MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann upgraded his computer with a new graphics card in early 2025. He doesn’t regret the upgrade to this day, although he paid significantly too much at the release due to poor availability.
Buying a new graphics card needs to be well-thought-out. At the beginning of 2025, several graphics cards were introduced, and I could finally afford an upgrade for my gaming PC. Here are some things I considered before making the purchase, as I wanted to avoid a wrong buy:
- Monitor and Resolution: I have a large UWQHD monitor that requires a correspondingly powerful graphics card in gaming.
- My Current Games: I’m not fixed to any genre but play a mix: everything from Marvel Rivals to Forza Horizon 5 to Stellar Blade is included. Most are games that need a fast computer, indie titles less so.
- Price-Performance: My budget is limited; an expensive graphics card for 2,000 Euros was out of the question for me. I already set my maximum pain threshold at 1,000 Euros for my circumstances.
- Future-Proofing: I want to have peace of mind for the next 4-5 years and not have to upgrade again. Hence the willingness to pay a bit more.
- Form Factor: A point that was actually very important to me this time was the size of my new GPU. Since I use a very small ITX case, the graphics card couldn’t be too large.
In the end, I chose the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 for nearly 800 Euros. From both then and now’s perspective, it was about 150 Euros too expensive, because the availability of the RX 9000 series was very poor at the release. Nonetheless, I don’t regret the “premium” at release to this day. Currently, you pay about 660 Euros for the graphics card (via Geizhals.de).
RX 9070 (XT) is considered by testers as a “revolution” in the graphics card market
Why did I choose the RX 9070? AMD’s new graphics card performed excellently in many tests: ComputerBase describes the larger RX 9070 XT as a “revolution” and explains: “RDNA 4 ultimately makes everything better than RDNA 3.” There are significant improvements everywhere, and even in terms of ray tracing, AMD can finally compete with Nvidia, although not surpass it. You can find a test overview of the RX 9070 XT with more details on MeinMMO.
On the other hand, Nvidia was out of the question for me due to high prices, even though I had to forgo features like DLSS. Nvidia’s behavior during the tests of the RTX 5060 even strengthened my rejection to purchase any product from “Team Green” anytime soon. Nvidia is also very stingy when it comes to video memory, and graphics cards with 8 GB of video memory are hardly recommended in 2025. With the RX 9070, however, I am very future-proof with 16 GB of video memory.
Additionally, I was able to buy the RX 9070 in a small dual-fan design. This fit in my small case; the XT models were all a bit too large for my case, otherwise, it would probably have been the Pulse from Sapphire’s XT series.
I’ve been absolutely satisfied for 3 months, but FSR 4 is under-supported
How does it look currently? I’ve had the RX 9070 installed in my gaming PC for almost exactly 3 months, and to this day I am absolutely satisfied and don’t regret the purchase for a minute:
- The ray tracing performance has improved significantly compared to my old RX 6700 XT. This is evident in Hogwarts: Legacy.
- In games like Forza Horizon 5, 120 FPS at maximum settings is now permanently achievable. Previously, I had around 80 – 90 FPS with dips downwards.
- The new architecture of the 9000 series is significantly more efficient. On average, my machine uses 100 to 150 watts less than before while delivering better performance.
And I am indeed positively surprised at how smoothly the transition went. For comparison: I tried to switch to the RX 6900 XT about 18 months ago but failed due to driver and software issues. After three desperate days, I sent the graphics card back and stuck with my old RX 6700 XT.
Is there any criticism as well? There are also things that can be complained about. AMD’s AI upscaling FSR 4 is not yet widespread and is supported by only about 60 games. Many, especially older games, only support FSR 3.0 at most or rely on even older versions. Here you can tell that Nvidia is ahead with DLSS.
The stability of AMD’s drivers and software is also debatable. However, I must say that with the RX 9070 I have exceptionally had no issues with the software. And I hope it stays that way.
I was actually disappointed at the release that AMD offered the graphics card game bundle with “Monster Hunter Wilds” only for the old 6000 series and not for the new 9000 series cards. That annoyed me back then; today I can get over it.
Anyone looking to get more out of their gaming PC should consider buying a new graphics card. But does it even matter whether I choose AMD or Nvidia in the end? MeinMMO presents the similarities and differences between AMD and Nvidia and explains what you should consider before your next graphics card purchase: How important is it whether I buy AMD or Nvidia for a graphics card?
