AMD's Radeon RX lineup has never been more competitive. Whether you're building a budget 1080p rig or pushing pixels at 4K with ray tracing enabled, there is now a Radeon card to match almost every use case and price point. The arrival of the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT in early 2025 marked a significant generational leap, bringing RDNA 4 architecture to mainstream and enthusiast buyers alike, with improved ray tracing performance and a new media engine that finally closes the gap with Nvidia on AV1 encoding. Meanwhile, older RDNA 3 cards like the RX 7600 and RX 7900 GRE have dropped in price, making them outstanding value picks. This guide is aimed at PC gamers, content creators and anyone upgrading from a card that is two or more generations old. We have tested or thoroughly benchmarked each card below, weighed up real-world performance, driver stability and software features to give you a clear picture of where each card sits in 2025.
Quick Verdict
Best Overall: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, offering class-leading 1440p and strong 4K performance at a price that undercuts comparable Nvidia options.
Best Value: AMD Radeon RX 7600, delivering smooth 1080p gaming and solid 1440p capability for well under £250.
| Card | Architecture | VRAM | Typical 1440p Avg FPS (Cyberpunk 2077) | TDP | Ports | Weight (card) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX 9070 XT | RDNA 4 | 16 GB GDDR6 | ~115 fps | 304 W | 3x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 | ~1.4 kg | Check price |
| RX 9070 | RDNA 4 | 16 GB GDDR6 | ~100 fps | 220 W | 3x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 | ~1.3 kg | Check price |
| RX 7900 XTX | RDNA 3 | 24 GB GDDR6 | ~130 fps | 355 W | 2x DP 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C | ~1.7 kg | Check price |
| RX 7900 GRE | RDNA 3 | 16 GB GDDR6 | ~95 fps | 260 W | 2x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C | ~1.5 kg | Check price |
| RX 7800 XT | RDNA 3 | 16 GB GDDR6 | ~88 fps | 263 W | 3x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 | ~1.4 kg | Check price |
| RX 7700 XT | RDNA 3 | 12 GB GDDR6 | ~78 fps | 245 W | 3x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 | ~1.3 kg | Check price |
| RX 7600 XT | RDNA 3 | 16 GB GDDR6 | ~68 fps | 190 W | 3x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 | ~1.1 kg | Check price |
| RX 7600 | RDNA 3 | 8 GB GDDR6 | ~58 fps | 165 W | 3x DP 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1 | ~0.9 kg | Check price |
How We Picked
Our selection process began by identifying every AMD Radeon RX card currently available to buy new in the UK, spanning both the new RDNA 4 generation and the still-available RDNA 3 lineup. We cross-referenced benchmark data from multiple independent sources, including Digital Foundry, Hardware Unboxed and TechPowerUp, focusing on real-world gaming performance at 1080p, 1440p and 4K rather than synthetic scores alone. We weighted 1440p performance most heavily, as that is the resolution the majority of UK GPU buyers are targeting in 2025. We also assessed driver stability based on community feedback over a minimum three-month period, software feature sets, power efficiency, VRAM capacity relative to price, and availability at UK retailers. Cards that offered poor value relative to their tier, or that had persistent driver issues, were excluded. Pricing was assessed at the time of writing using Amazon UK and major UK retailers.
Buying Guide
What resolution are you gaming at?
Resolution is the single most important factor when choosing a GPU. At 1080p, cards like the RX 7600 and RX 7600 XT are more than sufficient for high frame rates in virtually every current title, and spending more on a higher-tier card will not translate into a meaningfully better experience on a 1080p monitor. At 1440p, the RX 7800 XT, RX 7900 GRE and RX 9070 are the natural choices, offering smooth performance at ultra settings without requiring upscaling in most titles. At 4K, you need the RX 9070 XT, RX 7900 XT or RX 7900 XTX to achieve consistently smooth frame rates at high settings, and even then FSR upscaling will be useful in the most demanding games.
How much VRAM do you need?
VRAM requirements have been climbing steadily. In 2025, 8 GB is the minimum for 1080p gaming, but some newer titles are beginning to push beyond this at maximum settings with high-resolution texture packs. For 1440p gaming, 12 GB is a comfortable minimum and 16 GB is preferable for future-proofing. At 4K, 16 GB is the minimum and 24 GB is ideal for the highest texture settings. AMD has done well to offer 16 GB on cards like the RX 7600 XT, RX 7800 XT and RX 9070, making them better long-term investments than some competing options at similar prices.
Does ray tracing matter?
Ray tracing performance has historically been a weakness for AMD relative to Nvidia, but RDNA 4 has changed this significantly. The RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT now offer ray tracing performance that is competitive with Nvidia's offerings at similar price points. If you are buying an RDNA 3 card, ray tracing is functional but not a strong suit, and you should not prioritise it when choosing between RDNA 3 options. If ray tracing is important to your gaming experience, the RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT are the AMD cards to consider.
What about FSR and upscaling?
AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution is supported across all cards in this list, but the version matters. RDNA 4 cards support FSR 4, which uses machine-learning acceleration to produce noticeably sharper results than the spatial upscaling of FSR 3.1. RDNA 3 cards are limited to FSR 3.1, which is still a solid upscaler but does not match the image quality of FSR 4 or Nvidia's DLSS 3. FSR is also open-source and works across AMD, Nvidia and Intel GPUs, so it is widely supported in games. If image quality from upscaling is important to you, the RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT are the cards to choose.
Power supply and system compatibility
Always check that your PSU can handle the card you are buying. As a rough guide: 550 W for the RX 7600 and RX 7600 XT, 650 W for the RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT, 750 W for the RX 7900 GRE and RX 9070, 750 W to 800 W for the RX 9070 XT, and 850 W or higher for the RX 7900 XTX. Also check your case has sufficient clearance for the card's length and slot width, as many high-end AIB coolers are triple-slot and over 320 mm long. Ensure your motherboard has a PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 x16 slot for best performance, though all these cards will work in PCIe 3.0 slots with a modest performance penalty.
New versus last-gen
With RDNA 4 now available, RDNA 3 cards have dropped in price and offer strong value. However, if you are buying a card you intend to keep for three or more years, the RX 9070 or RX 9070 XT are worth the premium for FSR 4 support, improved ray tracing and the newer media engine. RDNA 3 cards are excellent value for buyers on tighter budgets or those who upgrade more frequently.
Final Verdict
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is our overall winner. It combines the best of RDNA 4's architectural improvements, including genuinely competitive ray tracing, FSR 4 machine-learning upscaling and an improved media engine, with a price that undercuts comparable Nvidia hardware. At 1440p it is the fastest AMD card for the money, and it is capable enough at 4K to satisfy most enthusiast gamers. The 16 GB GDDR6 buffer ensures it will remain relevant for years to come. If budget is a concern, the RX 7600 is our best value pick, offering smooth 1080p gaming at an accessible price with a sensible power draw. For those who want the new generation without the full XT premium, the RX 9070 is an excellent alternative, offering most of the 9070 XT's benefits at a lower price and with a significantly reduced power draw. Whatever your budget or target resolution, there is an AMD card in this list that will serve you well in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your budget and priorities. AMD's RDNA 4 cards, particularly the RX 9070 XT, offer excellent rasterisation performance and improved ray tracing at competitive prices. Nvidia still leads on ray tracing at the very high end and has a more mature upscaling solution in DLSS 3, but AMD's FSR 4 has significantly closed that gap. For most buyers, AMD offers better value per frame at mid-range price points in 2025.
Yes, AMD graphics cards are fully compatible with Intel CPUs and motherboards. There is no performance penalty for pairing an AMD GPU with an Intel processor. AMD's Radeon Software and all associated features, including FSR, Anti-Lag and Radeon Boost, work regardless of whether your CPU is from AMD or Intel.
FSR 4, or FidelityFX Super Resolution 4, is AMD's latest upscaling technology that uses machine-learning inference to produce sharper upscaled images than the spatial algorithm used in FSR 3.1. It requires the AI accelerators found in RDNA 4 architecture, meaning only the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT currently support it. RDNA 3 and older cards are limited to FSR 3.1, which is still a capable upscaler but produces slightly softer results.
For 4K gaming in 2025, we recommend a minimum of 16 GB VRAM. Some titles with high-resolution texture packs can approach or exceed 12 GB at maximum 4K settings, so 16 GB provides a comfortable buffer. The RX 7900 XTX's 24 GB is the most generous option and is particularly useful for content creation alongside gaming. Cards with 8 GB or 12 GB are not ideal for 4K at maximum settings.
Yes, AMD graphics cards are capable tools for video editing and content creation. RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 cards include hardware AV1 encode and decode support, which is important for modern streaming and video workflows. Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve both support AMD GPU acceleration. The RX 7900 XTX's 24 GB VRAM makes it particularly well-suited to high-resolution editing and AI image generation tasks.
