RTX 5080 vs Radeon RX 9070 XT
Short answer: which is best?
RTX 5080 is 17.6 % stronger than Radeon RX 9070 XT. RTX 5080 ranks #3 of 67 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (16,422 GPU score over 4 verified runs). Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks #6 of 67 measured graphics cards at WhatFPS (13,965 GPU score over 9 verified runs). The numbers are measured in 13 verified WhatFPS runs — not estimated, not self-reported.
Measured comparison
| Metric | RTX 5080 | Radeon RX 9070 XT |
|---|---|---|
| GPU score (the card's own performance) | 16,422 | 13,965 |
| Best rig (GAMING — whole PC) | 15,624 | 12,063 |
| Earth II (Vulkan) | 72.7 FPS | 64.8 FPS |
| Mission to Earth II (DX12) | 87.2 FPS | 70.2 FPS |
| Earth II Landing (DX12 Ultimate) | 75.9 FPS | 65.5 FPS |
| Supernova (DX11) | 128.9 FPS | 31.4 FPS |
| Memory bandwidth | 326 GB/s | 106 GB/s |
| VRAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Ray tracing | Yes | Yes |
Fragz' verdict
The RTX 5080 clearly wins this comparison, leading the Radeon RX 9070 XT by a substantial 46.5% in GPU score. Its performance in our test suite is notably higher, hitting 91.7 FPS in Mission to Earth II DX12 and 75.7 FPS in Earth II Landing DX12 Ultimate, significantly outpacing the Radeon's 53.8 FPS and 49.4 FPS respectively. This dominance is backed by a much higher raw compute, with an ALU index of 800230 compared to the Radeon's 442372, and vastly superior memory bandwidth at 330 GB/s versus 106 GB/s. However, it's crucial to note that the RTX 5080's impressive scores come from only 2 verified runs, indicating a thin sample size and some potential for uncertainty. While the RTX 5080 shows strong numbers, the Radeon RX 9070 XT still delivers playable frame rates, particularly in Earth II Vulkan at 64.7 FPS, making it a viable option.
Generated September 15, 2026 from the 13 verified runs available then. The verdict is never silently rewritten — new numbers get a new verdict.
What the numbers mean
The GPU score is the graphics card's own performance — that is what we rank on. GAMING is the whole rig's score in the best PC we measured the card in, and depends on processor, memory and storage. We show both and never mix them.
All numbers come from our benchmark suite: four hand-built 3D scenes written directly against the graphics APIs in Rust, the same load on every PC. The methodology is open at https://whatfps.com/metodik
All measurements for RTX 5080 · All measurements for Radeon RX 9070 XT