Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 9070

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AMD's Radeon RX 9070 falls close successful enactment down the Radeon RX 9070 XT successful its Radeon RX 9000 bid of graphics cards. Though a competent paper successful its ain right, the $549 Radeon RX 9070 sits successful the shadiness of the mostly better-value $599 Radeon RX 9070 XT, with the quality successful terms not large capable to marque the Radeon RX 9070 basal out. In investigating a Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 9070 for this review, we recovered that you tin undoubtedly gully an enjoyable gaming acquisition from the Radeon RX 9070 astatine high-detail 1440p and lower-detail 4K resolutions. However, spending an other $50 for the Radeon RX 9070 XT, an Editors' Choice grant winner, is overmuch much worthwhile, truthful agelong arsenic that paper remains successful banal and the terms spread doesn’t grow.

The Navi 48 GPU: A Small Step Down From RX 9070 XT

The RX 9070 uses the RDNA 4 graphics architecture and the Navi 48 GPU die, conscionable similar the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, but AMD partially disabled portions of the RX 9070's GPU successful the binning process. The RX 9070 hasn't mislaid overmuch from a part-by-part analysis. The fig of watercourse processors wrong the RX 9070 is 3,584, a 14% simplification from the RX 9070 XT’s number of 4,096. This simplification comes with a alteration successful the fig of texture mapping units (TMUs) from 256 connected the RX 9070 XT to 224 connected the RX 9070, and the fig of ray accelerators likewise dropped from 64 to 56.

That’s astir it successful presumption of hardware changes. Technically, the fig of AI accelerators dropped from 128 to 112, but those don’t interaction gaming show nether mean conditions. The fig of raster cognition units (ROPs) was unchanged; aforesaid for the representation interface. AMD's 16GB excavation of GDDR6 representation operates astatine 20Gbps connected some cards.

Arguably, the astir notable differences betwixt the RX 9070 XT and the RX 9070 travel from their firmware. The RX 9070 XT is configured to run with a max boost timepiece of 2,970MHz and is rated to mostly hover astir 2,400MHz portion gaming. AMD acceptable the RX 9070's turbo timepiece 15% little astatine 2,520MHz, and the expected gaming timepiece velocity dropped by 14% to 2,070MHz. These reductions successful hardware resources and timepiece velocity besides pushed the expected highest powerfulness gully of the RX 9070 down to 220 watts from the RX 9070 XT’s highest of 304W.

These drops successful show make a sufficiently ample show delta betwixt the Radeon RX 9070 and the RX 9070 XT to support each paper from straight competing connected performance, but pricing is different matter. With the RX 9070 XT priced astatine $599 and the RX 9070 acceptable astatine $549, that's a terms quality of conscionable 9%. Keep this successful caput erstwhile I get to the benchmarks: If the RX 9070 XT tin outpace the RX 9070 by much than 9%, which these specs suggest it should easy do, past the RX 9070 XT is the amended value.

Before moving connected to the tests, it's worthy mentioning that the Radeon RX 9070 could person ample headroom for overclocking. The RX 9070 and the RX 9070 XT some usage the Navi 48 graphics chip, but AMD clocked the RX 9070 XT overmuch higher, suggesting that the RX 9070 could besides spell higher. However, if you are funny successful overclocking, I wouldn’t fuss buying a better-cooled RX 9070 exemplary if it costs immoderate extra. You won't find capable country betwixt the RX 9070 and the RX 9070 XT successful terms to enactment doing that erstwhile you could conscionable bargain an RX 9070 XT.

Design: Two Fans, Two HDMI, Zero RGB

Sapphire manufactured the trial paper that AMD sent america for reappraisal with a dual-fan thermal solution. The Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 9070 doesn’t person immoderate RGB LEDs but makes up for this with an edgy achromatic exterior covered successful diagonal slits and reddish lines. A metallic backplate helps springiness the paper further structural integrity portion keeping the components connected the backmost of the card’s PCB cooler.

This paper requires lone 2 accepted eight-pin PCIe powerfulness connectors. Display output options see 2 HDMI 2.1 ports and 2 DisplayPort 2.1a jacks.

Testing the Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 9070: Setup and Competition

Our 2025 graphics paper testbed features a Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master motherboard and an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X processor with a ample 360mm h2o cooler to trial the Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 9070. We installed 2 16GB sticks of DDR5 connected the motherboard and configured them to run nether a 6,000MHz AMD EXPO representation profile. We besides added 2 Crucial 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSDs to the system, 1 dedicated to games and the different holding Windows 11 and each different software. To guarantee plentiful powerfulness transportation headroom, we utilized a 1,500-watt Corsair powerfulness supply.

AMD's main Radeon RX 9070 contention is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, which is besides priced astatine $549. Due to akin pricing, the RX 9070 volition besides person to vie with the RX 9070 XT, the last-gen Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The Radeon RX 9070 started beardown successful the 3DMark tests we conducted. It fundamentally tied with the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super portion surpassing the RTX 5070 and the RX 7900 GRE successful the Port Royal test. The RX 970 besides performed this mode successful the Steel Nomad and Time Spy Extreme benchmarks.

In 3DMark’s Solar Bay and Speed Way tests, the RTX 5070 pulled into a adjacent necktie with the RX 9070. Unigine Superposition showed some scenarios, with the RTX 5070 tying with the RX 9070 successful DirectX but falling down successful OpenGL.

AI Text Generation Benchmarks

AI show could beryllium a cardinal measurement for graphics cards someday, but that remains somewhat questionable for the infinitesimal arsenic bundle that tin instrumentality vantage of this hardware is inactive successful development. In these peculiar tests, Nvidia unquestionably has the vantage implicit AMD.

At slightest the AMD Radeon RX 9070 performed good capable for an AMD card, holding an borderline implicit the RX 7900 GRE.

Content Creation Benchmarks

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 besides performed reasonably good successful contented instauration tasks. It fundamentally tied with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and outpaced the remainder of the AMD competition.

The Blender benchmark refused to enactment with the AMD Radeon RX 9070, but this volition apt beryllium a impermanent contented that volition vanish aft the drivers oregon Blender bundle are updated.

Screen Optimization Benchmarks

We bounds our DLSS, FSR, and XeSS investigating to Black Myth: Wukong owed to the complications surrounding investigating these technologies against each other. They each effect successful differing representation quality, which makes comparing them solely connected show imprecise.

Black Myth Wukong supports DLSS 3 and FSR 3, which we trial connected Nvidia and AMD cards, respectively, with the super-resolution sampling acceptable to 100%. We past rerun these tests with framework procreation connected for each cards to gauge however this alters performance.

This trial notably does not amusement DLSS 4 oregon FSR 4 multi-frame-generation performance. With DLSS 4, Nvidia adopted a caller AI exemplary for DLSS enactment and AMD besides made respective changes to its 4th mentation of FSR technology. Of peculiar enactment is that these technologies tin make much than 1 intermediary framework betwixt each conventionally generated frame, though this has immoderate trade-offs. To larn much astir DLSS 4, cheque my article that intimately examines DLSS 4 performance connected the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.

In this test, the RX 9070 performed astir the aforesaid arsenic the RTX 5070 with framework procreation disconnected but pulled up of the RTX 5070 with framework procreation on. The RX 9070 was faster than the RX 7900 GRE successful some tests, though.

Ray-Traced Gaming Benchmarks

The Radeon RX 9070's show successful modern games that enactment ray tracing produced ups and downs. In Cyberpunk 2077, the RX 9070 was somewhat slower than the GeForce RTX 5070 and lagged down the RTX 5070 successful Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Returnal. However, the RTX 5070 ne'er bushed the RX 9070 by much than 10% successful these titles, with its vantage typically successful the azygous digits.

That contrasts with the RX 9070’s wins against the RTX 5070. The RX 9070 whitethorn not person beaten the RTX 5070 successful each game, but erstwhile the RX 9070 was faster, it was typically up by double-digit percentages. The RX 9070’s vantage varied from arsenic debased arsenic 6% successful F1 2024 to arsenic precocious arsenic 27% successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. It was besides faster successful Far Cry 6.

As for competing with different AMD cards, the last-generation Radeon RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 GRE were typically down the RX 9070. And the RX 9070 XT was typically faster than the RX 9070, which makes sense. I didn’t cipher the percent differences betwixt the RX 9070 and the RX 9070 XT crossed the board, but the RX 9070 XT was up by astatine slightest 18% successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III astatine 4K and by 16% successful the aforesaid crippled astatine 1080p.

The RX 9070 XT’s pb implicit the RX 9070 successful different games looks astir astir these figures crossed the board. As those leads are greater than the 9% quality successful terms betwixt these 2 GPUs, there's nary question: The Radeon RX 9070 XT presents a amended worth and much frames per dollar than the RX 9070, assuming the pricing holds.

Raster Gaming Benchmarks

Last generation, AMD’s top spot was successful games that didn’t enactment ray tracing arsenic its ray-tracing hardware was little potent than Nvidia’s. Instead, the mean AMD GPU seemed to person a spot much musculus erstwhile it came to much accepted gaming workloads similar those that don’t enactment ray tracing.

This generation's concern appears to person been reversed, with the GeForce RTX 5070 performing amended successful Total War: Three Kingdoms than the Radeon RX 9070.

The Radeon RX 9070 pulled up successful Shadow of the Tomb Raider astatine the 4K resolution, which shows that it tin inactive beryllium faster successful older games. The RTX 5070 appeared somewhat faster successful this crippled astatine 1440p and 1080p, but the scores were realistically adjacent capable to beryllium a necktie astatine those resolutions.

Power and Thermal Benchmarks

Using a Kill-A-Watt powerfulness meter, we measured the powerfulness depletion of our graphics paper trial furniture arsenic a full portion moving immoderate cardinal benchmarks connected each of the graphics cards shown successful the table. The Radeon RX 9070 consumed a spot much powerfulness successful the Adobe Premiere Pro trial than the RTX 5070, but this is made up for by the RX 9070’s higher show successful that test.

Gaming powerfulness depletion was besides notably little connected the RX 9070 than the RTX 5070. Given the RX 9070 typically tied with oregon performed amended than the RTX 5070, this suggests the RX 9070 is the much vigor businesslike of the two. The RX 9070’s powerfulness depletion was besides considerably amended than the RX 9070 XT’s, which is apt owed successful ample portion to its reduced timepiece speeds and somewhat reduced shader count.

The RX 9070 besides stayed overmuch cooler than the RTX 5070 during the investigating process; the Sapphire’s thermal solution performed amended than Nvidia’s Founders Edition cooler.

Verdict: Stuck successful the Pack Leader’s Shadow

For its $549 asking price, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 gives you tons of show and realistically small to kick about. Sure, its AI show lags down Nvidia, but seriously, is that wherefore you are buying a midrange graphics card? When it comes to gaming, the RX 9070 is usually conscionable arsenic accelerated arsenic the RTX 5070 oregon a just spot faster. It is somewhat slower successful a fewer games, but not by a meaningful amount, whereas the RX 9070’s show pb is much meaningful and noticeable erstwhile present.

The Radeon RX 9070 goes a agelong mode to regenerate AMD’s aging Radeon RX 7900 GRE and Radeon RX 7900 XT, arsenic it mostly outpaces these cards. AMD lone has 1 existent contented arsenic acold arsenic the RX 9070 goes: You tin bargain a Radeon RX 9070 XT for conscionable $50 more.

AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT is mostly amended and good worthy the added outgo if the 2 cards stay $50 isolated oregon less. The RX 9070 is simply a coagulated buy, but it would beryllium easier to urge if it were priced a interaction lower, similar $499. At $549, the Radeon RX 9070 is simply a good graphics paper that is worthy its asking price, but deliberation agelong and hard and marque definite you can’t scrape unneurotic that other $50 for the Editors' Choice-award-winning Radeon RX 9070 XT.