AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT review: the new queen of 1440p

2023-09-14 10:00:00

After having competed with the GeForce RTX 4080 with its Radeon RX 7900XT/XTX, then having surprised Nvidia with a Radeon RX 7600 with an aggressive performance/price ratio, AMD is finally attacking the mid-range and in particular the GeForce RTX 4070.

The Radeon RX 7800 XT benefits from an MBA version, unlike the RX 7700 XT.

The Digitals

For this, the Radeon RX 7800 Nvidia should also make a small price adjustment since it is currently possible to find the RTX 4070 for just under €630.

AMD intends to make its Radeon RX 7800 XT the graphics card of choice for gamers equipped with screens with a definition of 2560 x 1440 px, this definition becoming more popular among gamers. As with the rest of the range, the management of raytracing risks handicapping the red card compared to the green one, but note the hardware compatibility with the AV1 codec.

A little more than 2 slots for this MBA model of the RX 7800 XT.

The Digitals

The Radeon RX 7800 XT is equipped with a Navi 32 XT GPU equipped with 28.1 billion transistors engraved in 5 and 6 nm at TSMC. The RDNA 3 architecture is obviously included, as on the Radeon RX 7900 XT/XTX; only the number of units and therefore the size of the GPU are reduced.

Thus the RX 7800 XT is equipped with 60 calculation units, 60 units dedicated to raytracing and 128 units dedicated to AI. For comparison, the Radeon RX 7600 has almost half as many units and an RX 7900 XTX a good third more. Finally, 3840 classic computing units complete the Navi 32 XT, compared to 2048 for the RX 7600 and 6144 for the RX 7900 XTX.

The MBA version is particularly sober.

The Digitals

Compared to its predecessor, the Radeon RX 6800 XT, the RX 7800 is therefore closer to an RX 6800 on paper, with the only difference that it uses the 3rd generation RDNA architecture instead of the 2nd generation.

The Infinity Cache goes from 128 MB to 64 MB. The transition to the second generation of technology, however, makes it possible to compensate for the loss of half of its capacity. As for video memory, 16 GB of GDDR6 is still there, although with an increasing speed, since we go from 16 GB/s to 19.5 GB/s of bandwidth over a width of unchanged 256-bit bus.

The total GPU envelope is announced at 263 watts, 13 watts more than the RX 6800 and 37 W less than the RX 6800 XT.

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Performance in games

On our panel of games at 1440p, the preferred definition of the Radeon RX 7800 XT, the card sees its GPU operating on average at 2352 MHz.

So, in this definition, the Radeon RX 7800 However, this does not prevent comparison with its competitors. Thus, in our range of games, the most recent engine, that of Cyberpunk 2077 is well managed and delivers 61 fps with all details at maximum.

The Radeon RX 6800 XT is therefore 25% more efficient than the RX 6800 which shares many of its characteristics, but which dates from a previous generation. The gain compared to the RX 6800 XT is only 4%, the same as compared to the GeForce RTX 4070.

Activating raytracing reduces performance, which drops to 52 fps. However, it is not possible to compare this figure with that of rasterized content, since certain games do not benefit from raytracing, and vice versa (Ouriders, Metro Exodus EE).
Under these conditions, the RX 7800 XT performs 45% better than the RX 6800 and 23% better than the RX 6800 XT. The slight advantage over the GeForce RTX 4070 is disappearing and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is 14% behind its direct competitor.

Activating FSR allows you to save precious frames per second, but the competition is intractable on this point: Nvidia allows, for example, the RTX 4070 to reach 104 fps under Cyberpunk 2077 with the activation of the generation frame rate of DLSS 3, while activating FSR allows you to reach 44 fps on the Radeon. We will therefore have to be patient while waiting for the arrival of the FSR 3 – and hope that the promises will be kept.

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Noise

AMD has made its own Radeon RX 7800 XT available to us, says MBA for Made By AMD. The card is cooled by two fans which are inactive when the card is not in use.

The two fans are discreet.

The Digitals

During our tests on our panel of ten games, the Radeon RX 7800 XT did not exceed 75°C in our case, with an average of 70.1°C. The sound level of the card is contained (37.2 dB during a gaming session). Although discreet, the RX 7800

Ventilation is well controlled on this MBA model.

The Digitals

Consumption

Powering the RX 7800 XT is provided by two traditional 8-pin connectors. For a time, AMD considered using the 12VHPWR connector used by Nvidia, but the brand preferred to play it safe. AMD recommends a 700 watt power supply for a configuration equipped with this GPU.

Two traditional 8-pin connectors to power the Radeon RX 7800 XT.

The Digitals

We measured an average consumption of 252 W. Peaks can reach 263 W according to AMD’s statements.

Reduced consumption, but not yet optimal.

The Digitals

The Radeon RX 7800 XT ultimately consumes as much as the Radeon RX 6800 which has a comparable number of units. The increase in operating frequency and the lower engraving fineness explain this the state in which. However, AMD is still far from Nvidia’s energy efficiency, since the GeForce RTX 4070 consumes on average 188 W on our gaming panel, almost 25% less than the RX 7800 XT.

Three DisplayPort ports and one HDMI 2.1a port.

The Digitals

The Radeon RX 7800 The RDNA 3 architecture handles raytraced content a little better and allows you to see gains on the games concerned compared to the previous generation. However, the GeForce RTX 4070, its direct competitor, is much more versatile and above all currently benefits from the generation of frameswhich is not the case for the Radeon — we will have to wait for the availability of the FSR 3.

We will still remember that “shrinkflation” on GPUs has once once more happened. The Radeon RX 7800 XT inherits the number of units from the RX 6800. This greatly limits the generational gain, since the RX 6800 This performance gap with the RX 7900 XT leaves room for AMD to adjust its range and respond to a possible renewal of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 40.

AMD seems well aware of the delay in functionality and the price reflects this. With a recommended retail price of €555, the Radeon RX 7800 XT is still €70 cheaper than Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4070.

Avoid letting your fingers drag on the backplate.

The Digitals

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Points forts

Performances en 1440p (rasterisation).

Fans stopped when the card is at rest.

HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1 video output.

Weak points

Shy generational gain.

Raytracing still behind the competition.

FSR 3 which is long overdue.

Conclusion

Global mark

How does the rating work?

The Radeon RX 7800 XT is an ideal graphics card for playing the entire current game library at 1440p. Games without raytracing remain his favorite terrain. It is mainly criticized for having a generational gap that is far too small compared to the Radeon RX 6800 XT that it replaces.

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