AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB: Which Is Better?

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT promises to dethrone the previous 1440p AMD GPU, the Radeon RX 7900 XT, despite having lower VRAM, but can it?

Picture of Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT — Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT (Image via XFX | Sapphire)

The Radeon RX 9070 XT is AMD’s best GPU in the generation and comes with 16GB of memory, which is less than its predecessor, the Radeon 7900 XT, which had 20GB of VRAM. This begs the question: Can the new AMD GPU with less memory beat its predecessor? Well, AMD certainly believes it can. That’s why we will compare the two graphics cards using real-world game benchmarks to find out which is actually better. Read on to learn more.

Note: The article is subjective and reflects the writer’s opinion.

Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB: Detailed Comparison

Picture of XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9070XT — XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9070XT

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB was released in 2025 and is based on the latest RDNA 4 architecture. On the other hand, the Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB was launched in 2022 and is designed on the older RDNA 3 architecture. Before we begin comparing them, let’s look at their specs to better understand what they are capable of.

Specs Comparison

Here are the specs of Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB:

Specifications	AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB
Architecture	RDNA 4	RDNA 3
Shader cores	4096	5376
RT cores	64	84
TMUs	256	336
ROPs	128	192
Base core clock speed	1660 MHz	1387 MHz
Boost core clock speed	2970 MHz	2394 MHz
Memory capacity	16 GB GDDR6	20 GB GDDR6
Memory bus width	256-bit	320-bit
Memory bandwidth	644.6 GB/s	800 GB/s
Manufacturing node	4 nm	5nm, 6nm
Thermal design power (TDPs)	304W	300W

The Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB has fewer shader cores, less memory, and lower memory bandwidth compared to the Radeon RX 7900 XT. However, as we know, specs do not always reflect real-world gaming performance. Besides, the former is built on the newer RDNA 4 architecture, which brings many improvements. Therefore, we should look at the actual gaming benchmarks to find out which is better.

Performance Benchmarks

Here’s how the Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB performs practically in games:

Games	AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB
Cyberpunk 2077 (RT)	51 FPS	39 FPS
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle	104 FPS	103 FPS
Silent Hill 2	66 FPS	62 FPS
Horizon Forbidden West	121 FPS	105 FPS
God of War Ragnarok	106 FPS	91 FPS
Ghost of Tsushima	126 FPS	116 FPS

Note: The two GPUs were tested at 1440p resolution with High/Ultra settings unless mentioned otherwise. All the FPS numbers were sourced from the Daniel Owen channel on YouTube. For the tests, both graphics cards were paired with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB performed better than the Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB in every tested game. The former is about 11.2% faster than the latter across the six games tested. The Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB also performed significantly better in Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing enabled. AMD mentioned that the new Radeon GPU was substantially better in ray tracing, and it shows.

Price Comparison

The Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB was originally launched at $599, but it is currently available at an inflated $719.99. On the other hand, the Radeon RX 7900 XT launched at $899 but is priced at around $646 on Amazon.

Final Verdict on Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB and Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB

Picture of Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT — Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (Image via Sapphire)

The Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB is a better GPU despite having lower memory. It is faster in both rasterization and ray tracing compared to the Radeon RX 7900 XT. The latter has an advantage with higher memory, which is only going to be useful in AI applications.

When gaming at 1440p, the 16GB memory of the Radeon RX 9070 XT is more than enough. Besides, it also supports the FSR 4 upscaler, which is a major improvement over FSR 3. Unfortunately, the Radeon RX 7900 XT does not support FSR 4. This matters to gamers, which is why we recommend the Radeon RX 9070 XT, despite its lower memory and higher price tag.

Gamers should choose the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, while AI programmers can go for the older Radeon RX 7900 XT.

We provide the latest news and “How To’s” for Tech content. Meanwhile, you can check out the following articles related to PC GPUs, CPU and GPU comparisons, mobile phones, and more:

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB vs Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB: Which Is Better?