The RX 9070 XT has made huge waves due to its aggressive pricing and competitive performance. It managed to outperform the previous generation’s heavy hitters like the RTX 4080 Super and does well against the RTX 5070 Ti. So, this marks a new era for AMD as it will focus on competing in the mid-range market segment and leave the high-end GPUs to Nvidia. The RX 9070 XT features 2nd gen dedicated AI accelerators, like the Tensor cores in Nvidia GPUs, and Compute Units based on the RDNA 4 architecture, which were able to bridge the gap between ray tracing performance significantly.

So, this GPU directly competes with Team Green's 5070 family, and apart from pricing it aggressively, AMD also seemingly learned from the stock issues the RTX 50-series GPUs faced and claimed “excellent availability,” which was true but due to its incredible performance, everyone was eager to get their hands on one and are currently out of stock across major retailers, but the stock should be replenished soon.

However, for this comparison, we'll stack the new mid-range offering from AMD with the RTX 5090, the best graphics card in the world. We’ve only tested and reviewed the RX 9070 XT, but it shouldn’t be a surprise to see that it can’t compete with the RTX 5090, so what we’re focusing on is how far apart they are. We’ll update this article with the performance benchmarks of both cards once we’ve reviewed the RTX 5090, but for now, this is how they stack against each other on paper.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition

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RX 9070 XT

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RX 9070 XT vs. RTX 5090 specs comparison

Here’s a quick look at how these two cards stack up side-by-side.

Specifications	RX 9070 XT	RTX 5090
Compute units/CUDA cores	64	170 (24575)
RT Accelerators	64	170
AI Accelerators	128	680
Peak AI TOPS	1557	3352
Boost clock speed	2.97 GHz	2.4 GHZ
Memory	16GB GDDR6	32GB GDDR7
TDP	304W	575W
Connectivity	PCIe 5.0 x16	PCIe 5.0 x16
Display	DisplayPort 2.1a, HDMI 2.1b	DisplayPort 2.1b, HDMI 2.1b

Performance

The RTX 5090 and the RX 9070 XT are leagues apart in terms of hardware, but that also translates to performance, as the beefed-up specifications aren't just for show. We'll compare some aspects of these GPUs to see how far apart they are. 

Cores

There is a huge difference in the core count of these GPUs. The RX 9070 XT has 64 Compute Units, and the RTX 5090 has 170 Streaming Multiprocessors. Think of CU and SM as processing units that hold a cluster of Stream Processors and CUDA cores inside it. 

That being said, the RX 9070 XT should have more than 4000 Stream Processors, which is more than what the RX 7800 XT has but less than that of the RX 7900 XT. The RTX 5090 has a whopping 24,575 CUDA cores, and while these can't be compared directly, the difference in number should give you an idea of how much more processing power the 5090 has. 

The RDNA 4 architecture is also expected to make the 9070 XT's cores run more efficiently and give them better performance, but it won't be enough to enable it to come close to the RTX 5090. 

The RX 9070 XT also features dedicated AI cores like Nvidia's Tensor cores and has 128 AI cores compared to 5090's 680 Tensor cores. These cores give these GPUs 1557 AI TOPS and 3352 AI TOPS, respectively. So, while AMD is on the right path in including AI cores, the RTX 5090 has more than double the AI performance, which is surprising, seeing how it is a flagship GPU. 

Memory

The memory type is crucial in determining how a GPU will perform. The RX 9070 XT has 16GB GDDR6, and the RTX 5090 has 32GB GDDR7, meaning the latter has twice the VRAM and sports a faster and more efficient memory type. 

GDDR7 has a higher bandwidth than GDDR6, and combined with the 512-bit memory interface width of the RTX 5090, it should result in smoother frames, lower rendering times, quicker training of AI models, and more. So, while both graphics cards have a PCIe 5.0 connection, the RTX 5090 has a much greater edge due to its VRAM capacity, memory type, and memory bus width. 

Power draw

Of these two GPUs, the RX 9070 XT is the more energy-efficient option as it has a 304W TDP, while the RTX 5090 maxes out at 575W TDP. This means that not only will you need a high-end GPU to power the 5090, which costs a lot, but it'll also have an impact on your electricity bills. 

That being said, its high power draw is also responsible for its connectors melting, which is an ongoing issue with some RTX 5090 cards. The 600W 12VHPWR cable was said to have been made to avoid this from happening, as it is a repeat of what happened with the RTX 4090. 

Also, if you have an RTX 5090, chances are you'll be looking to pair it with a high-end CPU like the Ryzen 9 9950X or the upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D, both of which have a 170W TDP. 

So, combined, the total power draw will be 745W, so you'll need a minimum of 1000W PSU, which is expensive. However, if you're interested in exploring some options, check out our best CPU and PSU guide for the RTX 5090, which has the top picks. 

On the other hand, this shouldn't be an issue with the RX 9070 XT, and even if you pair it with the Core Ultra 9 285K, which has a 250W TDP, you shouldn't need more than a 650W or 750W PSU.

Pricing

The RTX 5090 has an MSRP of $1,999, and the RX 9070 XT, in comparison, is very humbly priced at $599. For comparison, you could get three RX 9070 XTs for the price of one RTX 5090, and with the stock issues of the 5090, it’ll be a difficult task to grab one at MSRP.

The next option is to get third-party variants, which might be easily available, but they will cost more. For example, Gigabyte NVIDIA RTX 5090 Windforce OC is available on Microcenter for $2,399.99. On the extreme end of matters, variants like ASUS ROG Astral NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 will set you back by $3,079.99, which is surprisingly still less than what some of the RTX 4090 are going for.

That being said, to experience the ultimate performance, you’ll have to spend more, but if you’re looking to get the maximum value for money, the RX 9070 XT seems like an excellent GPU.

Verdict

The RX 9070 XT brings decent improvements, but the RTX 5090 is on a whole different level. This isn't surprising as one is a mid-range GPU while the other is a flagship, which means they also come at different price tags. 

The RX 9070 XT should be vastly easier on the pocket than the RTX 5090, but for the best of the best, you'll have to spend upwards of $2,000, which is very hefty.