I'm considering buying an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and keep hearing that AMD's drivers are unstable or difficult to use. For anyone who has owned a recent Radeon card, especially a 9070 XT, how reliable have the drivers and Adrenalin software been? Are there any common problems with crashes, Windows updates, sleep and wake, or setup that I should know about before buying?
5 Answers
Most current driver problems are not unique to AMD. Windows updates, unstable RAM, old driver remnants, power issues, and sleep or wake bugs can cause trouble with any GPU. Installing the official driver directly from AMD and using a reliable power supply are good starting points. Avoid daisy-chained power cables or questionable adapters.
For current Radeon cards, the drivers are generally fine. The old reputation mostly comes from earlier generations and launch-period problems. Adrenalin is straightforward to use and gives you a lot of control. The 9070 XT is a strong choice if its price and performance fit what you want.
I have a 9070 XT and have had a very good experience. Gaming has been stable, and the card offers excellent value. Ray tracing is still somewhat behind comparable NVIDIA cards, but it is not a deal-breaker for most games.
The software is not perfect, but calling it a mess is overstating things. Some people have needed troubleshooting after specific updates, while others have gone years with no driver issues. NVIDIA has its own driver and software problems too, so I would choose based on price, features, ray tracing, and the games you play rather than the old driver reputation.
One hardware warning in the discussion was corrected: Sapphire’s RX 9070 XT Pulse does have thermal pads on the VRM components. Sapphire is generally considered a reputable board partner, though it is still worth checking reviews of the exact model for temperatures, noise, warranty, and power delivery before buying.
Sleep and wake can still cause occasional crashes for some Windows users even when gaming itself is completely stable, so that is worth considering if your computer frequently sleeps.