AMD’s RX 9070 is actually faster than the 9070 XT with help from a BIOS mod
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Clever modders have discovered a way to make the AMD Radeon RX 9070 outperform its more expensive sibling, the RX 9070 XT, using a BIOS hack. If you go back a few hardware generations, hacking the GPU BIOS was fairly popular. These hacks could allow for overclocking and modifications not intended by the manufacturer. Though it is rare to see this kind of modification now, one intrepid group has made the RX 9070 into a powerhouse using a BIOS mod.
Though most vendors have chosen to lock modern GPU BIOS up tight to prevent modifications, at least some models of the Radeon RX 9070 can have their BIOS flashed with a new version. Enterprising modders used this to enable higher clock speeds and higher TGP. Obviously, this has no effect on the core specifications, such as core count or memory, but it does enable the card to use what it has more effectively.
- GPU: Navi 48 XT
- Stream Processors: 4,096
- VRAM: 16GB GDDR6
- Memory Bus Width: 256-bit
- Base/Game/Boost clock speed: 1,660/2,400/2,970 MHz
- TBP: 304W
Using the 9070 XT BIOS on a non-XT card
Users on the PC Games Hardware (PCGH) forums tested the modified BIOS, putting it through the 3D Mark benchmarks, and discovered it ran 15-20% better than the stock RX 9070 with an unmodified BIOS. This puts it at a level equivalent to its more expensive stablemate, the RX 9070 XT.
Based on our in-house benchmarks of the RX 9070 XT, we tested the GPU in Steel Nomad and Port Royal tests, where the ASUS Prime model scored 6,953 and 18,086, respectively. We didn’t happen to test it in the Speed Way benchmark, but a test from last month shows it scoring 6,405. Here’s how that compares to the scores posted by PCGH.
| Benchmark | RX 9070 (modified) | RX 9070 XT |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Speed Way | 6,762 | 6,405 |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad | 7,183 | 6,953 |
| 3D Mark Port Royal | 19,014 | 18,086 |
There were some drawbacks during testing. The modders found that ULPS mode seemed to be entirely non-functional, and some freezing issues were encountered. Some alteration to the settings appears to have mostly resolved any freezing or stuttering issues.
Some users on a tight budget who bought the RX 9070 for the cost savings might now be able to upgrade the performance of their card. However, there is a restriction. Users need to ensure that they only use the RX 9070 XT BIOS from a card with two power connectors, as using the BIOS from a three-connector card may result in instability issues.
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