The Radeon RX 7800 XT may not be the successor to the 6800 XT that a lot of folks were hoping for, but for under $500, this is one of the best-value graphics cards going right now. Its 16GB of VRAM gives it a lot of room to gallop in QHD and 4K, and its upscaling is not to be overlooked. This is the ideal GPU for anyonꦫe wanting 4K prowess without dipping into dangerously expensive, high-end territory.
I recently switched to the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT after the better part of a year using a 16GB Intel Arc A770. I loved Intel’s first flagship GPU at release, but continual bugs with its driver update🌸s and its weakness in some content creation tasks meaꦐnt I was in dire need of an upgrade.
Naming conventions among the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best graphics cards can be a bit confusing. Compared to last gen’s RX 6800 XT whi💎ch is a much-loved mid-ranger, this feels more like an architectural refresh rather than a full generational step up. Arguably, the RX 7900 GRE is the true successor to the 6800 XT, but that’s not to say this card should be slept on.
Compared to the🤪 competition, a price tag of $499 / £479 for a mid-range card with 16GB of VRAM is generous.ꦯ The RTX 4070 range comes in well over that price point, no matter the variant you choose, and it’s worth noting that those only pack in 12GB of VRAM.
Design
(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson)
For this review, I’m checking out Acer’s Predator BiFrost OC board, which, as you’ll see from the table below, touts a faster boost clock than AMD’s in-house version. As a result, it comes in above MSRP. You’ll likely fiꦚnd minor price discrepancies no matter what GPU you go for, but from a quick look, there are 🀅options available under that suggested price tag to offset the pricier variant I’m checking out.
The 7800 XT sits bang smack in the middle of AMD’s RDNA 3 range, and with three siblings on either side of it, it might just be the value sweet spot to slot inside your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PC.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT specs
Spec
Acer Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 7800 XT OC
MSRP
$499 / £499
GPU
Navi 32 XT
Shading Units
3840
Compute Units
60
Acceleration cores (RT cores)
60
Base clock
Up to 2255 MHz
Boost clock
Up to 2565 MHz (up from 2430MHz)
VRAM
16GB of GDDR6
Memory bus
256 bit
Connectivity
1 x HDMI 2.1, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1
TDP
307W
I was lucky enough to test out and review both the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Radeon RX 7900 XTX and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:RX 7900 XT, so I’m already well aware that AMD is packing a lot of underappreciated heat with RDNA3. I personally love that for your money on the red side of the GPU war, you tend to get more VRAM for your money than equivalent Nvidia proꦬducts - even if that VRAM is sometimes a little slower. That dominant brand tends to be more stingy with memory and uses its DLSS upscaling and frame generation as its main selling point. While this certainly works for them, I’d always prefer to have more memory so I have more headroom for higher resolutions and for content creation tasks.
In terms of the physical design of the Acer model I’m testing, you’ll notice a few Predator logos and three of the brand’s Frostblade 3.0 fans, but compared to my 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Acer Predator B🤡iFrost Intel Arc A770, the design of this feels scaled back. There’s no RGB to be seen, but matte black surfaces make it look like something that would fit in with a🍸ny of Christian Bale’s Batman utensils. In short, it looks badass, and its chunky build lets you know there’s serious power within.
Bulky as it may be, I had no issues at all slo𓂃tting it into my ITX PC. It's 281.9mm long by 104mm wide and has a height of 60.9mm, so it won’t demand too much real estate. Two 8-pin connectors are all you’ll need to hook it up to your power supply, no need for a swanky new cable like some of the higher-end Nvidia 40 Series offerings.
Features
(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson)
One of the big draws of upgrading to newer GPU architecture is, of course, the upscaling and frame generation tools you get access to. AMD has ꧂opened up FSR 3 to its older generations too, but the newer GPUs are the ones that will likely reap the most benefits from it because they’re set up architecturallꦫy to do so. Until more support for FSR 3 arrives, Adrenalin software that helps you manage graphics settings and driver updates has you covered.
I must say, even since reviewing the RX 7900 XTX and XT, I feel like Adrenalin as an app has really improved. All the parts are easily navigablᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe, and make Intel’s Arc control look like a toddler's first attempt at drawing a house. Besides my preferences not saving across a firmware update, and the app upsetting a few of my keyboard shortcuts, it’s performed brilliantly, never slowing down performance.
I especially like the ability to record gameplay without hindering performance. This is something Intel needs to improve on desperately, but as someone who livestreams and records gameplay for YouTube videos, it’s a vital feature for me.
(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson)
Fluid Motion Frames and FidelityFX Super Resolution are two of the most important features when gaming with one of the Radeon 7000 Series graphics cards. The former is a frame generation tool that gives you some seriously decent frame rate boosts. Nvidia’s upscaling is talked a lot about, but I don’t think AMD gets enough credit for its equivalent. FidelityFX Super Resolution is a clever piece of engineering that renders your game at the resolution below your displ𒊎ay’s maximum, then upscales it to give you a performance boost. Both of these will turn on when you activate Hyper-RX mode in the Adrenalin app, but both can be tuned manually depending on your preferences.
A warning though, if you turn th𝕴ese on and Steam or the Windows game bar tells you you’re getting fewer frames per second than bef🌞ore, turn on AMD’s overlay. For some reason, other software can’t track the frames AMD is generating, but the true kick this technology gives your gaming setup is happening, which a trained eye will be able to spot.
Performance
(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson)
I’m really happy with the Radeon RX 7800 XT because it’s great at doing exactly what I want a mid-range GPU to do. Even if it’s billed as a 1440p driver, I take it to 4K in every game I play, and the 60+ frame rates it pulls out make it an absolute console killer. In games like Hunt: Showdown I get an organic 90fps, but after dialing in FSR and FMF, I get 130fps without the GPU showing an ounce o🧔f sweat.
RX 7800 XT software benchmarks
3DMark benchmarks
Time Spy
Overall: 18,926
Graphics Score: 19,806 Fire Strike
Overall: 28,544
Graphics Score: 50,604
In Alan Wake 2, which gave the Intel Arc A770 some serious grief, I was able t𒁃o get over 100fps in 4K thanks to Hyper-RX presets, and combined with my Intel Core i5-13600K processor, Baldur’s Gate 3 runs in 4K at around 75-80fps depending on the scenario.
Streaming and video editi🍨ng is a similar story. I’ve detected next to no performance dips when scrubbing through 4K video, and although the fans in my PC kick up a storm in those heavier Adobe Premiere Pro sessions, the G🧔PU never seems to mind and keeps a solid ambient temperature in the 60s (centigrade).
This was♒ something I found during industry-sta🍃ndard benchmarking too, as 3DMark’s Time Spy test peaked in the 70s, and Fire Strike’s average temperature was a toasty 71. Scores here weren’t quite as beefy as I’d hoped, but still trumped the Arc A770 I was using before.
But of course, to really test out a GPU you need to make it sweat, and there’s nothing better for that than running it around a lap of our benchmarking games. For these tests, we’re trying to work the board to its limits, so all of the se⛎ttings are cranked up to full at the two highest resolutions.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Radeon RX 7800 XT 1440p gaming benchmarks
Header Cell - Column 0
1440p Ultra
FSR + FMF
Ray Tracing
FSR/FMF + Ray Tracing
Returnal
104fps
152fps
67fps
106fps
Hitman
135fps
145fps
35fps
55fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
104fps
156fps
68fps
94fps
Total War: Warhammer 3
99fps
156fps
x
x
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Radeon RX 7800 XT 4K gaming benchmarks
Header Cell - Column 0
4K Ultra
FSR + FMF
Ray Tracing
FSR/FMF + Ray Tracing
Returnal
61fps
135fps
38fps
73fps
Hitman
116fps
134fps
35fps
68fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
53fps
99fps
40fps
69fps
Total War: Warhammer 3
49fps
90fps
x
x
The number of triple-digit frame rates in those benchmarks is impressive and 🌳speaks to the value for money that can be had here. These are especially demandin💯g games cranked up to eleven, and I found during some more general gameplay tests that fiddling around with settings menus creates positive results in each testing category.
For comparison, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:RTX 4070 Super achieved the same 104fps in Returnal at 1440p when we reviewed it, although we did test it in a different system. Even so, in 4K, the 7800 XT continued to give it a run for its money with a compared 60fps. In fact, there were even some instances where the 16GB of VRAM may have given it an edge at 4K. Again, keep in mind that we test🧸ed it in a different system so it isn't a totally fair t🐬est, but the 4070 Super scored 104fps in Hitman 3 to the 7800 XT’s 116fps. Totally concrete comparisons aside, these are interesting numbers when you think about the price of both GPUs.
Perhaps most impressively, FSR and FMF are working really well to deliver at least 20-30fps boosts in each game. To be totally fair to Team Green, the 4070 Super’s DLSS performance bumps were more helpful ovꦆerall, and when ray tracing is involved, Nvidia still leads the charg🐠e. Still, for a mid-range GPU, performance across the board for a much more reasonable price tag makes this a dark horse worth considering.
Should you buy the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT?
(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson)
It’s pretty hard to argue with the 1440p and 4K performance this GPꦿU gives you for what will likely be under $500 if you buy at the right time. I’d say for anyone looking to upgrade to a capable 16GB graphics card from either AMD or Nvidia’s most recent generations, the 7800 XT is one to seriously consider. For the money, you compete with an RTX 4070 Super that would demand a lot more from your pockets, and with Team Red’s homegrown version of DLSS, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on much.
As much as I appreciate the RX 7800 XT, I can understan🍃d the frustration of anyone who already has the RX 6800 XT and was hoping for a bona fide step up. Graphics card manufacturers shouldn’t be playing sneaky and confusing games with naming conventions, but if it’s any consolation, the underrated mid-range performance of last-gen’s Dark Horse has survived he♔re. If you aren’t attracted by the performance boosts you see here, you can always consider the RX 7900 GRE, which isn’t a lot more expensive.
As a daily driver for me, I’m very happy with the 7800 XT at the moment. It provides 4K gaming, easy content creation, and great software I can use to finetune thing♓s how I like. Short o⭕f going for an Intel Arc A770 with 16GB, you’re going to struggle to find a current-gen, 4K-capable GPU that’s better value than this.
Show more
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
How we tested the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
I put the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT in my own personal gaming PC for around two months before writing this review. In that time, I've used it to play hundreds of hours worth of games. Alan Wake 2, Hunt: Showdown, Planet Zoo, Dishonored 2, and Baldur's🦩 Gate 3 are just a few of the games I've played with it in my own time before formally testing it. I compared my experience closely to my time☂ with the Intel Arc A770, a competitor GPU with 16GB of VRAM for a budget price.
For formal testing, I put the graphics card through our wringer of benchmarking games and software, noting frame rat🍎es and comparing them across our previous reviews.
For more on the ways we test out the latest graphics cards and computer parts, check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hardware policy.
One of my earliest memories is playing SuperMario64 and wondering why the controller I held had three grips, but I only had two hands. Ever since I've been in love with video games and their technology. After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in Journalism, I contributed to the Scottish Games Network and completed an Editorial Internship at Expert Reviews. Over the last decade, I’ve been managing my own about my love of games too. These days, I'm one of the resident hardware nerds at GamesRadar+, and I take the lead on our coverage of gaming PCs, VR, control𒁃lers, gaming chairs, and content creation gear. Now, I better stop myself here before I get talking about my favourite games like HUNT: Showdown, Dishonored, and Towerfall Ascension.