AMD's New Driver Gives Big Boost to Radeon RX 9070 XT
A fresh look by Hardware Unboxed shows that AMD's Adrenalin Driver, version 25.6.3, boosts performance a lot for the Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU. This update changed how the card did against its main rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, mostly at 1440p.
From Behind to Ahead: The Change in Performance
When it first came out (Adrenalin 25.3.1), the RX 9070 XT was found to be 2.5% slower than the RTX 5070 Ti. After the update to version 25.6.3, the RX 9070 XT now leads by 3% in performance over the NVIDIA card at 1440p. This is a clear boost, all from software changes.
Big Wins in Some Games
The jump in speed shows well in a few games, with some seeing big boosts. In titles where the RX 9070 XT was losing to the RTX 5070 Ti, that gap has shrunk or flipped. Some big wins are:
- Delta Force: 14% quicker
- Counter-Strike 2: 23% quicker
- Spider-Man Remastered: 27% quicker
Overall Boost at 1440p and 4K
Across the 16 games tested by Hardware Unboxed, the Radeon RX 9070 XT got an average of 9% more speed at 1440p and 4% more at 4K. With the new drivers, the GPU is now about 3% faster than the RTX 5070 Ti at 1440p and just as good at 4K.
Other Key Points: Rasterization and Price
It's key to know that these tests look at rasterization. In Ray Tracing tests, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti still leads by a fair bit.
On price, the RX 9070 XT is set at $599, which is $150 less than the RTX 5070 Ti's price. Yet, real prices for both GPUs are much higher now than their suggested prices.
In Summary
This big boost from the new driver makes the Radeon RX 9070 XT a strong choice, more so at its list price. The review strengthens its place in the market, hoping that real prices for the card will soon match its list price more closely.