After much anticipation, AMD has finally unveiled its latest GPUs to compete with Nvidia in the mid-range gaming graphics card market. The new offerings, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT, are set to hit the shelves on September 6th with price tags of $449 and $499 respectively. Although the pricing is both better and worse than expected, it’s important to note that “mid-range” these days comes with a hefty price tag.
Both the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT are powered by AMD’s new Navi 32 GPU, a chiplet design that features a main Graphics Core Next (GCD) die accompanied by smaller Memory Controller Die (MCDs) for memory controllers and cache. The Navi 32’s GCD is naturally smaller than that of its predecessor, the Navi 31, and has fewer MCDs.
Now, let’s dive into the key specifications. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT boasts 54 RDNA 3 compute units, totaling a whopping 3,456 shaders (which can double if RDNA 3’s double-pumped metric is taken into account). Additionally, it comes with 12GB of 18Gbps VRAM, a 192-bit bus for 432GB/s of bandwidth, 48MB of Infinity Cache, and a boost clock of 2,544MHz.
On the other hand, the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT offers even more compute units, with a count of 60 and a shader count of 3,840. It operates at a boost clock of 2,430MHz and features an additional MCD, enabling a 256-bit bus for 624GB/s of bandwidth, 64MB of Infinity Cache, and 19.5Gbps VRAM module.
Upon first glance, the most remarkable aspect of these two GPUs is their strikingly close performance. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT appears to be a 90% competitor to the RX 7800 XT. This similarity is reflected in the marginal difference in overall board power, with the 7700 XT rated at 245W and the 7800 XT slightly higher at 263W.
However, according to AMD’s performance measurements, the 7800 XT exhibits slightly better performance. In games like The Last of Us and Hogwarts Legacy at 1440p, the 7800 XT is claimed to outperform the 7700 XT by 22% and 24% respectively.
AMD is targeting a resolution of 1440p for these GPUs and positioning them to compete against Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4070 for the 7700 XT and 7800 XT, respectively. AMD even claims that the 7800 XT outperforms the RTX 4070 by up to 23% in most games, including titles with ray tracing enabled such as Resident Evil 4 and Far Cry 6.
In terms of VRAM and memory bandwidth, the AMD GPUs have a clear edge over Nvidia’s offerings. The base RTX 4060 Ti only offers 8GB of VRAM over a 128-bit bus, while the RTX 4070 has 12GB over a 192-bit bus. In comparison, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT come equipped with more VRAM and wider memory buses, providing superior performance in memory-intensive tasks.
Interestingly, AMD did not provide any direct performance comparison with the previous generation Radeon RX 6000 Series GPUs. This may be due to a branding discrepancy, as the 7800 XT now occupies a lower tier compared to its predecessor, the 6800 XT. Nonetheless, the 7700 XT outshines the older 6700 XT and 6750 XT in terms of compute unit count, offering a significant improvement.
AMD is keen on introducing its FSR 3 scaling technology, which includes AMD Fluid Motions Frames. This feature serves as AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s DLSS 3 Frame Generation. While details about FSR 3’s availability remain scarce, AMD claims that performance in Forspoken at 4K ultra high RT preset can increase from 36fps to an impressive 122fps with FSR 3 and Fluid Motion Frames activated.
The real test for AMD’s FSR 3 technology will be its image quality, and how it compares to Nvidia’s DLSS and Frame Gen. These features utilize AI-driven algorithms to enhance image quality and performance simultaneously.
The pricing of the new AMD GPUs has been met with mixed feelings. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, priced at $449, is disappointingly close to the $499 price of the RX 7800 XT. It is worth noting that the 7800 XT appears to be a more attractive option at $499 due to its potential performance advantage. However, there is a missed opportunity for AMD to introduce a more competitive price point to rival Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti.
The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT offer impressive specifications and performance that are set to challenge Nvidia in the mid-range gaming graphics card market. With their advanced architecture, VRAM allocation, and memory bandwidth, these GPUs show promise for gamers aiming for 1440p resolution. However, their pricing strategy may leave some consumers wanting more.
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