The recently launched AMD RX 9070 XT has garnered positive attention, exceeding expectations by rivaling Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Ti and even surpassing the RTX 5080 in certain scenarios. Overclocker Der8auer demonstrated the card’s potential, pushing a premium model to outperform Nvidia’s higher-priced offering.
Undervolting and Overclocking: A Powerful Combination
Der8auer’s experiment focused on maximizing the RX 9070 XT’s clock speed. The PowerColor RX 9070 XT Red Devil model boasts a maximum advertised clock speed of 3,060MHz. Simply increasing the power limit to 110% only yielded 3.1GHz. However, by implementing undervolting alongside overclocking, the results were significantly improved.
Initially, undervolting by 200mV caused the system to crash. After adjustments, a stable overclock was achieved at -170mV, enabling the RX 9070 XT to reach an impressive 3.4GHz. This frequency is a significant achievement for a GPU in this price range.
A benchmark of the RX 9070 XT and the RTX 5080 FE.
Der8auer’s benchmark results placed the undervolted and overclocked RX 9070 XT ahead of even the Nvidia RTX 5080 Founders Edition, albeit by a small margin. der8auer This achievement is particularly noteworthy considering the RTX 5080 Founders Edition’s $999 price tag compared to the RX 9070 XT’s starting price of $599 (although the Red Devil model used in the test costs $790). While both cards are currently difficult to find in stock, the price-to-performance ratio achieved by the RX 9070 XT is remarkable.
Benchmarking Context and Potential Advantages
The benchmark, conducted using Cyberpunk 2077, did not incorporate ray tracing or path tracing, potentially giving the RX 9070 XT a slight advantage. Nvidia GPUs typically excel in ray tracing performance. Furthermore, the RTX 5080 was not overclocked in the test, meaning it might have achieved a higher score if it had been. Despite these factors, the RX 9070 XT’s performance remains an impressive victory for AMD.
Conclusion: A Strong Contender in the High-End GPU Market
The RX 9070 XT’s ability to surpass the RTX 5080 under these specific conditions demonstrates its potential as a high-performance GPU. While the overclocking and undervolting process requires technical expertise and a premium model, the results showcase the card’s impressive capabilities and offer a compelling option for gamers seeking high frame rates without the premium price tag of Nvidia’s top-tier offerings.
