ASUS's premium Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card offering sports a hefty cooler design with a military-inspired aesthetic, which does an excellent job of keeping temperatures at bay.

On 6 March 2025, AMD launched its "RDNA 4" line-up of GPUs, in the form of the Radeon RX 9070 XT and the RX 9070. Packing significantly-improved ray tracing performance compared to its predecessors, the RX 9000 series marks AMD's shift away from the flagship GPU scene towards mainstream offerings in a bid to shore up its share of the global GPU market, and is intended to give NVIDIA's mid-range "Blackwell" series of GPUs (chiefly the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and 5070) a serious run for their money.

For this review, I'll be unboxing and testing a premium non-MSRP RX 9070 XT graphics card by ASUS - the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6. Featuring a factory overclock, a military-inspired cooler design that sports an aluminium shroud and backplate, alternate-spinning triple Axial-tech fans as well as a phase-change GPU thermal pad for optimal heat dissipation, the TUF Gaming is ASUS's flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card offering, where it also comes with a dash of RGB lighting effects. Read on to see how this card performs with a selection of gaming benchmark tests at the 1440p and 4K resolution, when paired with AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D gaming processor.

Summary of Specifications (TUF-RX9070XT-O16G-GAMING)

• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
• Memory: 16GB GDDR6 RAM (256-bit, 20 Gbps)
• Core Clocks:
  • OC Mode (GPU Tweak III): up to 3080 MHz (Boost Clock) / up to 2540 MHz (Game Clock)
  • Default Mode: up to 3060 MHz (Boost Clock) / up to 2520 MHz (Game Clock)
• Bus Type: PCIe 5.0 x16
• Outputs: 3x DisplayPort 2.1a, 1x HDMI 2.1b
• External Power Required: Yes, 3x 8-pin PCIe
• Recommended PSU Wattage: 850W and above
• Dimensions: 330mm x 140mm x 62.5mm
• Official ASUS product page: https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/graphics-cards/tuf-gaming/tuf-rx9070xt-o16g-gaming/

Packaging & Accessories

The TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 comes in a box with an outer sleeve that sports an image of the graphics card splashed across the front, with the rear of the sleeve giving the usual overview of features and specifications for this graphics card.

Removing the outer sleeve reveals a black cardboard box that holds the graphics card, where the said box comes with no shortage of TUF Gaming motifs printed on its various surfaces. ASUS has also included the following accessories with the card:

• Graphics card holder with built-in screwdriver
• Velcro hook-and-loop
• TUF Gaming fridge magnet
• Warranty card
• TUF Gaming Certificate of Reliability
• Thank you card
• Quick start guide

For a walkthrough of the accessories that come included with the card, be sure to check out the YouTube video embedded at the start of this article.

An accessory worth highlighting is a graphics card holder that comes with a built-in screwdriver - fans of ASUS's TUF Gaming line-up of graphics card will want to note that the included graphics card holder is no longer made of aluminium like those from previous-generation TUF Gaming graphics cards. Instead, the graphics card holder is now constructed of plastic.

Aesthetics & Physical Features

The TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 features a "vented exoskeleton" comprising of an aluminium shroud and backplate, which contributes to its premium look and feel. The card features three "axial-tech" fans with dual ball bearings for better airflow, and also utilises a phase-changing GPU thermal pad to help with heat dissipation.

Over on the rear of the card, we get a metal backplate that features vents with a cutout in the shape of the TUF Gaming logo.

The long edges of the graphics card feature a handful of TUF Gaming motifs, and the card measures in at a thickness of 3.125 slots.

Along the long edge of the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 is a Performance/Quiet mode switch that allows end-users to toggle between fan profiles to suit their respective usage scenarios.

If you're not a fan of NVIDIA's infamous 12VHPWR power connector, fret not, for this card utilises three "traditional" 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

As a premium graphics card offering, no surprises here that ASUS has included some ARGB lighting accents that can be found along the long edge of the card.

In terms of display output ports, we get three DisplayPort 2.1a ports and a single HDMI 2.1b port.

GPU-Z Screenshot

Benchmarks & Test Setup

To get a sensing of the card's gaming performance, the following gaming benchmarks were run:

• Assassin's Creed Mirage in-game benchmark
• Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool
• Cyberpunk 2077 v2.21 in-game benchmark
• F1 23 in-game benchmark
• Far Cry 6 in-game benchmark
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider in-game benchmark

The benchmark tests above were run at both the 1440p and 4K resolution, where upscaling technologies such as FSR as well as Frame Generation were disabled for the test runs. Also, the card was tested on the "Performance" mode.

Test Setup

A test bench with the specifications as listed below was used:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (stock settings, PBO & Curve Optimiser disabled)
• CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB
• CPU Thermal Paste: Thermalright TF7
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER (F34 BIOS)
• Memory: 32GB (2x16GB) KingBank DDR5 Dark Heatsink UDIMM 6000MHz (DDR5 6000 CL28-35-35-76 1.45V)
• Storage: Lexar NM790 1TB NVMe SSD
• Graphics Card: ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6
• PSU: Cooler Master V1000 80 PLUS Gold
• Case: Open-air test bench
• Monitor: Gigabyte M27U 27" LCD monitor (4K, 160Hz)
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro (24H2 with all latest drivers and updates installed, "Balanced" power profile)
• Graphics Driver: AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.5.1
• Resizable BAR: Enabled

The test results shown below were taken from benchmark runs that did not have any screen capture software running in the background.

Assassin's Creed Mirage In-game Benchmark

Kicking things off is Assassin's Creed Mirage's in-game benchmark test, where on the 1440p resolution, the test bench achieves an average FPS of 160, with a minimum FPS of 56 and a maximum FPS of 272. These results were obtained on the "Ultra High" preset with Adaptive Quality set to "60 FPS", and all forms of upscaling (e.g. FSR) disabled.

Notching the resolution up to 4K with the same quality settings as above, the test bench puts out an average FPS of 102, a minimum FPS of 44 and a maximum FPS of 247.

Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool

Next up is Black Myth Wukong's standalone benchmark tool, where the test bench achieves an average FPS of 85, with a minimum FPS of 64 and a maximum FPS of 98. These results were obtained on the "High" preset with ray tracing switched off, and Super Resolution set to "100" with TSR as the sampling mode (i.e. FSR was disabled). Frame Generation was also disabled for the duration of the benchmark.

On the 4K resolution with the same graphics quality settings as the 1440p benchmark run, the test system achieves an average FPS of 46, a minimum FPS of 40 and a maximum FPS of 53.

Cyberpunk 2077 v2.21 In-game Benchmark

We've got Cyberpunk 2077 v2.21's in-game benchmark next, where on the 1440p resolution, the test bench achieves an average FPS of 119.77, a minimum FPS of 103.17 and a maximum FPS of 141.38. These results were obtained on the "Ray Tracing Low" preset with FSR and Frame Generation disabled.

Switching up to the 4K resolution with the same quality settings, the test bench attains an average FPS of 56.17, a minimum FPS of 47.36 and a maximum FPS of 68.10.

F1 23 In-game Benchmark

Moving on, with F1 23's in-game benchmark tool, the test system achieves an average FPS of 93, a minimum FPS of 73 and a maximum FPS of 121 at 1440p. These results were obtained on the "Ultra High" detail preset with all forms of upscaling technologies (e.g. FSR) disabled. Anisotropic Filtering was set to the "16x" setting.

Bumping the resolution up to 4K, the test system achieves an average FPS of 48, a minimum FPS of 38 and a maximum FPS of 63.

Far Cry 6 In-game Benchmark

With Far Cry 6's in-game benchmark, the test bench achieves an average FPS of 172, a minimum FPS of 131 and a maximum FPS of 215 at 1440p. These results were obtained on the "Ultra" quality preset with all forms of upscaling disabled. and DXR reflections and shadows were enabled throughout the duration of testing.

At 4K with the same "Ultra" quality settings as the 1440p benchmark run, the test bench achieves an average FPS of 116, a minimum FPS of 107 and a maximum FPS of 131.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider In-game Benchmark

Rounding things off in the benchmarks department is Shadow of the Tomb Raider's built-in benchmark test - at 1440p, the test bench achieves an average FPS of 106. The results above were obtained on maxed out graphics settings, where Ray Tracing Shadow Quality was set to "Ultra" and all forms of upscaling technologies such as FSR were disabled.

On the 4K resolution with the same graphics settings as the 1440p test run, the test system achieves an average FPS of 56.

Power Consumption, Thermals & Acoustics

Power Consumption

Under Load (F1 23 In-game Benchmark, 1440p, Ultra High Detail Preset, TAA, 16x AF, FSR Off, Singapore Circuit, Two Laps)
• Avg. Total Board Power: 322.7W
• Min. Total Board Power: 122.9W
• Max. Total Board Power: 331.7W

Idle
• Avg. Total Board Power: 6.9W
• Min. Total Board Power: 6.3W
• Max. Total Board Power: 14.9W

The figures above were obtained from "Total Board Power (TBP)" readouts from HWiNFO64.

Thermals

Under Load (F1 23 In-game Benchmark, 1440p, Ultra High Detail Preset, TAA, 16x AF, FSR Off, Singapore Circuit, Two Laps)
• Avg. GPU Temperature: 53.4°C
• Min. GPU Temperature: 48.0°C
• Max. GPU Temperature: 55.0°C
• Avg. GPU Hot Spot Temperature: 81.5°C
• Min. GPU Hot Spot Temperature: 60.0°C
• Max. GPU Hot Spot Temperature: 83.0°C
• Avg. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 82.4°C
• Min. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 72.0°C
• Max. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 86.0°C

Idle
• Avg. GPU Temperature: 42.8°C
• Min. GPU Temperature: 41.0°C
• Max. GPU Temperature: 45.0°C
• Avg. GPU Hot Spot Temperature: 44.7°C
• Min. GPU Hot Spot Temperature: 43.0°C
• Max. GPU Hot Spot Temperature: 48.0°C
• Avg. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 63.5°C
• Min. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 62.0°C
• Max. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 66.0°C

The figures above were obtained from "GPU Temperature", "GPU Hot Spot Temperature" & "GPU Memory Junction Temperature" readouts from HWiNFO64. Do note that these figures were obtained with an open-air test bench with an ambient temperature of around 30°C.

While under gaming workloads with default fan curve settings, I found the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6's fans to be pretty quiet. However, there was a fair bit of coil whine with the media sample that I tested, which was especially pronounced under certain gaming workloads, and manifested itself in the form of a high-pitched buzzing noise.

Conclusion & Pricing

The ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6 is a premium Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card that comes with a factory overclock, excellent thermal performance and good looks courtesy of its full-aluminium cooler construction. With the RX 9070 XT GPU's performance, it'll handle 1440p gaming on modern titles with relative ease, and 4K gaming as well with some quality settings turned down for a smoother gaming experience.

Bearing in mind AMD's MSRP of US$599 for base model RX 9070 XT graphics cards, be prepared to pay a premium for the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6, seeing as it is after all, positioned as a premium RX 9070 XT graphics card offering. As of the time of writing this article, Newegg has this card listed for US$799.99, though it is out-of-stock - unsurprising really, given the state of the GPU market courtesy of supply shortages and the spectre of tariffs looming overhead (especially if you're based in the United States). One certainly hopes that given enough time, the GPU market will soften and normalise in due course.

Get this graphics card from Amazon: https://amzn.to/437wWgO (affiliate link)

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The graphics card featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from ASUS Singapore.