I'm planning a small-form-factor gaming PC in a Fractal Ridge and want it to handle modern AAA games as well as older titles. I'll be using a Philips OLED936 TV as the display. The RTX 5070 Ti options I'm seeing cost around £900–£1,000, while the Radeon RX 9070-class cards are roughly £600–£700. I've seen recommendations to choose Nvidia because of the TV, but I'm not sure whether that really matters. I'm also concerned about power draw, heat, and fan noise in the compact case. Is the RTX 5070 Ti worth the large price premium, or would a Radeon RX 9070/9070 XT be the better value for gaming?
3 Answers
If ray tracing, DLSS, or Nvidia-specific features are important to you, the RTX 5070 Ti is the safer choice. Otherwise, the Radeon offers much better value. The RX 9070 and 9070 XT are also fast enough that you shouldn’t need to compromise much in regular gaming, and the difference in upscaling quality is difficult to notice during actual play. In an SFF case, compare the specific card models, cooler design, dimensions, and power limits rather than assuming every Radeon card will run noticeably louder.
For normal rasterized gaming, the RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 Ti are quite close, and the Radeon can match or beat it in some games. Nvidia has a clearer lead in ray tracing and especially path tracing, plus DLSS and its software features, but those advantages may not justify an extra £300 or more if you mainly want good gaming performance. At these prices, I’d lean toward the Radeon for a gaming-focused build.
That’s useful, thanks. I’ll probably play plenty of older games, but I’d still like the option to run newer titles looking great. I have around £2,000 to spend, though I’m keen to save wherever it makes sense.
The TV itself shouldn’t force you to buy Nvidia. The Philips OLED936 supports FreeSync, which works naturally with AMD cards, and Nvidia cards can generally use compatible FreeSync displays through G-Sync compatibility. The model is listed as compatible, although the required driver support may depend on the TV firmware. Check the available refresh rates, HDMI features, and VRR settings, but the display alone isn’t a strong reason to choose the RTX card.
If you mean the RX 9070 rather than the XT, it’s closer to the RTX 5070 in performance, while the 9070 XT is the more direct comparison with the 5070 Ti. I’d consider the standard RX 9070 if the savings are a priority.