Hey everyone! My trusty 1070 is starting to fail, and I'm on the lookout for a new graphics card. I'm particularly worried about idle power consumption since my PC runs for about 50 hours a week, mostly idling due to my three-monitor setup (two 4K and one 1440p). I'm considering the 9070 XT because I want to upgrade my gaming experience, but I've heard it has higher idle power consumption than the 5070 Ti. The difference could mean an extra 50 Euros a year, and over the lifetime of the card, that adds up. I'm fine with undervolting to save on costs but would appreciate your thoughts on whether the idle power difference is significant enough to sway my decision. Can you underclock the 9070 XT enough to make it more efficient, or is the 5070 Ti the smarter choice? Thanks for your help!
4 Answers
From what I’ve seen, the 5070 Ti uses about 21W at idle, while the 9070 XT requires just 9W under similar conditions. It sounds like you'd save more power with the 9070 XT, especially if you undervolt it.
Yes! And gaming power consumption matters less since you'll be undervolting anyway.
Take a look at this comparison tool for idle consumption: ComputerBase does an awesome job! It'll give you a clearer picture of which card suits your needs better.
Thanks for the tip! I trust ComputerBase for solid comparison data.
Seems like AMD has improved their idle power management with recent drivers, so the 9070 XT might actually use less power than the 5070 Ti when idling with multiple monitors. I’d also look into your electricity rates—0.42 EUR per kWh is pretty steep!
Yeah, that rate is high, but it varies a lot by country. It's good to know what your local costs are before making decisions.
Totally! I’d start experimenting with settings to see how you can optimize power consumption.
Check out TechPowerUp's reviews on both cards. The 9070 XT might be more efficient than you think!
Wow, that’s a notable difference! Definitely makes for a compelling case for the 9070 XT.