Is the Radeon RX 9070 XT still good in 2026?

It sits at index 50 on our 1-100 scale, ranked 4 of the 47 cards we track, and clears the minimum tier in 19 of 19 games here. Its core speed runs out before its video memory does in every game we track.

What processor should go with a Radeon RX 9070 XT?

Something around index 50 - the Core i5-10400F is the closest match in our catalogue. Pairing far above that spends money the card cannot use; pairing far below it wastes the card.

AMD graphics

Radeon RX 9070 XT

Released in 2025 with 16 GB of video memory. On our scale it sits at index 50, which places it 4 of 47 cards tracked here. In every game below, its core speed runs out before its memory does.

verified 3DMark Steel Nomad score 7273 · source

Index 50 is that score divided by the fastest card we track, not a number we typed: 7273 / 14636 × 100.

Performance index

50 of 100

Video memory

16 GB

Clears minimum in

19 of 19 games

What the Radeon RX 9070 XT runs

Judged on the card alone. The processor and memory in the same machine can lower any row here, never raise it.

Game	Reaches	Then limited by	Full page
Grand Theft Auto VI	high	core speed	open ↗
Cyberpunk 2077	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Baldur's Gate 3	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Elden Ring	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Counter-Strike 2	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Alan Wake 2	high	core speed	open ↗
Starfield	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Black Myth: Wukong	high	core speed	open ↗
Hogwarts Legacy	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Fortnite	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Helldivers 2	recommended	nothing	open ↗
Grand Theft Auto V	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Red Dead Redemption 2	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Monster Hunter Wilds	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Marvel Rivals	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Apex Legends	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Forza Horizon 5	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Palworld	ultra	nothing	open ↗
Destiny 2	ultra	nothing	open ↗

If you were to upgrade

The next step up our ladder is the GeForce RTX 5080 at index 61 with 16 GB - 22% more performance than the Radeon RX 9070 XT . That is the smallest genuine move, not the best value - we hold no price data and will not pretend otherwise.

Where to look: GeForce RTX 5080 (no store links yet)

For a balanced machine, pair it with something near index 50 - the Core i5-10400F is the closest match we track.

Questions

Is the Radeon RX 9070 XT still good in 2026?: It sits at index 50 on our 1-100 scale, ranked 4 of the 47 cards we track, and clears the minimum tier in 19 of 19 games here. Its core speed runs out before its video memory does in every game we track.
What processor should go with a Radeon RX 9070 XT?: Something around index 50 - the Core i5-10400F is the closest match in our catalogue. Pairing far above that spends money the card cannot use; pairing far below it wastes the card.