Looking at the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs. the Radeon RX 7900 XT involves comparing all the specifications to see what will work best for your rig. The two graphics cards from AMD are very similar with the latter costing just $100 less. Here’s everything you need to know to make the right decision for your gaming PC.
AMD released the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Radeon RX 7900 XT on December 13, 2022. Both GPUs are based on the RDNA 3 architecture, taking full advantage of the latest technologies and advancements from AMD. They’re incredibly similar, essentially being the same GPU with a few specs tuned down to warrant a new variant and a full $100 price discount.
Here’s how both graphics cards compare against one another. If we were to recommend one over the other, it would be the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. This card offers the best possible performance from AMD for an additional $100. The 7900 XT discount actually comes with a higher performance penalty.
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | RDNA 3 | RDNA 3 |
| Process | 5nm, 6nm | 5nm, 6nm |
| Transistors | 57.7 billion | 57.7 billion |
| Compute Units | 96 | 84 |
| Ray Accelerators | 96 | 84 |
| AI Accelerators | 192 | 168 |
| Stream Processors | 6,144 | 5,376 |
| Base Clock Speed | 2,300 MHz | 2,000 MHz |
| Boost Clock Speed | 2,500 MHz | 2,400 MHz |
| Memory Capacity | 24 GB GDDR6 | 20 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 384-bit | 320-bit |
| AMD Infinity Cache | 96 MB | 80 MB |
| Memory Bandwidth (w/ Infinity Cache) | 3,500 GB/s | 2,900 GB/s |
| Power Draw | 355W | 315W |
| Price | $999 | $899 |
Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs. RX 7900 XT: Price and availability
Both the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT were released on December 13, 2022. The price difference between the two cards is just $100. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX can be purchased for $999 and the RX 7900 XT comes in at $899. Compared to what NVIDIA offers with the GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, AMD has severely undercut the competition.
While they’re more affordable, AMD’s current two Radeon RX 7900 GPUs could be considered overpriced, which illustrates just how obscene PC part pricing has become.
RDNA 3 is AMD’s new generation of GPU architecture, and it’s what powers the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The impressive new chiplet design can be found on both cards, resulting in a detached graphics compute die (GCD) and memory cache die (MCD). This separation allows AMD to extract additional performance-per-watt and bring costs down.
The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has 96MB of Infinity Cache and a 384-bit bus width. The Radeon 7900 XT has one fewer MCD with an 80MB Infinity Cache and a 320-bit bus, resulting in a slightly slower performance with 4GB less VRAM to work with. It’s how AMD is able to scale this platform at different price points, and we’ll likely see a similar deal with other 7000-series cards.
Architecture
Performance
Since both the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Radeon RX 7900 XT utilize the same architecture and build with a few specs scaled back, performance wouldn’t be expected to be too different between the two cards. Truth is, it’s not. There’s not a substantial difference in performance across the board, but it’s notable enough to make the $100 additional cost well worth absorbing for the RX 7900 XTX.
At 2K (1440p) resolution, both Radeon RX 7900 cards perform really well. Depending on the title, one can expect to see a 10-30% performance boost with the RX 7900 XTX. The same can be said for 4K (2160p) and both resolutions with ray tracing enabled. We’ve compiled a quick list of games where the average frame rate was noted for comparison.
| Game | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2K, Ultra: 123 FPS2K, Ultra, RT Ultra: 37 FPS4K, Ultra: 64 FPS4K, Ultra, RT Ultra: 21 FPS | 2K, Ultra: 106 FPS2K, Ultra, RT Ultra: 27 FPS4K, Ultra: 55 FPS4K, Ultra, RT Ultra: 16 FPS |
| DOOM Eternal | 2K, Ultra Nightmare: 301 FPS4K, Ultra Nightmare: 201 FPS4K, Ultra, RT: 119 FPS | 2K, Ultra Nightmare: 266 FPS4K, Ultra Nightmare: 169 FPS4K, Ultra, RT: 102 FPS |
| Fay Cry 6 | 2K, Ultra: 165 FPS4K, Ultra: 119 FPS4K, Ultra, RT: 88 FPS | 2K, Ultra: 162 FPS4K, Ultra: 102 FPS |
| Metro Exodus | 2K, Extreme: 149 FPS2K, Extreme, RT Ultra: 111 FPS4K, Extreme: 89 FPS4K, Extreme, RT Ultra: 57 FPS | 2K, Extreme: 139 FPS2K, Extreme, RT Ultra: 91 FPS4K, Extreme: 80 FPS4K, Extreme, RT Ultra: 43 FPS |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2K, Ultra: 155 FPS4K, Ultra: 98 FPS | 2K, Ultra: 139 FPS4K, Ultra: 93 FPS |
The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX would provide a smoother gaming experience, especially at 4K with ray tracing. AMD has usually enhanced the performance of its graphics cards over the lifespan of said cards through driver updates. We can expect to see such gains with the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT as the two cards mature.
Which AMD Radeon RX 7900 is best?
The best graphics cards are largely a subjective collection of parts since it boils down to just how powerful a GPU you require. Should you be using a 1080p display, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 will be overkill, but so would the AMD Radeon RX 7900 series of cards. Moving up to 2K and 4K resolutions, we can now comfortably recommend either the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX or Radeon RX 7900 XT.
When it comes down to it, however, we struggle to recommend the RX 7900 XT over its more expensive XTX sibling. This is because it offers worse value for the $100 savings. If you’re set to spend $900 on a GPU, we’d recommend moving up to $1,000 and grabbing the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX to truly enjoy the power of what RDNA 3 has to offer.
If you simply cannot stretch to cover the cost of the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and are comparing the RX 7900 XT against NVIDIA’s $1,199 RTX 4080, it becomes a far better proposition on its own.
