I think the 9070 XT is a little overhyped

The RX 9070 XT is only considered a great value because of the weak state of the GPU market. When evaluated generationally, it aligns with the X700 XT class based on die usage. Last gen the 7700 XT was priced at $449. If we instead compare it based on specs (VRAM & compute units) it's most equivalent to a 7800 XT, which launched at $499.

Even when accounting for inflation since 2022 (which is unnecessary in this context because semiconductors do not follow traditional inflation trends. E.g. phones & other PC components aren't more expensive) that would still place the 9070 XT's fair price between $488 and $542. AMD is also not using TSMC’s latest cutting-edge node, meaning production is more mature with better yields.

If viewed as a $230 price cut from the RX 7900 XTX (reached $830 during its sales) it might seem like a great deal. However according to benchmarks at 1440p (where most users of this GPU will play) it performs closer to a 7900 XT / 4070 Ti Super, not a 7900 XTX. In ray tracing, it falls even further, averaging closer to a 4070 Super and sometimes dropping to 4060 Ti levels in heavy RT workloads.

The 7900 XT was available new for $658, making the 9070 XT only $58 cheaper or $300 less based on MSRP. From a generational pricing standpoint, this is not impressive.

No matter how you evaluate it, this GPU is $100 to $150 more expensive than it should be. RDNA 3 was already a poorly priced and non-competitive generation, and now we are seeing a price hike. AMD exceeded expectations, but only because expectations were low. Just because we are used to overpriced GPUs does not mean a merely decent value should be celebrated.

For further context, the RTX 5070’s closest last-gen counterpart in specs is the RTX 4070 Super, which actually has slightly more cores and saw a $50 MSRP reduction. Meanwhile, AMD’s closest counterpart to the 9070 XT was the 7800 XT, which we instead saw a $100 increase from.

Benchmarkers (like HUB) also pointed out that in terms of performance-per-dollar (based on actual FPS and not favorable internal benchmarks) the 9070 XT is only 15% better value. AMD needs to be at least 20% better value to be truly competitive. This calculation is also based mostly on rasterization, but RT performance is becoming increasingly important. More games are launching with ray tracing enabled by default, and bad RT performance will age poorly for those planning to play future AAA titles.

Is this GPU bad value? No. But it is not great value either. It is just decent. The problem is that the market is so terrible right now that "decent" feels like a bargain. Am I the only one who thinks this card is overhyped and should have launched at $549? It seems obvious when looking at the data logically, but the broader reaction suggests otherwise.