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AMD has thrown its hat in the ring once again with the announcement of the Radeon RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT graphics cards, both aimed squarely at 1440p gamers. The Radeon RX 7700 XT is the one that we will be checking out today. The GPU promises to bring something new to a segment that is bustling with competition, including the offerings from Nvidia.
In this review, we will be checking out the Radeon RX 7700 XT, putting it through a series of benchmarks to understand its true capabilities and limitations. Thanks to AMD for facilitating this review by sending over a sample for review.
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT pre-delivery
The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is based on the Navi 32 GPU, which uses the RDNA 3 architecture. The Navi 32 GPU has up to 60 compute units (CUs) and four MCD links. The RX 7700 XT has 54 compute units enabled, which gives it 3,456 stream processors and 54 ray tracing cores. It also has 108 of AMD's AI Accelerator cores. The RX 7700 XT is a dual-slot card that draws power from two 8-pin power connectors, and has a maximum power draw of 245 W.
Diving into the memory specifics, it offers 12 GB of GDDR6 memory, functioning at speeds reaching up to 18 Gbps on a 192-bit interface, a setup aiming to ensure smooth gameplay in various scenarios. The GPU operates at a TDP of 245W, with a recommended PSU of 700W.
Unboxing experience of the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT
The unboxing experience of the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT is pretty much what we have come to expect from the industry, sticking to the standard norms. The outer packaging is straightforward. It reveals a brown cardboard box within, which signifies a conscious effort to maintain environmental friendliness while ensuring the product's safety.
Inside, the graphics card is securely housed in a styrofoam mold, offering a snug fit and ample protection during transit. Adding to this is the anti-static bubble wrap bag enveloping the card, a thoughtful addition to guard against static discharge, promising the GPU reaches the users in impeccable condition.
A closer look at the Pulse variant of the Radeon RX 7700XT by Sapphire
Sapphire stands as a notable name in the AMD graphics card sector, consistently delivering products that cater to the customer base. The Pulse series has garnered praise for its optimal balance between cost and performance.
Design
The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT takes a step back from the flamboyant aesthetics often seen in gaming hardware, opting for a more understated design that speaks to a wide array of users. The card doesn't scream "gamer" at first glance, thanks to its restrained use of red accent lines that add just a hint of flair without overwhelming the senses.
Despite the absence of RGB elements — a staple in modern gaming setups — the card doesn't compromise on build quality. It features a robust metal backplate that promises durability, coupled with a highly efficient heatsink that is tasked with keeping the powerful chip within optimal temperature ranges during operation. This design choice not only ensures great performance, but also offers compatibility with most builds, making it a versatile choice for various users.
Test bench
The following system was used to test the 7700 XT:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- Motherboard: Asus X670E Crosshair Hero
- RAM: Kingston Fury Beast RGB 2x 16 GB DDR5-6000
- Cooler: MSI C360 Liquid AIO
- Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Sapphire Pulse
- SSD: Micron 500GB Gen3 Nvme SSD
- PSU: Corsair RM1000e 1000W fully modular
- Case: Thermaltake Core P3 (Serving as an open-air test bench)
Productivity performance
In the following sections, we will be checking out how the Radeon RX 7700 XT stacks up against its competitors in some synthetic workloads.
3DMark Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It includes two graphics tests, a physics test, and a combined test that stresses the CPU and GPU. The benchmark tests DirectX 11 gaming performance at various resolutions.
The Radeon RX 7700 XT performed exceptionally well, even going as far as beating the RTX 4070 and the RTX 4060 Ti.
In Fire Strike Extreme, the RX 7700 XT positions itself nicely between the 4060 Ti and the 4070. Overall very impressive numbers and in line with with the requirements of the market that this card is targeting.
3DMark Time Spy, a segment of the comprehensive 3DMark benchmarking suite, is crafted to rigorously test PCs, pushing them to their utmost capacities. This tool serves as a reliable indicator, showcasing how different systems would stand up to the demands of graphically intensive tasks and modern high-resolution gaming.
In this landscape, the RX 7700 XT finds its ground, carving a niche for itself as it comfortably situates between the performances of the 60Ti and the 70, presenting a promising option for gamers.
The 3DMark DirectX Ray Tracing feature test measures the performance of ray-tracing hardware. It draws a scene in one pass using ray tracing instead of traditional rendering techniques. The test result depends entirely on ray-tracing performance.
As we have come to see over and over again from AMD, ray tracing is not really their strong suit and the numbers confirm the same. In RT, the RX 7700 XT situates itself over the RTX 2060, which was an entry level card three years back.
In the Port Royal benchmark, a segment of the 3DMark suite designed to scrutinize the ray-tracing capabilities of graphics cards, the AMD RX 7700XT puts forth a commendable performance with a score of 8825. This score is particularly surprising and noteworthy given AMD's historical performance in ray tracing, which lags behind its competitors.
The RX 7700XT surpasses several contenders such as the RTX 3060 Ti and the RTX 2080 Super. It follows the ongoing trend of situated between the RTX 4060 Ti and the RTX 4070.
In the Speedway benchmark, the AMD RX 7700 XT achieves a score of 3118, situating itself competitively in the middle ground of the performance spectrum. This score sees it outperform the RTX 2060 by a considerable margin and closely tail the RTX 4060 Ti, showcasing its potential to deliver a solid gaming performance.
In the Unigine Superposition benchmark, the AMD RX 7700 XT demonstrates a strong performance across all tested resolutions - 1080p extreme, 4K optimized, and 8K optimized.
At 1080p extreme, it scores 8548, showcasing its ability to handle high-definition gaming with a performance that surpasses many notable GPUs, including the RTX 3060 Ti and RTX 4060 Ti. Moving to a 4K optimized setting, the RX 7700 XT continues to impress with a score of 11125, indicating that gamers can expect smooth gameplay in 4K settings as well.
The 8K optimized score of 4025, while not leading the pack, still represents a respectable performance. It suggests that the GPU can hold its own even in the most demanding settings, albeit with limitations.
This benchmark paints the RX 7700 XT as a versatile choice that is capable of delivering strong performances across a range of resolutions. It promises a GPU that is prepared to meet the diverse demands of modern gaming environments.
In the 3DMark upscaling feature test, the AMD RX 7700 XT showcases a substantial performance enhancement when upscaling is utilized.
Without upscaling, the RX 7700 XT registers a score of 47.88, which is significantly higher than most of the RTX 4000 series laptops and even the desktop version of the RTX 4070. This score indicates that even without leveraging upscaling, the RX 7700 XT is capable of delivering a high baseline performance.
When upscaling is activated, the RX 7700 XT's score shoots up to an impressive 84.85, a growth of nearly 77%. This surge not only underscores the GPU's adept handling of upscaling technologies but also showcases a performance that is closer to the high-end RX 7900 XTX, albeit still at a considerable distance.
Gaming performance of the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT
In the following sections, we will talk about how the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT handles itself in various scenarios. We'll start with 1080p gaming followed by 1440p, RT performance, path-tracing capabilities, and FSR.
In the 1080p Ultra setting without FSR and ray tracing, the AMD RX 7700 XT demonstrates a strong performance across a variety of popular titles, showcasing its prowess in handling high-definition gaming.
In graphically intensive titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the GPU manages to maintain an average frame rate well above the 100 FPS mark, ensuring a smooth and immersive gaming experience. Particularly in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it achieves a staggering average of 198 FPS, with the 1% and 0.1% lows also remaining robust. This indicates a stable performance devoid of noticeable frame drops.
Games like Far Cry 6 and Hitman 3 also see high average frame rates, albeit with a more significant dip in the 1% and especially the 0.1% lows, which indicate occasional stutters during gameplay. Despite this, the RX 7700 XT maintains a performance that offers a largely smooth gaming experience, holding promise for gamers looking to enjoy the latest titles in high definition.
Moving on to the 1440p Ultra setting without FSR and ray tracing, the AMD RX 7700 XT continues to showcase a commendable performance, albeit with a noticeable dip in the frame rates compared to the 1080p setting, which is expected given the increase in resolution and the consequent higher graphical demand.
In the case of Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Hitman 3, the GPU still manages to exceed the 100 FPS mark on average, promising a fluid and visually rich gaming experience. The 1% and 0.1% lows, although lower compared to the 1080p results, remain at a level that would offer stability during gameplay, minimizing the chances of disruptive stuttering.
On the other hand, titles such as Fortnite and Starfield see a more significant reduction in frame rates, hovering around 50 FPS and below range on average. Particularly in Starfield, the 0.1% low dips to 26 indicates the potential for noticeable frame drops during intense gaming sessions. Despite these dips, the Radeon RX 7700 XT manages to hold its ground, offering a performance that can still cater to high-definition gaming at 1440p.
In the gaming benchmark with ray tracing (RT) enabled, we observe a mixed bag of results, with the frame rates varying significantly across different titles.
Starting with the more demanding title Cyberpunk 2077, the Radeon RX 7700 XT struggles to maintain a playable frame rate, with an average FPS of just 27 and 1% and 0.1% lows dipping further to 19 and 18, respectively. This suggests that gamers might experience noticeable lags and stutters during gameplay, which isn't ideal for a smooth gaming experience.
On the flip side, Far Cry 6 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider manage to uphold a considerably better performance, with average frame rates of 90 and 85 FPS respectively. However, it is worth noting the significant drop in the 1% and 0.1% lows, especially in Far Cry 6 where the 0.1% low reaches a mere 5 FPS, indicating potential instances of substantial frame drops during gameplay.
Other titles like The Witcher 3 and Hitman 3 hover around the 30 FPS mark on average. While playable, it doesn't promise the most fluid gaming experience, especially for fast-paced action sequences. The Radeon RX 7700 XT, therefore, presents a varied performance under ray tracing, excelling in some titles while facing challenges in others, showcasing the demanding nature of ray-traced graphics and the card's capabilities in handling them.
In the gaming benchmark with path tracing enabled, a rendering technique designed to simulate global illumination, we see the Radeon RX 7700 XT grappling with the high computational demands of Cyberpunk 2077.
In its raw form, without the assistance of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), the card manages to churn out an average of 7 FPS, with the 1% and 0.1% lows standing at a mere 4 FPS. This kind of performance, unfortunately, doesn't offer a playable experience, as the frame rates are far too low to enjoy the rich details and immersive environment that the game offers.
However, with AMD's FSR enabled, a feature designed to boost performance by reducing the native resolution and then upscaling it, we see a more than twofold increase in the average frame rate, reaching 18 FPS.
The 1% and 0.1% lows also see a substantial improvement, both stabilizing at 13 FPS. While this is a significant enhancement, it still falls short of providing a smooth gaming experience, indicating that enjoying path tracing in "Cyberpunk 2077" with this GPU would be quite challenging. Nevertheless, FSR does offer a ray of hope, enhancing playability to a certain extent.
The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT showcases a remarkable performance boost when FSR is enabled during gaming sessions. Taking a look at the numbers, it is evident that games such as Cyberpunk 2077 benefit significantly, with frame rates more than doubling from 27 to 60 FPS. Similarly, Far Cry 6 experiences a substantial uplift, jumping from 90 to a staggering 131 FPS.
This trend of enhanced performance is consistent across various titles, highlighting the Radeon RX 7700 XT's potential to offer smoother and more immersive gaming experiences with the FSR feature-activated.
Power consumption and thermals of the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT
In this part of the review, we are going to take a look at the temperatures and power draw of the card in two different scenarios: One being playing Cyberpunk 2077 at the highest settings, and the second scenario being stressing the GPU with a load of Furmark.
As we can see from the charts, the Sapphire Pulse is very capable of handling the RadeonRX 7700 XT. The temperature never crossed 64 under full load of Furmark Stress and while running Cyberpunk 2077 at the highest setting.
The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a robust performance, yet there's room to ramp up its power efficiency. Sharpening this edge could not only dial down the temperatures, but also carve out savings on the electricity bills for the users.
It's a tweak that could potentially pitch the Radeon RX 7700 XT as a more sustainable choice in the bustling GPU market, marrying high-octane performance with energy economy. It's a balance that prospective buyers might find worth pondering over.
Fans
The card is exceptionally quiet during operation and the fans don't spin very fast anyways. The peak RPM is barely 1200 while the card is under load, be it during a stress test or gaming.
The value proposition of the AMD Radeon RX 7700XT 12 GB
Drawing from the extensive benchmark data, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT emerges as a strong contender in the GPU market, especially when considering its price point of $449. The card showcases a commendable performance across a range of gaming titles, holding its ground firmly even in ray tracing scenarios. This is somewhat surprising given AMD's historical performance in these areas.
However, for an extra $50, buyers have the option to upgrade to the Radeon RX 7800 XT, which offers a more solid performance, potentially giving them a bigger bang for their buck. This slight increase in investment can translate to a notable uplift in gaming experiences, with smoother graphics and faster load times. Overall this card has a very confusing value proposition and the decision effectively boils down to the individual user's requirements.
Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT Sportskeeda score card (Image via Sportskeeda)
Product: Sapphire Radeon RX 7700 XT Pulse (unit provided by AMD)
Release date: September 06, 2023
Boost clock: 2,544 MHz
Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a
Power draw: 230 W
