though this is a low-margin result on a test where both cards score in the double digits.

Looking at nearest rivals for context, the RX 9070’s average score of 23,877 sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24,063, 0.8% higher) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24,170, 1.2% higher), while edging out the GTX TITAN Z (23,736, 0.6% lower) and RTX 3080 Mobile (23,628, 1.1% lower). The RX 7700 XT’s 22,549 average is comparable to the RTX 5060 Mobile (22,435, 0.5% lower), RTX 4060 Mobile (22,729, 0.8% higher), and RTX 2080 (22,895, 1.5% higher), while leading the RX 5700 (22,170, 1.7% lower).

Overall, the benchmark data consistently favors the RX 9070 across eight of ten tests, with margins ranging from 10.2% to 89.7%. The RX 7700 XT’s wins are isolated to OpenCL compute and one legacy DirectX 12 test, making the RX 9070 the more versatile and future-proof option for the majority of workloads.