I'm preparing to upgrade from an RX 6600 to an RX 9070 XT and am willing to spend around $800. I'm not interested in switching to NVIDIA, but I'm wondering whether AMD is likely to release a newer card soon enough to make waiting worthwhile. I currently play at 1080p and 144 Hz, including games such as Forza Horizon 6, so the 9070 XT may be more performance than I need. Should I buy it now, choose a weaker GPU, or wait for future releases?
4 Answers
If you’ve already decided that the $800 price is acceptable and you want the upgrade now, there’s not much reason to wait for an unannounced product. New GPU launch dates and prices are uncertain, and waiting only makes sense if you’re comfortable keeping the RX 6600 for another year or more. Otherwise, buy the 9070 XT and enjoy the headroom.
If you plan to stay at 1080p, I’d either save the money or consider moving to a 1440p monitor so you can actually use more of the card’s performance. At 1080p, the 9070 XT should easily handle demanding games at high settings, but the extra performance may not improve your experience much beyond a cheaper GPU.
There are rumors about AMD’s next architecture, but nothing is confirmed or close enough to plan around. The RX 9070 XT should remain a strong high-end AMD option for quite a while, so if you need the upgrade now and can afford it, buying it is reasonable. Just keep in mind that prices can change in either direction.
For 1080p at 144 Hz, the 9070 XT is considerable overkill. A 9060 XT 16GB, RX 9070, RX 9070 GRE, or a good used previous-generation card would likely be a better match. The right choice also depends heavily on your CPU, since a weaker processor may limit frame rates before the 9070 XT does.
It should also perform very well at 1440p if you upgrade your monitor later, so the extra power could be useful even though it’s excessive for your current setup.