Is AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX worth buying over RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 in March 2023?

The Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a flagship range GPU from AMD launched in 2022. It is based on the company's latest and most powerful RDNA 3 architecture, allowing the card to deliver exceptional performance at 4K resolution while being power efficient. Whether it's gaming or content creation, the AMD GPU flies through them all without breaking a sweat.

While its processing capabilities might make the card appealing, it is essential to consider other options in this price segment to make an informed decision.

This will allow users to make a prudent purchase. Hence, before investing in a GPU in early 2023, it is crucial to compare the RX 7900 XTX with its major counterparts, namely the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090

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Comparing RX 7900 XTX with RTX 4080 and RTX 4090

The RX 7900 XTX is indubitably a solid GPU. As mentioned earlier, the card is meant for 4K gaming and can even play some games at 8K resolution with exceptional framerates. AMD demonstrated Neowiz Games' Lies of P on the GPU at a resolution of 7680x4320 pixels.

Undoubtedly, the Radeon GPU offers excellent overall performance. However, there are some limitations when competing against RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, especially in terms of ray tracing. Additionally, without DLSS 3 and frame generation, AMD platform users may not experience the same incredible frame gains as Nvidia users.

The RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 are Nvidia's top-of-the-line GPUs launched in 2022. Both cards represent significant performance upgrades over the RTX 3000 series GPUs and can perfectly handle all the latest launches at 4K.

Having said that, here's how the three graphics cards compare on paper:

	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
Architecture	RDNA 3	Ada Lovelace	Ada Lovelace
Process	5nm, 6nm	4nm	4nm
Transistors	57.7 billion	45.9 billion	76.3 billion
Compute Units	96	304	512
Ray Accelerators	96	76	128
Stream Processors	6144	9728	16384
Base Clock Speed	2300 MHz	2205 MHz	2235 MHz
Boost Clock Speed	2500 MHz	2505 MHz	2520 MHz
Memory Capacity	24 GB GDDR6	16 GB GDDR6X	24 GB GDDR6X
Memory Bus	384 bit	256 bit	384 bit
Memory Bandwidth	960 GB/s (3,500 GB/s w/ InfinityCache)	716.8 GB/s	1,008 GB/s
Power Draw	355W	320 W	450W

According to the specifications, the RTX 4080 and Radeon GPU are in direct contention. However, the RTX 4090 is in a league of its own and cannot be compared to these cards.

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Conclusion - Is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX worth getting in 2023?

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the user's needs and budget. If one wants the best possible performance, the RTX 4090 is the obvious choice.

When comparing the RTX 4080 to the RX 7900 XTX, the conversation can get a little murky. Both cards have exceptional rasterization capabilities and perform equally well in that aspect. However, the AMD GPU lags behind in ray tracing prowess and support for technologies such as DLSS.

Nonetheless, the Radeon GPU's affordability compensates for these limitations, with a starting price of $999, nearly $200 less than the RTX 4080, making it a more budget-friendly option.

Ultimately, it's up to the users to decide whether they prioritize ray tracing and Nvidia's proprietary technologies. If not, the RX 7900 XTX is the way to go.