They have been an awfully very long time coming. However AMD lastly has some new GPUs to tackle Nvidia within the meat of the mid-range gaming graphics card market. We provide the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. Each GPUs might be accessible from September sixth for $449 and $499 respectively which is each higher and worse than we have been anticipating.
Properly, we are saying mid-range. Today “mid-range” means an terrible lot of cash. However maintain that thought whereas we take care of the speeds and feeds of those essential new GPUs.
In the end, the 7700 XT and 7800 XT are very a lot consistent with the expectations generated by the incessant hearsay mill. So, each are primarily based on AMD’s new Navi 32 GPU. Just like the Navi 31 monster within the Radeon RX 7900 fashions, Navi 32 is a chiplet design with a major GCD die containing all of the shaders and intelligent stuff which is surrounded by smaller MCDs with the reminiscence controllers and cache.
Navi 32’s GCD is inevitably smaller than that of Navi 31. And it likewise has fewer MCDs—at most 4 to Navi 31’s six.
Anyway, it is the important thing numbers you need, so right here we go. The 7700 XT rocks 54 RDNA 3 compute items for a grand complete of three,456 shaders or double that quantity for those who subscribe to the double-pumped metric that generally applies to RDNA 3-based GPUs.
Both means, you get 12GB of 18Gbps VRAM operating over a 192-bit bus for 432GB/s of bandwidth and 48MB of Infinity cache. As for clockspeed, you are taking a look at a lift clock of two,544MHz.
As for the 7800 XT, the compute unit rely rises to 60 and thus the shader rely will increase to three,840 operating at a lift clock of two,430MHz. There’s an additional MCD and thus a 256-bit bus enabling 624GB/s of bandwidth courtesy of 19.5Gbps VRAM modules. Oh and the Infinity cache is upped to 64MB.
On first impression, maybe essentially the most notable side is simply how shut the 2 playing cards are. The 7700 XT appears each bit a 90 percenter on paper versus the 7800 XT. That is mirrored within the modest hole in total board energy. The 7700 XT is rated 245W whereas the 7800 XT is simply barely greater at 263W.
That stated, in keeping with AMD’s personal efficiency numbers, the hole is a bit of bit larger than that. Within the Final of Us at 1440p, AMD reckons the 7800 XT is 22 % quicker. In Hogwarts Legacy on the identical decision, it is stated to be 24 % quicker.
Talking of 1440p, that is very a lot the goal decision for these boards in keeping with AMD. And the goal competitors? That’ll be the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti for the 7700 XT, whereas the 7800 XT takes purpose on the RTX 4070.
To that finish, AMD reveals the 7800 XT beating the 4070 in most video games by margins of as much as 23 %. It even claims the 7800 XT has the sting with ray tracing enabled in a couple of titles, together with Resident Evil 4 and Far Cry 6.
Nonetheless, in keeping with AMD it is the 7700 XT that actually tears Nvidia a brand new one, hammering it by up 31 % and solely shedding by a small margin in two out of 19 video games together with in its benchmarks. These are all native efficiency numbers relatively than with FSR or DLSS scaling enabled. And they’ll, presumably, have been chosen to indicate AMD’s new GPUs in the absolute best gentle.
Nonetheless, one factor is for certain. These AMD GPUs have a transparent benefit in VRAM allocation and reminiscence bandwidth. The bottom RTX 4060 Ti solely affords 8GB over a 128-bit bus (or 16GB for an enormous $100 premium and nonetheless at a bandwidth drawback), whereas the RTX 4070 makes do with 12GB over a 192-bit bus.
Notably, AMD didn’t present any comparability numbers with earlier technology Radeon RX 6000 Collection GPUs. Which may be as a result of AMD has gotten itself into one thing of a pickle over branding.
With the earlier gen, the 6800XT was the second-tier card primarily based on the identical Navi 31 GPU because the 6900 XT. However this time round, AMD has two 7900-based boards, and the 7800 XT drops down a tier. So, it is arguably extra comparable with the 6800 vanilla than the 6800 XT.
Even then, the outdated 6800 vanilla matches the brand new 7800 XT for CU rely, leaving the brand new GPU to make the distinction with its greater increase clock ( 2,430MHz versus 2,105MHz) and enhanced structure.
That stated, the 7700 XT is a clearer win over the outdated 6700 XT and 6750 XT. These GPUs solely had 40 CUs, although they really each run very barely quicker increase clocks than the brand new GPUs.
All advised, it would not appear like the brand new GPUs might be providing a very substantial uplift in uncooked GPU efficiency. However then nor do Nvidia’s mid-range GPUs in comparison with their direct predecessors.
AMD can be detailing its FSR 3 scaling tech together with AMD Fluid Motions Frames, the latter being AMD’s belated reply to Nvidia’s Body Era characteristic in DLSS 3.
AMD did not embrace a substantial amount of element on FSR 3 and it isn’t completely clear precisely when will probably be accessible, with AMD solely saying that it is coming quickly in Q1 subsequent yr. However AMD did declare that efficiency on the 7800 XT in Forspoken at 4K extremely excessive RT preset will increase from 36fps with out FSR to 122fps with FSR 3 and Fluid Movement Frames.
So, that is a reasonably main leap and commensurate to the sort of beneficial properties you get with DLSS and Body Gen. The actual take a look at, after all, might be picture high quality. How will AMD’s pretend frames evaluate to Nvidia’s pretend body?
All of which simply leaves the sordid—and let’s be sincere, completely vital—matter of cash. How a lot do these GPUs value? Quite ludicrously, AMD saved {that a} secret till actually half-hour earlier than it lifted the NDA on the remainder of the small print.
Whether or not that displays uncertainty or an try to restrict damaging protection is unclear. However both means, the $449 value of the 7700XT really feel too near the $499 value of the 7800XT, simply because the 7900 XT at $899 felt too near the 7900 XTX at $999.
To an extent, AMD was in all probability restricted in how excessive it may go along with the 7800 XT given the costs that final gen RX 6800s at present go for. At $499, the 7800 XT appears doubtlessly very interesting. However the 7700 XT for under $50 much less is a disappointment. Priced at $399 to go head on with an RTX 4060 Ti? Now that might have been attention-grabbing. However then a GPU with disappointing pricing is just about par for the course.