AMD RX 7900 XTX vs NVIDIA RTX 4090 – Battle of The Flagships!

Today, we’ll compare AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090. While we already know that AMD did not intend for the 7900 XTX to compete against the RTX 4090, these two GPUs are currently the top-of-the-line GPUs offered by their respective manufacturers. Also, it’s clear that the RTX 4090 is the faster GPU overall. But the question is, how fast is it than the RX 7900 XTX? Is the 7900 XTX better in terms of value than the RTX 4090? Or should you spend more and get the fastest GPU available? If you are torn between these two GPUs, please continue reading our RTX 4090 vs. RX 7900 XTX review comparison below.

GeForce RTX 4090 vs. Radeon RX 7900 XTX Graphics Card – Which GPU Is Better?

Before we look at the numbers, let me give you a quick recap first. The GeForce RTX 4090 is NVIDIA’s latest and fastest flagship graphics card. Based on the AD102 chip and Ada Lovelace architecture, the RTX 4090 has 16384 CUDA cores and 24GB of GDDR6X memory. 

It also features 128 3rd generation RT cores; 512 4th generation Tensor cores; Shader Execution Reordering; Ada Optical Flow accelerator; dual NVENC encoders with AV1 support; and DLSS 3 or AI Frame generation technology. DLSS 3 is an exclusive feature of the RTX 40 series GPUs.

On the other hand, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is AMD’s current flagship GPU. It’s based on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture and uses a chiplet design. AMD uses a 5nm fab process for the Graphics Compute Die and a 6nm for the Memory Cache Die. It has a Navi 31 GPU with 6,144 Stream processors and 24GB of GDDR6 memory.

AMD’s latest RX 7900 XTX GPU features second-generation ray tracing technology, a dual media engine that can decode and encode 8K60 for HEVC, and supports AV1 encoding. Meanwhile, NVIDIA is already using 3rd generation RT cores for ray tracing, 8th gen NVIDIA encoder (NVENC) with dual AV1 video encoders, features DLSS 3 AI frame generation technology, and more. Although AMD has FSR, an upscaling solution, they don’t have Frame Generation technology yet, similar to NVIDIA’s DLSS 3. So, on the software side of things, NVIDIA is ahead.

Below are the specifications of the RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX GPUs. After that, let’s get straight to the benchmark results.

RTX 4090 vs RX 7900 XTX GPU Specifications

Check the latest pricing and availability: (#ad)
GeForce RTX 4090 graphic cards are available on Amazon.com here.
Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards are available on Amazon.com here.

Test System Used

GeForce RTX 4090 vs Radeon RX 7900 XTX Performance Benchmarks

RX 7900 XTX vs RTX 4090 – Synthetic Benchmarks

Based on our synthetic benchmark results, the RTX 4090 is generally faster than the RX 7900 XTX. There’s no doubt about that. The performance difference widens in Port Royal and Speed Way since these benchmark tests use ray tracing. It shows that AMD is still behind in ray tracing capabilities.

These are just synthetic benchmarks and may not reflect real-world game performance. So, let’s find out next how these two GPUs compare in actual games.

RX 7900 XTX vs RTX 4090 – RT and DLSS/FSR Game Benchmarks

I only tested a few ray tracing games since I knew NVIDIA would be on top when it came to ray tracing. As you can see from the results above, the RTX 4090 outperforms the RX 7900 XTX significantly in games where ray tracing is enabled. Of course, I enabled DLSS 2 with the RTX 4090 and FRS with the RX 7900 XTX.

Also, at 1080p, in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Witcher 3 Next-Gen, the RX 7900 XTX was able to outperform the RTX 4090 slightly. It is due to the 1080p bottlenecking the RTX 4090. You should never buy any of these GPUs for 1080p gaming.

When it comes to upscaling technology, NVIDIA GPUs can use FSR 2.0 and DLSS. While AMD GPUs can only use FSR. Regarding quality, though, NVIDIA’s DLSS is overall (far) better than AMD’s upscaling technology. Again, I wouldn’t be surprised since NVIDIA was the first to implement and use ray tracing and DLSS on their GPUs.

Now let’s check out how their performance differs when it comes to traditional rasterization.

RX 7900 XTX vs RTX 4090 – Rasterization Game Benchmarks

Without ray tracing, we can see that the Radeon RX 7900 XTX can compete against the RTX 4090 quite well. In game titles sponsored by AMD, or the game favors AMD GPUs, the RX 7900 XTX can perform on par or even outperform the RTX 4090. An example is Horizon Zero Dawn and Call of Duty Modern Warfare II.

There are game titles where the RX 7900 XTX can outperform or match the RTX 4090’s performance in 1080p and 1440p, but it gets left behind in 2160p 4K resolution. This shows that the RTX 4090 may be bottlenecked or is limited by the lower resolution. But in 4K, the RTX 4090 can perform at its best without restrictions.

There are games where the RTX 4090 outperforms the RX 7900 XTX significantly. For example, in A Plague Tale: Requiem. And I’m sure it will also perform better on other NVIDIA-sponsored titles.

Now, let’s combine and average these results to view the overall performance better.

Summary Results

The 14-game average above mainly covers the traditional rasterization. The only game titles with ray tracing enabled included in the average are Guardians of the Galaxy and Forza Horizon 5.

At 1920×1080 resolution, the RTX 4090 is only 2% faster on average than the RX 7900 XTX. The RX 7900 XTX could perform on par with the RTX 4090 on this resolution mainly due to the lower resolution bottlenecking the RTX 4090. Again, you should never buy an RTX 4090 or even an RX 7900 XTX for 1080p gaming.

Moving to 2560×1440 resolution, the RTX 4090 is 12% faster than the RX 7900 XTX. Although, there is still some bottlenecking going on at this resolution. Even at 1440p, I would not recommend the RTX 4090 for gaming. There’s still some performance left on the table.

Finally, at 3840×2160 resolution, the RTX 4090 is now 26% faster on average than the RX 7900 XTX. Both GPUs are no longer bottlenecked and have plenty of room to “stretch their legs”. Is a 26% performance increase enough for you? For some 26% increase is huge, but for others, it depends on the price. And that’s what we will talk about next; their price difference.

Price Difference and Availability

AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX starts at $999 USD. Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 starts at $1,599. These are their respective launch price. If we base their price difference on their launch price, the RTX 4090 is 60% more expensive than the RX 7900 XTX. Clearly, the RX 7900 XTX offers a better price-performance than the RTX 4090.

On top of that, when I published this review comparison, many RX 7900 XTX graphics cards were selling below $999 already. Meanwhile, most RTX 4090 cards are still selling above the MSRP, with the cheapest being at $1,599. Well, I did see some price drops during the sale season, but it’s back to regular prices now. Perhaps we may see some price drops in the next sale season.

When it comes to availability, there’s no issue. Crypto mining is long gone, and I don’t see any new trend that would make people hoard graphics cards (again), at least for now. So, do not buy from scalpers who jack up the prices since you can purchase these cards directly from major retailers like Amazon.

Check the latest pricing and availability: (#ad)
GeForce RTX 4090 graphic cards are available on Amazon.com here.
Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics cards are available on Amazon.com here.

RX 7900 XTX vs RTX 4090 Conclusion – Which Is Better?

You have seen the results, and they speak for themselves. The RTX 4090 is the faster GPU, about 26% on average in 4K; no doubt about that. But it is also 60% more expensive than the RX 7900 XTX. Despite being just second when it comes to ray tracing performance, the 7900 XTX is still better when it comes to price per FPS. However, when it comes to what GPU has the “better value”, I think that will come down to one’s use and preference.

Yes, that may be a bit of a controversial statement. Still, when it comes to machine/deep learning and AI-related workloads, the RTX 4090 may offer a better value than the RX 7900 XTX. Also, there are several features that the RTX 4090 has and the RX 7900 XTX lacks. Features like faster and better video encoding, DLSS 3 frame generation, better upscaling technology, etc.

Here’s another cold hard truth. If the RX 7900 XTX is the better GPU overall, why is it that it is not selling well compared to the RTX 4090? Even Google trends show that people look and search RTX 4090 more instead of RX 7900 XTX. On major retail stores like Amazon and Newegg, more people buy and leave reviews on RTX 4090 cards than RX 7900 XTX cards.

Other media outlets and YouTubers say you should buy the RX 7900 XTX instead. There are videos about “I sold my RTX 4090/4080 card and bought 7900 XTX” or something similar. But despite all these, and despite being the most expensive gaming graphics card, people are still buying the RTX 4090 over the RX 7900 XTX. Why?

While I do not have a concrete and solid answer as to why, I think people are willing to pay more just to get the fastest gaming GPU out there, regardless of the price. Also, perhaps the added features that the RTX 4090 offers also helped in the decision making.

Now, I will highlight in bullet form why you should choose one GPU over the other:

Reasons to Choose Radeon RX 7900 XTX:

• If you want to support AMD and don’t want to give your money to NVIDIA;
• If you game at 1440p or 2160p;
• If you don’t want to spend more than $1,000 on a graphics card;
• If you don’t care about ray tracing or DLSS 3 frame generation;
• If you don’t want to upgrade your PSU and/or use the new 16-pin 12VHPWR connector;
• If you are using software or application that would benefit from an AMD GPU.

Reasons to Choose GeForce RTX 4090:

• If you are willing to spend around $1,600 on a graphics card;
• If you game at 2160p (4K);
• If you want to play games with ray tracing enabled;
• If you want to take advantage of DLSS upscaling technology and/or AI frame generation (DLSS 3);
• If the software/applications you use can take advantage of NVIDIA’s GPU acceleration or CUDA technology;
• If you want to take advantage of NVENC or dual AV1 for streaming;
• If you are into machine learning, deep learning, or AI-related work;
• Or if you want to use other software and features available with the RTX 40 series GPU (honestly, I have not tried them all).

At the end of the day, the RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX are excellent GPUs. Each has its own strength and weakness. Whichever graphics card you choose will depend on your use and applications. While the RTX 4090 is significantly more expensive, it offers additional features that the RX 7900 XTX lacks.

On the other hand, the RX 7900 XTX is cheaper and offers a better cost to performance in gaming. However, it trails behind when ray tracing is involved, and it doesn’t have a lot of additional features and software support, unlike NVIDIA’s GPUs.

So what will it be for you? If you need help deciding which specific RX 7900 XTX or RTX 4090 graphics card to get, we also listed some of the best Radeon RX 7900 XTX cards here and the best RTX 4090 graphics cards here.

We also compared the RX 7900 XTX to the RTX 4080, which is cheaper than the RTX 4090. You might also want to check that out.