RX 9070 XT Vs RTX 4080 – Our Honest Opinion

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Shehryar Khan

Senior Editor and Content Writer:

• Lead the comparison and blog writing teams at Tech4Gamers.
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Pros And Cons

Comparison Table

Architectural Difference

• Architecture: The RX 9070 XT is the first AMD graphics card to introduce the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a new pipeline design. On the other hand, the RTX 4080 possesses Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace.
• GPU Chip: The RX 9070 XT employs the Navi 48 XTX chip, simulated on TSMC’s advanced 5nm N4P FinFET process. Conversely, the RTX 4080 features the AD103 chip, built on TSMC’s 5nm 4N FinFET node.
• VRAM: The RTX 4080 includes a cutting-edge 256-bit 16GB GDDR6X memory, while the RX 9070 XT offers a 256-bit 16GB GDDR6 memory. That is why the RTX 4080 possesses 12.0% greater bandwidth.
• Clock Speed: AMD offered enhanced clock speeds in the Radeon 9000 series. The RX 9070 features an 8.8% higher base clock. Additionally, its boost clock surpasses the RTX 4080 by 18.6%.
• TDP: Although the RX 9070 XT is AMD’s mid-range graphics card of this generation, it still features a substantial 304W TDP. In contrast, the RTX 4080 was launched with a thermal design power of 320W. 
• Advanced Technologies: The RX 9070 XT, with its enhanced architecture, incorporates AMD FSR 4.0. In contrast, the RTX 4080 retains its previous-generation upscaling technology, DLSS 3.0.

The RX 9070 XT is AMD’s newly released and highly praised graphics card that offers avant-garde technologies. In contrast, the RTX 4080 is Nvidia’s elite GPU from the last generation. Today, we will compare the performance and efficiency of the RX 9070 XT vs RTX 4080 to examine their differences.

Gaming Benchmarks

These graphics cards are from different companies. One is AMD’s latest generation, while the other is Nvidia’s last-gen GPU. This makes their performance comparison challenging. For this purpose, we ran our own tests for the RX 9070 XT vs RTX 4080. At first, we played eight taxing games at 1440p.

Test Bench

The gaming system used for these benchmarks had the following specifications:

• OS: Windows 11
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Motherboard: MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi
• SSD: Teamgroup T-Force G70 Pro 4TB NVMe SSD
• RAM: Biwin Black Opal DW100 RGB 32GB DDR5-8000 CL36 Kit
• PSU: Seasonic TX-1600 Noctua Edition Titanium ATX 3.1
• CPU Cooler: EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 LUX D-RGB

A Plague Tale: Requiem

• Starting with A Plague Tale: Requiem, we observed a performance edge of 9.1% for the RTX 4080. The RTX 4080 delivered 120 FPS on average, while the RX 9070 XT managed an average of 110 FPS.
• In terms of worst 1% performance, the RX 9070 XT mustered 90 FPS, while the RTX 4080 offered an 8.9% benefit in this scenario with its beautiful low 1% frame rate of 98 FPS.

Delta Force

• In our Delta Force session, the RTX 4080 provided an average frame rate of 204 FPS, which is about 26.0% better than the RX 9070 XT’s average of 162 FPS.
• The RX 9070 XT achieved 145 FPS in the worst 1% performance, while the RTX 4080 outperformed it by 24.1%, delivering a smoother 180 FPS.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

• While playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard, we noted that the RTX 4080 managed a brilliant average of 98 FPS, a significant 12.6% lead over the RX 9070 XT’s 87 FPS.
• With a low 1% frame rate of 75 FPS, the RX 9070 XT lags behind the RTX 4080, which provides a 6.7% boost and reaches 80 FPS.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

• During our Delta Force session, the RTX 4080 delivered an impressive 120 FPS on average, outperforming the RX 9070 XT by 20.0%. The RX 9070 XT furnished 100 FPS on average.
• In terms of the worst 1% performance, the RX 9070 XT managed 86 FPS, whereas the RTX 4080 demonstrated a fantastic 22.1% advantage, hitting 105 FPS.

The Last of Us Part I

• The RTX 4080 dominated The Last of Us Part I with a beautiful average frame rate of 125 FPS, marking a 17.9% edge over the RX 9070 XT’s average of 106 FPS.
• At its lowest 1% performance, the RX 9070 XT reached 94 FPS, whereas the RTX 4080 outpaced it with a smoother 112 FPS, a stunning 19.1% gain.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human (RT)

• While playing Dying Light 2 Stay Human with ray tracing enabled, the RTX 4080 maintained a smooth 102 FPS on average, outpacing the RX 9070 XT’s 84 FPS by 21.4%.
• With the worst 1% frame rate of 72 FPS, the RX 9070 XT falls short of the RTX 4080, which supplies a 22.2% uplift at 88 FPS.

Cyberpunk 2077 (RT)

• During our Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay with ray tracing ON, the RTX 4080 delivered a significantly higher average of 89 FPS, comfortably beating the RX 9070 XT’s 70 FPS by 27.1%.
• In the worst 1% scenario, the RX 9070 XT hit 60 FPS, but the RTX 4080 edged it out with a smoother 71 FPS, an 18.3% lead.

Metro Exodus (RT)

• In our last ray-traced session of Metro Exodus, the RTX 4080 outperformed the RX 9070 XT by a great 17.8% margin, delivering an impressive average of 139 FPS compared to 118 FPS.
• The RTX 4080 ensured better low-end stability, offering 122 FPS in the worst 1% performance, a 19.6% edge over the RX 9070 XT’s low 1% frame rate of 102 FPS.

Productivity Benchmarks

Having completed our rigorous gaming tests, we now review our productivity test results for the RX 9070 XT vs RTX 4080. Here, we will evaluate GPU performance in 3D rendering, image processing, machine learning, and computer vision, as well as efficiency and scalability in professional tasks.

3DMark Steel Nomad Light

• When we tested the performance of these graphics cards in 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, the RTX 4080 scored 30216, which indicates 17.0% superior performance than the RX 9070 XT, which scored 25824.

GeekBench 6

• According to scores achieved by these graphics cards in the Geekbench 6 Vulkan test, the RTX 4080 has 20.5% better capabilities for handling compute-intensive tasks than the RX 9070 XT.
• The Geekbench 6 OpenCL test reveals that the RTX 4080 outperforms the RX 9070 XT by about 19.1%, excelling in AI workloads, particularly deep learning.

PassMark

• The RTX 4080 achieves a remarkable 34584 points in the PassMark rating, surpassing the RX 9070 XT’s 26781 by roughly 29.1%, a testament to its superior computational power.

Overall Performance

Average Frame Rate

In our gaming tests, the RTX 4080 dominated every title, excelling both with and without ray tracing. It outperforms the RX 9070 XT by around 19.1% at 1440p, reinforcing its high-resolution gaming dominance. Unlike Radeon 7000 GPUs, the RX 9070 performs well in ray tracing.

Low 1% Frame Rate

In the low 1% of tested games, the RTX 4080 demonstrated a remarkable 18.2% uplift in frame rates over the RX 9070 XT. Strikingly, even at its lowest 1% performance, the RTX 4080 surpassed the RX 9070 XT’s overall average by 2.3%, emphasizing its superior stability and power.

Productivity Performance

The RTX 4080 reigns supreme in productivity, effortlessly surpassing its rivals. Its exceptional performance surpasses the RX 9070 XT by a phenomenal 21.4%, solidifying its position as a powerhouse engineered to handle demanding workloads with precision and finesse.

Power Efficiency

At this point, our expectations from AMD remain unfulfilled, leaving us with a sense of dismay. Although the RX 9070 XT boasts a 16W lower TDP, it drew 12.5% more power than the RTX 4080. Additionally, the RTX 4080 proves its better efficiency by supplying an incredible 36.2% more FPS per watt.

Thermal Efficiency

Under optimal conditions, the RTX 4080 and the RX 9070 XT maintain stable temperatures of 38°C and 34°C, respectively. However, when assessing their thermal performance in gaming scenarios, the RX 9070 XT demonstrates roughly 12.7% greater thermal efficiency than the RTX 4080.

Price And Value

The RX 9070 XT launched at an attractive price but is now out of stock and selling at least 21.5% above its MSRP. On the other hand, the high-end RTX 4080 is also selling well above MSRP. The RX 9070 XT offers great value at its MSRP. However, we must now wait for its restock.

What We Recommend?

Radeon RX 9070 XT: The RX 9070 is a cutting-edge GPU diligently engineered for an exceptional 1440p gaming experience. It delivers a notable gain in ray tracing performance over previous-gen AMD GPUs. The RX 9070 XT excels in thermal efficiency, but its power consumption is fairly high.

GeForce RTX 4080: The RTX 4080 features an amazing 9728 CUDA 8.9 Cores. It aims to provide outstanding performance, making it a powerful option for immersive 4K gaming. This card provides a high FPS per watt efficiency. Most AMD GPUs find it difficult to compete with the RTX 4080.

We highly recommend the RX 9070 XT because it offers prime value (if available at $600). It offers commendable performance at 1440p. Meanwhile, the RTX 4080 is great for enthusiasts seeking uncompromised power without budgetary limitations, delivering unparalleled gaming excellence.

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Shehryar Khan

[Comparisons Expert]

Shehryar Khan, a seasoned PC hardware expert, brings over three years of extensive experience and a deep passion for the world of technology. With a love for building PCs and a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the latest advancements in components, his expertise shines through his work and dedication towards this field. Currently, Shehryar is rocking a custom loop setup for his built.

Get In Touch: shehryar@tech4gamers.com