Next-generation GPUs from Nvidia and AMD are finally breaking below the $1,000 price point. Prices from both companies are still hurting player wallets and these are no exception.
The $899 MSRP of the AMD Radeon RX 7900XT it didn’t fare well against its much faster $999 Radeon RX 7900 XTX big brother. Nvidia, for its part, had to “re-launch” the RTX 4080 12GB as $100 cheaper $799 GeForce RTX 4070Ti after a terrible reception to the original release. As you can see, both sides have an uphill battle to earn your gaming dollar.
We’ll talk about the price, gaming performance, and vital things to be aware of. Both GPUs promise to give you excellent 1440p performance, along with next-gen technology like ray tracing, FSR, and DLSS 3. Is the “sky-high” price tag too much to bear, or can one of these graphics powerhouses convince you? part with your hard-earned cash? Let’s find out!
Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti vs AMD RX 7900 XT: Price
Nvidia RTX 4070Ti.Thiago Trevisan
Good news: You can easily find both the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and Radeon 7900 XT in stock at most retailers. Bad news: You won’t like the price.
The $899 AMD 7900 XT came out first, and its performance seems pretty small compared to the much more powerful Radeon RX 7900 XTX just $100 more. The 7900 XTX was much harder to find in stock, leading to many buyers with just the 7900 XT as an option.
THE Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070Ti, priced at $799, is a $100 discount from its initial conception: an $899 12GB RTX 4080. After Nvidia’s unusual change of plans, we’re left with the RTX 4070 Ti as an option again. cheaper generation. Keep in mind that the RTX 3070 Ti cost $599, so that’s a steep $200 price bump after a generation (and the 3070 Ti was terrible value on its own).
Nvidia’s cheapest next-generation option
GeForce RTX 4070Ti
MSRP: $799 MSRP | $849 (specific model tested) Best Prices Today:
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Here’s another key aspect of the MSRP: There will be far more RTX 4070 Tis available at $849 and up, rather than the $799 MSRP. Nvidia’s add-in card partners have historically lower margins, so they’re happy to sell you a upgraded “overclocked” model for a surcharge. There is also no “Founders Edition” version like with Nvidia’s other RTX 40-series GPUs. Those have traditionally been priced at the base MSRP.
AMD’s 7900 XT can typically be found a little easier for its $899 MSRP, but the same market forces can lead its partners’ models to be more expensive.
Overall, players aren’t particularly happy with the price of either product, evidenced by their wide availability on store shelves.
Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti vs AMD RX 7900 XT: Performance
The 7900 XT (middle) is tiny compared to the RTX 4080!Thiago Trevisan
Both GPUs make the most sense at 1440p, but can certainly run at 4K resolutions with a few caveats. Brad Chacos has made a big point in his Nvidia RTX 4070 review: The RTX 4070 Ti only has 12GB of VRAM with a much slower memory bus width, which can cause bottlenecks in some 4K titles. The Radeon RX 7900 XT, with its 20GB of VRAM, won’t have this problem. This is definitely a nice hardware advantage for AMD.
Cyberpunk 2077 results for RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT.Brad Chacos
Starting with the native Cyberpunk 2077 (ray tracing and DLSS/FSR off), the RTX 4070 Ti suffers a major defeat against the RX 7900 XT. At 1440p, the former’s 102fps is blown away by the 7900 XT’s 121fps. That’s a whopping 17% frames per second difference, and the 7900 XT is only 11% more expensive. 4K also goes to the 7900 XT, with 61fps beating 49fps. In other words, only the 7900 XT reaches the magical threshold of 4K at 60fps Cyberpunk 2077.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 results for RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT.Brad Chacos
Next is the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. AMD GPUs performed great in this game and the 7900 XT is no exception. The 4070 Ti has one of its worst defeats here, with massive fps chasms between them. 1440p shows us 178fps versus 130fps, with the 7900 XT taking a commanding lead. The other resolutions are similar – it’s not even close.
If this is one of your favorite games, it goes without saying that AMD pulls huge numbers here – even the older 6900 XT isn’t too far off the pace of the 4070 Ti! If the call of Duty series is your forte, you’ll probably move towards AMD as your GPU of choice.
Cyberpunk 2077 results with ray tracing for RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT.Brad Chacos
Let’s go back to Cyberpunk 2077, and this time with ray tracing. Nvidia’s hardware has a big advantage in ray tracing. Here, we finally see the RTX 4070 Ti score a win. At 1440p, both GPUs dip below 60fps with ray tracing on. The RTX 4070 Ti maintains (sort of) a playable 48fps, which is more than the 37fps the RX 7900 XT can muster.
Whether or not ray tracing is worth it to you is subjective, but when implemented well, it offers some wonderful effects. Other times, it’s not so obvious. One thing that is not subjective: the performance degradation it imposes on the hardware.
A big answer to this is Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR upscaling technologies. These promise higher frame rates, while allowing you to tick off more than just eye candy. In Cyberpunk 2077, this bumps the RTX 4070 Ti to a more palpable 88fps. Similarly, the Balanced setting also bumps the RX 7900 XT to 70fps – much more playable, but well below Nvidia’s GPU. Cyberpunk 2077 it will also implement DLSS 3 in the future, which should bring even more frames to the table with Nvidia’s Ai frame generation technology. AMD also has FSR 3 in the pipeline, but it currently only works with FSR 2.1 Cyberpunks.
To summarize the performance at hand here: The AMD RX 7900 XT has a big lead over the RTX 4070 Ti in normal rasterized performance. This means that when ray tracing and DLSS are turned off, the sheer brute force of the 7900 XT will sweep the floor with the RTX 4070 Ti. The 7900 XT’s ray tracing performance isn’t terrible either—it still lags behind, but it’s come a long way this generation.
If you factor in ray tracing and DLSS 3, especially if the game you play supports it, that might balance out the conversation more. The Nvidia GPU’s lower $100 price point is also a plus, but we can’t ignore the 7900 XT’s performance—it’s the clear winner in this category.
Be proud, 7900 XT. You are a fast GPU!Thiago Trevisan
Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti vs. AMD RX 7900 XT: power and other things to know
Efficiency matters when putting out several hundred watts of performance. The Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti takes the cake here, with a TDP of 285W compared to the 7900 XT’s 300W TDP. Overall, both are pretty close, as Brad Chacos’ chart below shows. The 7900 XT performs better overall, so it wins on that front. The 4070 Ti has DLSS 3 in some titles, where it can really work well, but that’s a narrower use case. When you look at the RTX 3090 Ti’s 450 W TDP, both GPUs certainly impress with their efficiency gains.
Power draw results for RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT.Brad Chacos
Better efficiency means smaller GPU cooler designs, right? More or less, but not always. The reference AMD RX 7900 XT has a lean cooler, with only dual 8-pin PCIe power supplies. However, third-party add-in board (AIB) models can have much larger coolers. The RTX 4070 Ti doesn’t have a “Founders Edition” version made by Nvidia, so you’re stuck with AIB coolers. Some have a similar design to the big RTX 4080-style releases, so you’ll generally still be dealing with some big fighters here.
Thiago Trevisan
If you’re concerned about any thermal issues, both GPUs generally work very well. The reference 7900 XT was unaffected by some of the quality control issues that plagued the reference-only coolers of the larger 7900 XTX, so nothing to worry about here. Likewise, the RTX 4070 Ti’s power adapters are fine too. Just remember to plug them in carefully and accurately (RTX 4090 problems have been found simply because users didn’t insert the adapter all the way in).
Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti vs AMD RX 7900 XT: verdict
It’s hard to argue against some of the performance offered by both GPUs, especially at 1440p and 4K. Efficiency is also impressive, putting last-generation top-dog GPUs to shame.
While the 7900 XT is certainly the performance favorite here for most titles without ray tracing, it’s hard to crown a true winner. GPU prices have quickly reached prices that seem downright unreasonable. The RTX 4070 Ti offers decent ray tracing goodies, and DLSS 3 can be huge if the game you’re playing supports it. At $799, it’s cheaper than the 7900 XT, but we’re starting at an already exorbitant price level, which makes it unattractive. The $999 7900 XTX looks a lot better than both for your bucks, but it’s also more expensive.
AMD’s most powerful (and expensive) alternative
Radeon RX 7900 XTX
MSRP: $999 Best Prices Today:
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So there’s no clear winner here. We suggest waiting a bit for prices to stabilize as it has been a tumultuous time. Nvidia and AMD are still reacting on the fly to the glut of previous-generation GPUs that have yet to be phased out of inventory. This has clearly impacted next-gen pricing.
This is an “out of the ordinary” transition period and we know that simply saying “wait” isn’t always a viable option for someone in need of a GPU now, but now you have the information you need to make a smart purchase if you need to. a new gpu right now..
With more GPU releases this year comprising the rest of the lineup, we could also see better pricing to increase availability. You may want to keep your current GPU for a while longer – things should improve.
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