7900 XT vs 7900 XTX: Which AMD GPU is Better Value?

After a tumultuous couple of years of GPU shortages, recent and upcoming graphics card launches are a breath of fresh air despite prices remaining admittedly high. Particularly exciting are AMD’s first 7000-series ‘RDNA 3’ GPUs: the RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX.

These two cards offer high-end competition that’s sure to keep NVIDIA on its toes. Priced cheaper than the RTX 4080 but offering similar raw performance, the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX are great for those of us who aren’t swayed by Green Team brand loyalty.

Also Read: RX 7900 XT vs RTX 4080: Which High-End GPU is Best Value?

There’s more than an ‘X’ distinguishing the two AMD graphics cards, though. The 7900 XT is $100 cheaper than the 7900 XTX at MSRP, and this comes at the cost of fewer cores and a worse memory configuration.

As always, calculating the price-performance ratio of the 7900 XT vs 7900 XTX means comparing not just the two GPUs’ specs, but also their real-world performances. And there are other cards to consider, too, like the RTX 4070 Ti.

Buying Options

• Best RX 7900 XT Graphics Cards
• Best RX 7900 XTX Graphics Cards

What is the RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX?

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX are high-end GPUs that launched in December 2022. They don’t quite offer flagship performance thanks to the existence of the RTX 4090, but they’re two of the best graphics cards on the market at the moment, aiming to compete with the more expensive RTX 4080.

Also Read: RTX 4080 vs RX 7900 XTX: Which AMD or NVIDIA GPU is Better?

Both ‘RDNA 3’ architecture GPUs are built using AMD’s new (for GPUs) chiplet design that separates all the rendering hardware on one die (the Graphics Compute Die, or ‘GCD’) from several other dies that host the memory hardware (Memory Compute Dies, or ‘MCDs’), using ‘Infinity Links’ to keep everything connected.

Both the 7900 XT and XTX outperform even the very best previous-gen NVIDIA ‘Ada Lovelace’ GPUs, and they compete closely with the RTX 4080.

7900 XTX vs 7900 XT: Price Comparison

The RX 7900 XT has an MSRP of $899, and the RX 7900 XTX has an MSRP of $999, making the XTX $100 (11%) more expensive than the XT.

Third-party retail prices are, perhaps surprisingly, relatively close to these recommended prices, though of course there are some enthusiast AIBs that cost much more. At the time of writing—and excluding ultra-enthusiast models—you can pick up a 7900 XT for between $870-950, and a 7900 XTX for between $999-1,200.

On the low end, then, the $899 and $999 MSRPs are currently representative of these cards’ costs.

Alternative GPUs

There are two current-gen GPUs that you might want to consider alongside the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX.

First, there’s the RTX 4080, which performs about the same as the 7900 XTX on average. It costs $200 more, though, which makes it a hard sell unless you want significantly better ray tracing performance and the option to use DLSS.

Second, there’s the RTX 4070 Ti, which was originally set to be given the RTX 4080 moniker but has since been named a 4070 Ti and had its price cut. This GPU is $100 cheaper than the 7900 XT, $200 cheaper than the 7900 XTX, and a whopping $400 cheaper than the RTX 4080. And while it doesn’t quite compete with the RX 7900 XTX, it often keeps up with the RX 7900 XT.

Graphics Card Specs

The RX 7900 XT is a scaled back 7900 XTX in pretty much every respect. It has fewer Stream Processors, AI Accelerators, and Ray Accelerators, and it has a worse memory configuration and lower base and boost clock speeds.

Judging by the 14% core count difference, we might expect the 7900 XTX to be worth its 11% higher price tag, but specs don’t always align one-to-one with real-world performances.

Dimensions

The 7900 XT is a little shorter and wider than the 7900 XTX. Both are big cards, but compared to NVIDIA’s high-end offerings, neither seem quite so monstrous and both should fit inside most decently sized gaming PC cases.

Power Consumption and Thermals

For the 7900 XT’s 315 TDP (TBP), AMD recommends a 750W power supply, while it recommends an 800W PSU for the 7900 XTX’s 355W TDP.

Also Read: The Best Power Supplies Right Now

Many online reviewers have found that the RX 7900 XTX runs a little cooler than its less powerful sibling. But this difference is only small—it’s the difference between, say, 66c and 70c. And some reviewers, like PCGamer, found the XTX to run hotter. Overall, most reviews show both cards running at similar temperatures while gaming.

At the beginning of 2023, there were issues with some RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX GPUs overheating, which AMD reportedly confirmed was because of issues with reference coolers in some GPU batches. However, retailers have since started to pull these bad batches from shelves, and they should offer any affected customers exchanges or refunds.

7900 XT vs 7900 XTX: Gaming Performance

We’ve averaged out benchmark results from online reviews such as those from RockPaperShotgun, PCGamer, and TomsHardware to give you a good idea of how the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX perform on average across a variety of gaming PCs.

Also Read: 1080p vs. 1440p vs. 4K: Which Resolution Is Best for Gaming?

The percentage differences listed below average out performance differentials for different games, while the framerate comparisons graphed below collate framerates from all tested games and average them out. As such, the percentage differences are more accurate–but both metrics track close enough for the framerate comparisons to be useful.

Also remember that these results are only averages across a multitude of games. Actual performance differentials will vary depending on the game in question.

1080p Benchmarks

Framerates averaged from multiple online benchmarks.

On average, the RX 7900 XTX performs about 8.4% better than the RX 7900 XT at 1080p.

Both the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX might be overkill for 1080p gaming. The framerate averages listed here are, of course, taken from games played on ultra settings (with ray tracing disabled). So, even on ultra settings, the vast majority of games should get well over 144fps at 1080p—more than enough FPS for gaming on a 144Hz monitor.

And if you’re into competitive gaming, both cards should net you well above this because most competitive games aren’t so graphically intensive. Unless you’ll be gaming on a monitor with an ultra-high refresh rate, you probably don’t need a GPU as powerful as either of these for 1080p gaming.

If you’re sure you need such high framerates at 1080p, however, it might be worth saving some money and opting for the 7900 XT, because with games being so CPU-bound at this resolution and with framerates already being so high, the difference between the two likely won’t be very significant.

1440p Benchmarks

Framerates averaged from multiple online benchmarks.

On average, the RX 7900 XTX performs about 6.9% better than the RX 7900 XT at 1440p.

Much the same as at 1080p, the difference between these two GPUs isn’t great at 1440p. However, with framerates being a little lower overall at this resolution, differences can matter more. For example, some games will have the 7900 XTX getting noticeably closer to 144fps than the 7900 XT.

Also Read: Is 1440P Worth it for Gaming?

However, both graphics cards should average over 100fps on ultra settings in all but the most graphically demanding games at 1440p, making either of them a brilliant choice for this resolution.

Most benchmarks show that these cards have about the same performance differential across most games, meaning there are few big swings in performance differences. As such, it’s difficult to recommend one over the other at this resolution. We’re talking a 6.9% performance boost for 11% extra cost, but this performance can sometimes count when going from, say, 134fps to 144fps. It’s a tough call.

4K Benchmarks

Framerates averaged from multiple online benchmarks.

On average, the RX 7900 XTX performs about 12.4% better than the RX 7900 XT at 4K.

At 4K resolution, the 7900 XTX becomes much more worth its salt against the 7900 XT.

Unlike at 1440p and 1080p, at 4K the 7900 XTX more than makes up for its extra cost in its performance gain. It’s not that it’s not worth the money at lower resolutions—such is always a subjective assessment—rather it’s more certainly worth it if you’ll be gaming at 4K.

Also Read: Is 4K Worth it for Gaming? Why Most Gamers Don’t Need a 4K Monitor

Not only does the 7900 XTX perform proportionally better than the 7900 XT at 4K, at this resolution it’s likely to make a noticeable difference. For example, it might make the difference between 90fps and 100fps, or 125fps and 144fps.

Both RDNA 3 graphics cards should get over 60fps in almost any game you can throw at them on max settings at 4K (though of course there will be the odd demanding exception). And even in most modern triple-A titles, you should net closer to 100fps than 60fps. But for a framerate increase of over 10%, spending the extra $100 on a 7900 XTX seems worth it for 4K gaming.

Ray Tracing and Upscaling

Score taken from PCGamer’s testing (1440p charts).

Based on PCGamer’s 3DMark Port Royal testing, the RX 7900 XTX does ray tracing about 3.4% better than the RX 7900 XT at 1440p.

Unfortunately, neither of these AMD RDNA 3 cards trace rays anywhere near as well as NVIDIA’s high-end Ada Lovelace offerings. The RTX 4080, for example, does ray tracing about 25% better than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

Nevertheless, both AMD GPUs trace rays a little better than the previous-gen RTX 3080, and significantly better than the previous-gen RX 6900 XT and 6950 XT. So, it’s not so much that the AMD 7000-series is bad at ray tracing, it’s more that the NVIDIA 40-series is so good at it.

And while the 7900 XTX might outperform the 7900 XT when it comes to pure rasterization, it’s only marginally better than the cheaper card at ray tracing. So, it’s probably not worth opting for the XTX over the XT just for its ray tracing chops.

We can say the same for upscaling performance. Both cards gain about the same from enabling FSR, so this shouldn’t factor in your purchasing decision. And, of course, neither of them can match NVIDIA DLSS 3’s performance-enhancing goodness—not while we’re stuck with FSR 2, at least.

Game Performance Summary

The RX 7900 XTX outperforms the 7900 XT across all three resolutions. 

At 1080p and especially 1440p, the difference seems to be small but not unnoticeable. At 4K, however, the 7900 XTX takes an unmistakable lead, and even beats the RTX 4080 in some titles. On average, it becomes well worth its cost for 4K gaming, and in certain games it becomes a bona fide bargain.

Neither AMD card can compete with NVIDIA’s latest generation when it comes to ray tracing and upscaling, but they can match previous-gen high-end cards on these fronts. Comparing the 7900 XT and XTX to each other, neither is significantly better than the other in either of these technologies.

More Performance Comparisons

• RX 7900 XT vs RTX 4090
• RX 7900 XTX vs RTX 4090
• RTX 4070 Ti vs RX 7900 XTX
• RTX 4070 Ti vs RX 7900 XT
• RTX 4070 vs RX 7900 XTX
• RTX 4070 vs RX 7900 XT

Verdict: Is the 7900 XT or 7900 XTX Better Value?

Technically, the 7900 XT might be better value than the 7900 XTX for 1080p or 1440p gaming—just considering the price percentage and performance percentage comparison, that is.

But these two cards don’t exist in a vacuum. For $100 cheaper than the 7900 XT, you can pick up an RTX 4070 Ti, which holds its own against the AMD card. On the other hand, for performance that can compete with the 7900 XTX, you have to pick up an RTX 4080 for $200 extra.

In other words, the 7900 XT sits between a rock and a hard place. Spending $100 more than the 7900 XT (for the 7900 XTX) can get you a GPU that runs almost toe-to-toe with one that costs $300 more (for the 4080). And if you want to save money, the 4070 Ti is going to look mighty alluring.

If it wasn’t for the existence of the 4070 Ti, the 7900 XT might have been worth picking up on a budget (or what counts for a budget in this inflated market), providing you’d be gaming at 1080p or 1440p. If you’d be gaming at 4K, however, opting for the 7900 XTX would make much more sense even without the 4070 Ti in the equation. It’s just that much better.

For these reasons, as it stands, the 7900 XTX is better value than the 7900 XT. It outperforms the XT card in every respect and has a better memory configuration for longevity to boot. It’s the best high-end GPU you can buy for the price right now, providing you aren’t too bothered about ray tracing or DLSS and don’t have half a bank account spare to spend on an RTX 4090.