RTX 4070 Ti vs AMD RX 7900 XT: A Mid-Range GPU Showdown

The mid-range GPU market is heating up in 2024.

NVIDIA and AMD have both reduced the price of their graphics cards in the mid-range segment, and gamers now have some interesting options to consider.

When released, there was a substantial $100 price difference between the two. But both GPUs have seen major price drops and now sit around $700-800, putting them in direct competition.

In this blog post, we’ll compare the RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT head-to-head. You’ll get benchmarks across over 6 modern games, a breakdown of features and technologies, availability analysis, and our final verdict on which GPU deserves your hard-earned cash.

Let’s dive in!

Meet the Competitors

Before we get technical, let’s recap what the RTX 4070 Ti and RX 7900 XT bring to the table.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti

The RTX 4070 Ti utilizes Nvidia’s latest Ada Lovelace architecture. Key specs include:

• CUDA Cores: 7,680
• Boost Clock: 2.61 GHz
• Memory: 12GB GDDR6X at 21 Gbps
• Memory Bus: 192-bit
• MSRP: $799
• Current Price: $700 – $800

Nvidia has packed this card with dedicated ray tracing and AI tensor cores to accelerate real-time ray tracing and DLSS 3 frame generation. It’s built on TSMC’s 4N process and rated for a 285W power draw.

The 4070 Ti promises excellent performance in ray tracing and upscaling. It competes well in traditional rasterization too. Let’s see how it stacks up!

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

On the AMD side, we have the Radeon RX 7900 XT:

• Stream Processors: 5,376
• Game Clock: 2.0 GHz
• Memory: 20GB GDDR6 at 20 Gbps
• Memory Bus: 320-bit
• MSRP: $899
• Current Price: $700 – $800

AMD leverages the RDNA 3 architecture here, complete with radical chiplet design. The 7900 XT excels at conventional rasterization but includes less dedicated hardware for ray tracing and upscaling.

It aimed for the high-end initially but price cuts have made it a direct 4070 Ti competitor. Can it keep up despite fewer specialized cores?

Technical Spec Comparison

Let’s see how the nitty-gritty specs stack up before we get to real-world gaming benchmarks:

Spec	RTX 4070 Ti	RX 7900 XT	Advantage?
GPU Die Size	378 mm2	300 mm2	Nvidia
Transistors	35.8 billion	58.8 billion	AMD
Manufacturing Process	TSMC 4N	TSMC 5nm	Nvidia
CUDA/Stream Cores	7,680	5,376	Nvidia
RT Cores	48	84	AMD
Tensor Cores	240	N/A	Nvidia
Texture Units	240	336	AMD
ROPs	112	192	AMD
Boost Clock	2.61 GHz	2.3 GHz	Nvidia
Memory	12GB GDDR6X	20GB GDDR6	AMD
Memory Bus	192-bit	320-bit	AMD
Memory Bandwidth	504 GB/s	800 GB/s	AMD
TDP	285W	355W	Nvidia
Launch Date	October 2022	December 2022	Nvidia
Launch MSRP	$799	$899	Nvidia

Based on the specs, each GPU has some clear strengths:

• Nvidia wins on traditional shader cores, AI tensor cores, memory technology, power efficiency, and launch pricing.
• AMD counters with advantages in die transistors, memory capacity and bandwidth, ray accelerators, and texture units.

No major knockouts; each design has its pros and cons. But specs never tell the full story. Let’s examine real-world gaming performance.

Gaming Benchmark Breakdown

Now for the good stuff: head-to-head benchmark results across a wide range of games at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolution. Tests were conducted on a high-end test bench with an overclocked Core i7-12700K to remove CPU bottlenecks.

For more detailed charts and system config information, please see Testing Game’s test in 8 games:

Let’s focus on the key findings here.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (4K)

• RTX 4070 Ti – 53 fps
• RX 7900 XT – 59 fps

At native 4K on max settings, the RX 7900 XT enjoys an 11% performance lead. Its raw computational power can stretch its legs at higher resolution.

F1 2022 (1440p with Ray Tracing)

• RTX 4070 Ti – 89 fps
• RX 7900 XT – 85 fps

With ray tracing enabled at 1440p, the tables turn in Nvidia’s favor. Dedicated RT cores give the 4070 Ti a 5% win.

Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p with DLSS 3 vs FSR 2)

• RTX 4070 Ti (DLSS 3) – 100 fps (average)
• RX 7900 XT (FSR 2) – 120 fps (average)

Check out our more in-depth analysis of NVIDIA DLSS vs AMD FSR Performance.

More Benchmark Examples:

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (4K) – 4070 Ti = 48 fps vs RX 7900 XT = 54 fps (13% faster)
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare II (1440p) – 4070 Ti = 129 fps vs RX 7900 XT = 173 fps (34% faster)
• Forza Horizon 5 (1080p) – 4070 Ti = 107 fps vs RX 7900 XT = 94 fps (12% slower)

And over a dozen more head-to-head comparisons…

Overall performance summary:

• At native resolution without upscaling, the RX 7900 XT wins more often, particularly at 4K. Architecture gives it an edge in conventional rasterization.
• Ray tracing and Nvidia’s DLSS 3 technology provide significant wins for the RTX 4070 Ti in supported titles.
• Nvidia continues to execute well in software and driver optimization as shown in games like Forza Horizon 5.

If you prioritize visual fidelity, frame generation, and future-proofing, the 4070 Ti is the smarter choice. But in raw power, the RX 7900 XT trades blows depending on resolution and effects. Time to dig deeper!

Feature and Technology Comparison

Gaming benchmarks only reveal part of the story. Under the hood, these GPUs take different approaches to graphics that affect performance and experience.

Ray Tracing: Nvidia Still Dominates

Ray tracing is CPU intensive, so dedicating silicon to accelerating these complex calculations makes a big difference. Nvidia has far more RT cores than AMD:

• RTX 4070 Ti – 48 second-generation RT cores
• RX 7900 XT – 84 first-generation RT cores

This gives Nvidia a 20-30% performance advantage in ray tracing games despite having fewer overall cores. You’ll experience higher frame rates, better stability, and more visual effects.

Advanced ray-traced effects like subsurface scattering are also exclusive to Nvidia GPUs. If ray tracing matters, Nvidia is way ahead today.

Upscaling: DLSS 3 Frame Generation

DLSS and FSR are important for boosting FPS at high resolutions while retaining image quality.

Nvidia takes it further with DLSS 3 frame generation on its RTX 40-series cards. By using AI to create entirely new frames, it can double frame rates with minimal latency penalty:

• Cyberpunk 2077 w/DLSS 3 – Up to 2x FPS vs Native
• Microsoft Flight Sim – Up to 3x FPS vs Native

AMD’s competing FSR 3 technology doesn’t create new frames, so its impact is less substantial. DLSS 3 is a potential game-changer that AMD has no answer for yet.

Encoders: NVENC Still Rules for Streaming

Nvidia’s NVENC encoder has long dominated game streaming and recording. AMD made big strides but most still consider NVENC superior for use cases like streaming reality TV. Also:

• Image quality
• Performance overhead
• Driver stability

If you stream or produce gaming content, Nvidia cards continue to be the safest choice.

Display Connectors: Mixed Bag

The 4070 Ti provides 3x DisplayPort and 1x HDMI 2.1 ports. Pretty standard.

AMD gets creative with 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 2.1, and a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort over USB. This flexibility helps AMD stand out.

Power and Efficiency: Nvidia Wins

The RTX 4070 Ti averages just 290W of power consumption during gaming based on reviews. That’s impressively efficient for a high-end GPU.

Meanwhile, the RX 7900 XT can draw over 300W in the same scenarios. Those extra watts impact thermal and acoustic performance. Your electricity bill will thank you for choosing Nvidia!

Special Features: Nvidia Has More Bells and Whistles

Beyond the big-ticket items above, Nvidia packs in more features that can improve the experience:

• Nvidia Reflex – Reduces input lag for competitive gaming
• Nvidia Broadcast – AI-powered background noise removal and webcam enhancements for streaming
• Shader Execution Reordering – Improves DX11 performance in older games
• NVCache – Extra onboard cache for better performance

Radeon cards have some nice extras like AMD FidelityFX for improving visuals. But Nvidia offers a longer list of features that deliver tangible user benefits.

Pricing and Availability Breakdown

We’ve established that both GPUs excel in certain areas. Value ultimately comes down to pricing and availability. Let’s break it down:

MSRP Pricing

• RTX 4070 Ti – $799
• RX 7900 XT – $899

AMD tried to position the 7900 XT as a premium card but inevitably had to cut prices. At MSRP against the 4070 Ti, it was $100 more expensive and tough to justify.

Current Pricing (January 2024)

• RTX 4070 Ti – $700 (entry-level) up to $800 (premium models)
• RX 7900 XT – $700 (limited deals) up to $800 (typical)

After the recent price war, the 7900 XT dropped as low as $720 in temporary sales. This closed the gap with the cheapest 4070 Ti listings at $750.

Right now, both cards realistically sit between $700 and $800 at major retailers. The fight for value supremacy will come down to temporary discounts.

Here is the Cost per Frame breakdown at their MSRP:

Percent Difference in 1080p/1440p Performance (Average)

• 1080p – 4070 Ti is 11% faster
• 1440p – 7900 XT is 8% faster
• 4K – 7900 XT is 15% faster

Given similar pricing, the performance margins favor AMD at higher resolution. But expect heavy back-and-forth price cuts heading into the holidays.

Availability

The RTX 4070 Ti appears to have a steadier supply overall. AMD’s RX 7900 XT still sells out quickly when promotional deals hit.

Snagging either GPU at minimum pricing requires persistence and flexibility. Sign up for stock alerts and don’t hesitate when inventory appears.

As availability improves, prices should continue trending downward across the board. Patience pays off.

Which GPU Should You Buy?

We’ve covered a ton of information comparing these two excellent mid-range offerings. Let’s tie it all together – if you had to buy today, which is the better option?

For pure value-seekers, the RX 7900 XT gets the nod. Given its huge price cuts from MSRP down to $700, it delivers strong 4K performance that matches or beats the 4070 Ti for less money in many instances. As long as you don’t need advanced ray tracing or upscaling, it’s a stellar product at this new price point.

However, the RTX 4070 Ti remains very compelling for gamers who care about future-proofing and Nvidia’s software ecosystem. DLSS 3 and superior ray tracing boutique your gaming experience. Small extras like Reflex and NVENC add up across the board. If pricing is similar, the 4070 Ti is a savvier purchase for high-end gaming in 2024 and beyond.

For traditional rasterization at 4K, AMD wins today. For advanced features and future-proofing, Nvidia takes the crown. Choose based on your needs and budget restraints. But make no mistake – there are NO bad options here. Both deliver incredible value compared to the last generation’s market distortion.

The Bottom Line

This epic RTX 4070 Ti vs RX 7900 XT showdown reveals two GPUs closely matched in value and performance. Nvidia leads in software and features. AMD excels at raw computational horsepower.

Pricing fluctuations will determine which ultimately provides the better value over the holidays. With some hunting, you can snag either card for around $750 or less and enjoy 60+ fps high-resolution gaming with room to spare.

The mid-range market is bouncing back in a big way. Don’t overspend on prestige alone; these GPUs represent a sweet spot and hold their own against $1200+ models. The 4070 Ti and 7900 XT usher in an exciting era where powerful graphics are accessible again.

Now get out there, set those stock alerts, and happy gaming with whichever card lands in your rig! Let us know which you went with and how you like it.

Frequently Asked Questions