RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT?

[Acornbread]

Hi everyone, new member here. I currently have an RTX 2070 Super 8gb (Gigabyte Aorus Gaming OC) card and I'm eager to upgrade this month. I've narrowed my choices down to either the RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT. I am struggling to decide between the two and I'm hoping to get some real world advice and experience from this community.

My specs:
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 8-core CPU
32GB DDR4 RAM 3200Mhz
Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB
Dell S3220DGF 1440p 165Hz VRR monitor
850W PSU etc.

Besides web browsing, word processing, video & audio, and typical daily use, I game. I love racing sims and immersive single player RPG shooters. I am spoiled by high fps & refresh rates and Variable Refresh Rate has been a game changer for me, especially since I cannot stand screen tearing or input lag. My setup is GSYNC compatible, and with the exception of occasional mild flickering in menus, it works perfectly. It certainly works better than FreeSync which I used in the past.

I've had both Geforce and Radeon cards in the past, and unfortunately I've experienced more headaches with Radeons due to strange stability issues with drivers. I do prefer the Adrenaline software but I'm wary of Radeons due to past experience (I had a RX580 several years ago which was forced to run outdated drivers for nearly a year because anything newer resulted in a black screen and I couldn't figure out how to fix it). I know I'm not alone in this and I've come across far more user issues with Radeons since researching my GPU options. Many of them are far worse and users are genuinely at their wits end. I've never had serious issues with GeForce cards.

This generation of GPUs is generally disappointing from both sides in terms of value, but AMD does seem to have the upper hand, if only slightly. The RX 7800 XT is cheaper and slightly faster, which makes it very tempting. I don't care for ray tracing, it's just not worth the performance cost in my opinion, but I do like and use upscaling in some games. I'm aware that DLSS is considered better, and the frame generation tech in the 40 series is a selling point for me. AMD is catching up with their own tech but Nvidia seems to be leading for now.

This is where I stand. My 2070S is still pretty decent in most games but it's not happy with Starfield, which I'm enjoying immensely at the moment. Perhaps this is not the best time to upgrade but I'm hoping to find a good deal around Black Friday. I just don't know whether to go green or red. Any useful thoughts and opinions will be much appreciated. Cheers.

 

[goldfritter]

Hi everyone, new member here. I currently have an RTX 2070 Super 8gb (Gigabyte Aorus Gaming OC) card and I'm eager to upgrade this month. I've narrowed my choices down to either the RTX 4070 or RX 7800 XT. I am struggling to decide between the two and I'm hoping to get some real world advice and experience from this community.

My specs:
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 8-core CPU
32GB DDR4 RAM 3200Mhz
Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB
Dell S3220DGF 1440p 165Hz VRR monitor
850W PSU etc.

Besides web browsing, word processing, video & audio, and typical daily use, I game. I love racing sims and immersive single player RPG shooters. I am spoiled by high fps & refresh rates and Variable Refresh Rate has been a game changer for me, especially since I cannot stand screen tearing or input lag. My setup is GSYNC compatible, and with the exception of occasional mild flickering in menus, it works perfectly. It certainly works better than FreeSync which I used in the past.

I've had both Geforce and Radeon cards in the past, and unfortunately I've experienced more headaches with Radeons due to strange stability issues with drivers. I do prefer the Adrenaline software but I'm wary of Radeons due to past experience (I had a RX580 several years ago which was forced to run outdated drivers for nearly a year because anything newer resulted in a black screen and I couldn't figure out how to fix it). I know I'm not alone in this and I've come across far more user issues with Radeons since researching my GPU options. Many of them are far worse and users are genuinely at their wits end. I've never had serious issues with GeForce cards.

This generation of GPUs is generally disappointing from both sides in terms of value, but AMD does seem to have the upper hand, if only slightly. The RX 7800 XT is cheaper and slightly faster, which makes it very tempting. I don't care for ray tracing, it's just not worth the performance cost in my opinion, but I do like and use upscaling in some games. I'm aware that DLSS is considered better, and the frame generation tech in the 40 series is a selling point for me. AMD is catching up with their own tech but Nvidia seems to be leading for now.

This is where I stand. My 2070S is still pretty decent in most games but it's not happy with Starfield, which I'm enjoying immensely at the moment. Perhaps this is not the best time to upgrade but I'm hoping to find a good deal around Black Friday. I just don't know whether to go green or red. Any useful thoughts and opinions will be much appreciated. Cheers.

You've stated many reasons for preferring the Nvidia over the Radeon and only one minor reason for preferring the AMD. What is left to decide?

 

[Acornbread]

Radeons seem to offer better value, so essentially price.

 

[goldfritter]

Radeons seem to offer better value, so essentially price.

Price is slightly better on the AMD. But you have stated you prefer:

- Nvidia's VRR solution
- Nvidia's driver stability
- Nvidia's upscaling tech
- Nvidia's frame generation

So you need to decide if the slight extra cost saving is worth losing out on all of that. (Edit: fixed my late-night grammar brainfart).

Nobody on the internet can make that decision for you.

Unless you're asking whether you are reasonable in preferring the abovementioned things - which is tricky in itself since they are all quite subjective. But if that's what you're asking I'd say:
- VRR is probably the same for both (your monitor uses FreeSync to enable G-sync so technically even with an Nvidia card you're using FreeSync)
- Driver stability is totally subjective, it depends on which side you Google harder
- Upscaling, everyone pretty much agrees DLSS is better - but that only applies if your preferred game supports it
- Frame generation has an input lag penalty, which for me makes it a complete non-starter. But if you don't care about input lag then it doesn't matter

But again, those are all subjective positions, which you already have an opinion on.

I doubt you'd look back on having spent the few extra rands on the Nvidia card with regret. But the first time the AMD card crashes, you'll kick yourself for not having bought the Nvidia.

 

[Acornbread]

Thank you for the detailed response.

Your last point is very compelling. I honestly would prefer to spend more to have a more stable experience. Perhaps the driver issue is entirely subjective, or I'm suffering from confirmation bias, but I can't discount my own bad past experience and that of others on Reddit who seem to struggle with the latest gen of Radeons.

Thanks again for providing some clarity.

 

[Valheru]

But the first time the AMD card crashes, you'll kick yourself for not having bought the Nvidia.

I honestly would prefer to spend more to have a more stable experience. Perhaps the driver issue is entirely subjective, or I'm suffering from confirmation bias, but I can't discount my own bad past experience and that of others on Reddit who seem to struggle with the latest gen of Radeons.

Can confirm @goldfritter's response. I moved to team red. Took me quite a few days to get things to where I am happy, but the overall experience has left me with a very bad taste. It seems like you get the luck of the draw, some people never experience any issues, hardware all work great together, and then others (like me) had a not so great experience.

I have put quite a bit of information about it here:

Stuttering & Flickering issues on 7900XT | Tech support & Hardware Advice

I need some advice, I am hoping that someone on here may be able to help me with this one. So I finally got around to getting that GPU upgrade and decided on the 7900XT. Installed it late yesterday afternoon (did do a DDU), fired up Cyberpunk 2077 and did some tuning. I immediately noticed...

carbonite.co.za

The Radeon software though is quite shit. Before I went driver-only install with SAM/Rebar disabled, the software decided by itself my overclock is unstable (with zero fucking notification), reset everything back to some pre-defined preset and crashed my game. This is when all the other software I use to check my PBO2 + undervolt had zero issues.

 

[Acornbread]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. This is the kind of thing I've been seeing. I went through your thread and I don't have the patience to go through even half of what you had to do to get things working. 😭

 

[Valheru]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. This is the kind of thing I've been seeing. I went through your thread and I don't have the patience to go through even half of what you had to do to get things working. 😭

Its a pity, the card runs quiet, cool and boosts like a demon. Just wish they can get their shit sorted out, until then I think I will stay on Team Green.

 

[Acornbread]

Its a pity, the card runs quiet, cool and boosts like a demon. Just wish they can get their shit sorted out, until then I think I will stay on Team Green.

I remember saying those exact words in 2019 when I was struggling to get my RX580 running. Seems like little has changed.

 

[HolyCowImAnoOb]

My specs:
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 8-core CPU
32GB DDR4 RAM 3200Mhz
Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB
Dell S3220DGF 1440p 165Hz VRR monitor
850W PSU etc.

Consider grabbing a 5800x3d. IT should give significant performance gains on your GPU.

I had 2600 and moved to 5700g and i got near 50% FPS increase on 3060 12gb in most games.

 

[Acornbread]

Consider grabbing a 5800x3d. IT should give significant performance gains on your GPU.

I had 2600 and moved to 5700g and i got near 50% FPS increase on 3060 12gb in most games.

Thanks for this, I'll do some research. I wasn't considering a CPU upgrade in the foreseeable future. GPU first, maybe this is the next step.

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

Can confirm @goldfritter's response. I moved to team red. Took me quite a few days to get things to where I am happy, but the overall experience has left me with a very bad taste. It seems like you get the luck of the draw, some people never experience any issues, hardware all work great together, and then others (like me) had a not so great experience.

I have put quite a bit of information about it here:

Stuttering & Flickering issues on 7900XT | Tech support & Hardware Advice

I need some advice, I am hoping that someone on here may be able to help me with this one. So I finally got around to getting that GPU upgrade and decided on the 7900XT. Installed it late yesterday afternoon (did do a DDU), fired up Cyberpunk 2077 and did some tuning. I immediately noticed...

carbonite.co.za

The Radeon software though is quite shit. Before I went driver-only install with SAM/Rebar disabled, the software decided by itself my overclock is unstable (with zero fucking notification), reset everything back to some pre-defined preset and crashed my game. This is when all the other software I use to check my PBO2 + undervolt had zero issues.

I had that with Nividia, constant issues, switched over to AMD not 1 driver crash, not 1 weird stuff other ppl have

Had 3 x 6800xt, 2 x 7900xt and now 2 7900XTX happy as ill ever be

YOu are already running AMD just complete it that's my 2 cents on it

 

[Acornbread]

I had that with Nividia, constant issues, switched over to AMD not 1 driver crash, not 1 weird stuff other ppl have

Had 3 x 6800xt, 2 x 7900xt and now 2 7900XTX happy as ill ever be

YOu are already running AMD just complete it that's my 2 cents on it

Oh man, just as I'd almost made my mind up... You've been quite fortunate, I'm glad.

What do you mean when you say you've had 2 or 3 of each of those mentioned cards?

Also, have you had any RAM issues running 4 sticks? I have a similar config and run into problems after BIOS updates.

 

[Valheru]

I had that with Nividia, constant issues, switched over to AMD not 1 driver crash, not 1 weird stuff other ppl have

Had 3 x 6800xt, 2 x 7900xt and now 2 7900XTX happy as ill ever be

YOu are already running AMD just complete it that's my 2 cents on it

Luck of the draw. I knew going in that I am taking a risk as could end up not working out for me. Luckily I kept the 3070, because it did not work out.

This is my main machine, my daily driver, the one I use to earn an income. I cannot afford downtime, the components & brands were picked for very specific reasons and if a GPU does not play nice, that is the 1st to go.

I am bleak about it, this was my birthday present to myself as I last spent monery on myself 2.5 years ago when I bought said 3070.

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

Oh man, just as I'd almost made my mind up... You've been quite fortunate, I'm glad.

What do you mean when you say you've had 2 or 3 of each of those mentioned cards?

Also, have you had any RAM issues running 4 sticks? I have a similar config and run into problems after BIOS updates.

I have heavy CUD, and tested different brands to see where I wanted to be, XFX, Gigabyte, and Asus

No issues with any of the cards i own with all memory channels running

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

Luck of the draw. I knew going in that I am taking a risk as could end up not working out for me. Luckily I kept the 3070, because it did not work out.

This is my main machine, my daily driver, the one I use to earn an income. I cannot afford downtime, the components & brands were picked for very specific reasons and if a GPU does not play nice, that is the 1st to go.

I am bleak about it, this was my birthday present to myself as I last spent monery on myself 2.5 years ago when I bought said 3070.

That is very unfortunate bud -.-

 

[Valheru]

That is very unfortunate bud -.-

I know. That card is a beast. Told Obie last night that Starfield went from locked 120 to 25-30 fps. INDOORS (beginning). So that will be unplayable. Tuned it to get to 40-42fps, but I doubt it will be a good experience.

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

I know. That card is a beast. Told Obie last night that Starfield went from locked 120 to 25-30 fps. INDOORS (beginning). So that will be unplayable. Tuned it to get to 40-42fps, but I doubt it will be a good experience.

My Lady runs the XTX version of that card and not 1 issue, it goes like it has no limit...

Would of loved to test the card for you to see whats happening there for free

 

[Valheru]

Would of loved to test the card for you to see whats happening there for free

If only I created a help thread before selling it on

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

If only I created a help thread before selling it on

That would've been a great idea to be honest

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

If only I created a help thread before selling it on

If you ever want to test your system with an AMD card just let me know and we will arrange a date night

 

[Valheru]

If you ever want to test your system with an AMD card just let me know and we will arrange a date night

In Brakpan? Do I have to bring my own sister / cousin?

 

[ApocalypesNinja]

In Brakpan? Do I have to bring my own sister / cousin?

Both , but if you ever need assistance to test if your system is not playing nice with AMD card, give me a shout

 

[Acornbread]

This community is awesome. If I do get an AMD then I might stand a chance if things go wrong. 😂