AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX with 24 GB VRAM review: Already available for less than 1000 Euros
At this point, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has been available on the market for more than a year. A refresh, such as the one that Nvidia recently offered for its Super graphics cards, isn't available from AMD. The only way that remains for AMD to still remain competitive is lowering its prices. And just that is what the manufacturer has done with the price of AMD's flagship now slipping below the 1,000 Euro mark (~$1,085). As we already saw at the release of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, the performance of Nvidia's top model (GeForce RTX 4090) is not within reach. Until now, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 was therefore considered its closest competitor. However, that has recently been replaced with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super, which offers a slightly higher performance at a significantly lower MSRP. Although you currently still have to pay more than 1,000 Euros, if you want to use Nvidia's second fastest graphics card.
In this review, we take a look at the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition. The XFX model is significantly larger than the reference model from AMD. In addition, its more powerful cooling unit allows for a higher power target. However, in terms of efficiency, AMD is still unable to keep up with the competitors from the green corner. This is not a secret, since nothing has changed in the RDNA3 architecture at this point. With the GPU chip called Navi 31, AMD already uses the full build that combines a total of 6,144 Stream Processors. The MCM package (Multi-Chip Module) is based on the GDC (Graphics Compute Die), which combines the Stream Processors. In addition, there are also 6 MCDs (Memory Cache Die) that are responsible for the VRAM connection. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of VRAM in total, which represents a significant advantage over Nvidia. Both the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super and the slightly more affordable Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super are equipped with only 16 GB of VRAM.
As already mentioned, the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is a model that isn't based on AMD's reference design. The model from the board partner is significantly larger and at 34.4 cm (~13.5 in), also fairly long. This is a point that users definitely need to pay attention to. With a thickness of 2.9 slots, there also has to be sufficient space below the graphics card. But the XFX model still is not extremely thick, since current high-end graphics cards almost always occupy three or more slots in the case. In terms of supplying power, XFX continues to use the known 6+2 PCIe connectors. In order to deliver the almost 400 watts under load without any problems, the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition has a total of three 6+2 PCIe connectors. In terms of external connections, our test unit offers 3x DisplayPort, two of which support the newest 2.1 standard. An HDMI 2.1 connection is also available, allowing you to use a total of four displays.
Infos on our Test System
XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition in Detail
Comparison of the Radeon AMD GPUs
| Specifications | Radeon RX 7900 XTX | Radeon RX 7900 XT | Radeon RX 7900 GRE | Radeon RX 7800 XT | Radeon RX 7700 XT | Radeon RX 7600 |
| GPU | Navi 31 XTX | Navi 31 XT | Navi 31 XT | Navi 32 XT | Navi 32 XL | Navi 33 XL |
| Manufacturing Process | 5/6 nm | 5/6 nm | 5/6 nm | 5/6 nm | 5/6 nm | 6 nm |
| Compute Units | 96 | 84 | 80 | 60 | 54 | 32 |
| Shading Units | 6,144 | 5,376 | 5,120 | 3,840 | 3,456 | 2,048 |
| Texture Mapping Units | 384 | 336 | 320 | 240 | 216 | 128 |
| Ray Accelerators | 96 | 84 | 80 | 60 | 54 | 32 |
| Base Clock | 2,270 MHz | 2,000 MHz | 1,880 MHz | 1,295 MHz | 1,700 MHz | 1,720 MHz |
| Game Clock | 2,300 MHz | 2,000 MHz | 1,880 MHz | 2,124 MHz | 2,171 MHz | 2,250 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 2,500 MHz | 2,400 MHz | 2,245 MHz | 2,430 MHz | 2,544 MHz | 2,655 MHz |
| Infinity Cache | 96 MB | 80 MB | 64 MB | 64 MB | 48 MB | 32 MB |
| Memory Bus Width | 384 bit | 320 bit | 256 bit | 256 bit | 256 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 960 GB/s | 800 GB/s | 576 GB/s | 620.8 GB/s | 432 GB/s | 288 GB/s |
| Memory Size | 24 GB GDDR6 | 20 GB GDDR6 | 16 GB GDDR6 | 16 GB GDDR6 | 12 GB GDDR6 | 8 GB GDDR6 |
| TBP | 355 W | 315 W | 260 W | 263 W | 245 W | 165 W |
The Clock Speeds of the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition
In terms of the GPU clock speeds, the demands on the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition are significantly higher than those on the reference model. In addition, there are two BIOS versions that increase the GPU boost further and also adjust the power target to slightly more than 400 watts. All the following benchmarks are run with the Performance mode to reflect the maximum performance of the graphics card. At 2,679 MHz, the boost speed of our XFX model is increased by almost 180 MHz compared to that of the reference card. In our praxis tests, we also see that the 2,679 MHz are always surpassed during full load of the graphics card. In most games, the NAVI 31 chip runs at 2,750 to 2,950 MHz. The VRAM remains untouched by any possible overclocking measures, and XFX keeps to the guidelines from AMD here.
Synthetic Benchmarks
In the synthetic benchmarks, we can already see the performance the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is able to achieve. In several tests, our test unit is able to place second behind the Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC. Depending on the test and specific demands, our test card sometimes does better and at other times worse. For the latter, we should mention the Luxmark and Computemark tests, where the AMD graphics card lose some ground compared to the graphics accelerators from Nvidia.
Basically, the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition delivers a very high 3D performance that is still competitive after more than one year on the market.
| 3DMark 05 Standard | 81077 points | |
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 70898 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 150207 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 56505 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 280306 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 80201 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 45912 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 36218 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 30033 points | |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Score | 6975 points | |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light Score | 31506 points | |
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Professional Applications
We already saw that the AMD graphics cards are also very well suited for professional applications when the new graphics card was introduced. AMD continues to be able to deliver a better performance here than the competitors from Nvidia. In our comparison, the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is even able to place ahead of the Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC. But you also have to understand that both AMD and Nvidia offer some special graphics cards in their portfolio that have been optimized exactly for those applications. With their specific driver adjustments, they even allow for significantly better results. In addition, the consumer graphics cards from AMD don't use ECC VRAM, while it is used in the AMD Radeon Pro models.
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX i9-14900K | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 i9-14900K | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 R9 7950X | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti R9 7950X | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 R9 7950X | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16G R9 7950X | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT R9 7950X | AMD Radeon RX 7600 R9 7950X | NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation TR Pro 7995WX | Average of class | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPECviewperf 12 | -18% | -34% | -43% | -51% | -61% | -67% | -3% | -13% | -26% | -39% | -29% | -39% | -52% | -11% | -74% | |
| 1900x1060 3ds Max (3dsmax-05) | 491 | 565 15% | 502 2% | 436 -11% | 382 -22% | 290 -41% | 251 -49% | 553 13% | 502 2% | 444 -10% | 418 -15% | 427 -13% | 373 -24% | 279 -43% | 473 -4% | 197 ? -60% |
| 1900x1060 Catia (catia-04) | 605 | 291 -52% | 221 -63% | 192 -68% | 161 -73% | 128 -79% | 113 -81% | 536 -11% | 481 -20% | 448 -26% | 368 -39% | 386 -36% | 351 -42% | 273 -55% | 349 -42% | 107.9 ? -82% |
| 1900x1060 Creo (creo-01) | 201 | 127 -37% | 110 -45% | 99.4 -51% | 89.1 -56% | 73.4 -63% | 60.6 -70% | 187 -7% | 176 -12% | 155 -23% | 163 -19% | 148 -26% | 123 -39% | 115 -43% | 250 24% | 65.1 ? -68% |
| 1900x1060 Energy (energy-01) | 93.6 | 84.7 -10% | 58.8 -37% | 48 -49% | 31.7 -66% | 22.6 -76% | 15.9 -83% | 85.2 -9% | 72.4 -23% | 40.3 -57% | 34.3 -63% | 38.4 -59% | 33.4 -64% | 25.5 -73% | 58.2 -38% | 15.7 ? -83% |
| 1900x1060 Maya (maya-04) | 320 | 340 6% | 309 -3% | 287 -10% | 284 -11% | 257 -20% | 233 -27% | 367 15% | 347 8% | 323 1% | 195 -39% | 304 -5% | 283 -12% | 236 -26% | 266 -17% | 111.7 ? -65% |
| 1900x1060 Medical (medical-01) | 392 | 303 -23% | 171 -56% | 157 -60% | 132 -66% | 110 -72% | 82.4 -79% | 347 -11% | 288 -27% | 226 -42% | 95.2 -76% | 200 -49% | 177 -55% | 128 -67% | 282 -28% | 55 ? -86% |
| 1900x1060 Showcase (showcase-01) | 318 | 398 25% | 333 5% | 244 -23% | 190 -40% | 132 -58% | 109 -66% | 322 1% | 278 -13% | 222 -30% | 264 -17% | 235 -26% | 179 -44% | 127 -60% | 429 35% | 98.3 ? -69% |
| 1900x1060 Solidworks (sw-03) | 403 | 139 -66% | 113 -72% | 118 -71% | 109 -73% | 95.1 -76% | 91.2 -77% | 360 -11% | 342 -15% | 319 -21% | 218 -46% | 322 -20% | 288 -29% | 221 -45% | 319 -21% | 87.1 ? -78% |
| SPECviewperf 13 | -21% | -35% | -45% | -54% | -64% | -70% | -11% | -21% | -26% | -38% | -29% | -39% | -55% | -12% | -72% | |
| 3ds Max (3dsmax-06) | 482 | 567 18% | 497 3% | 433 -10% | 381 -21% | 289 -40% | 252 -48% | 564 17% | 506 5% | 439 -9% | 416 -14% | 434 -10% | 371 -23% | 280 -42% | 496.95 3% | 188.6 ? -61% |
| Catia (catia-05) | 900 | 428 -52% | 340 -62% | 290 -68% | 241 -73% | 189 -79% | 163 -82% | 825 -8% | 728 -19% | 661 -27% | 588 -35% | 588 -35% | 529 -41% | 410 -54% | 578.86 -36% | 202 ? -78% |
| Creo (creo-02) | 684 | 618 -10% | 529 -23% | 455 -33% | 375 -45% | 301 -56% | 230 -66% | 613 -10% | 567 -17% | 470 -31% | 374 -45% | 442 -35% | 387 -43% | 294 -57% | 590.13 -14% | 206 ? -70% |
| Energy (energy-02) | 229 | 127 -45% | 92.6 -60% | 72.8 -68% | 54.2 -76% | 45.3 -80% | 34.6 -85% | 187 -18% | 147 -36% | 150 -34% | 60.8 -73% | 139 -39% | 115 -50% | 82.9 -64% | 230.06 0% | 36.8 ? -84% |
| Maya (maya-05) | 864 | 881 2% | 678 -22% | 591 -32% | 510 -41% | 403 -53% | 343 -60% | 735 -15% | 670 -22% | 580 -33% | 460 -47% | 548 -37% | 487 -44% | 333 -61% | 637.3 -26% | 268 ? -69% |
| Medical (medical-02) | 479 | 180 -62% | 150 -69% | 132 -72% | 112 -77% | 85.1 -82% | 76.5 -84% | 263 -45% | 237 -51% | 372 -22% | 332 -31% | 300 -37% | 226 -53% | 331.9 -31% | 79.8 ? -83% | |
| Showcase (showcase-02) | 318 | 400 26% | 334 5% | 244 -23% | 191 -40% | 133 -58% | 108 -66% | 323 2% | 279 -12% | 221 -31% | 264 -17% | 234 -26% | 179 -44% | 127 -60% | 430.2 35% | 120.6 ? -62% |
| Solidworks (sw-04) | 373 | 199 -47% | 179 -52% | 168 -55% | 157 -58% | 135 -64% | 127 -66% | 323 -13% | 307 -18% | 287 -23% | 254 -32% | 294 -21% | 265 -29% | 195 -48% | 278 -25% | 121.5 ? -67% |
| SPECviewperf 2020 | -16% | -43% | -52% | -59% | -69% | -74% | -22% | -33% | -28% | -55% | -35% | -44% | -60% | 21% | -68% | |
| 3840x2160 Medical (medical-03) | 105 | 40.3 -62% | 32.2 -69% | 26.9 -74% | 22.2 -79% | 16.5 -84% | 13.7 -87% | 62.3 -41% | 53.9 -49% | 76.1 -28% | 35 -67% | 63.7 -39% | 56.2 -46% | 36.1 -66% | 79 -25% | 21.6 ? -79% |
| 3840x2160 Energy (energy-03) | 192 | 230 20% | 90.4 -53% | 75.7 -61% | 57.6 -70% | 44.9 -77% | 33.2 -83% | 129 -33% | 99.6 -48% | 133 -31% | 69.3 -64% | 111 -42% | 95 -51% | 67 -65% | 457 138% | 51.4 ? -73% |
| 3840x2160 Creo (creo-03) | 211 | 148 -30% | 128 -39% | 121 -43% | 112 -47% | 95.9 -55% | 85.9 -59% | 187 -11% | 173 -18% | 159 -25% | 92.4 -56% | 151 -28% | 130 -38% | 106 -50% | 191 -9% | 78.1 ? -63% |
| 3840x2160 CATIA (catia-06) | 153 | 97.1 -37% | 75.5 -51% | 61.2 -60% | 51.6 -66% | 38.5 -75% | 34 -78% | 127 -17% | 113 -26% | 107 -30% | 59.7 -61% | 101 -34% | 88.8 -42% | 68 -56% | 139 -9% | 47.8 ? -69% |
| 3840x2160 3ds Max (3dsmax-07) | 186 | 236 27% | 179 -4% | 147 -21% | 122 -34% | 88.8 -52% | 67.4 -64% | 167 -10% | 143 -23% | 134 -28% | 140 -25% | 125 -33% | 106 -43% | 72.9 -61% | 207 11% | 81.7 ? -56% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -18% /
-19% | -37% /
-36% | -47% /
-46% | -55% /
-54% | -65% /
-64% | -70% /
-70% | -12% /
-11% | -22% /
-21% | -27% /
-27% | -44% /
-43% | -31% /
-31% | -41% /
-40% | -56% /
-55% | -1% /
-4% | -71% /
-72% |
Gaming Performance
In most of the gaming tests, we see a duel between our XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition and the two Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super models. At this point, we are unable to declare a clear winner, and most of the times, the models are only separated by a few percentage points.
In our overview of the tested games, we see that AMD's flagship is able to display most games smoothly in 2160p resolution at maximum details. Only few games are able to push the average framerates below 60. The same is the case with the KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG. The largest advantage of the AMD graphics card is its large amount of VRAM. With 24 GB, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX gets just as much VRAM as the top model from Nvidia. Compared to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super, AMD has an advantage in this regard. In addition, there are a few games that reach a VRAM utilization of more than 12 GB. For that reason, we consider the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition a graphics card for 4K gaming. Even after one year on the market, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX basically still delivers sufficient performance to handle even current games.
Raytracing Performance - The problem of the AMD graphics cards...
With activated raytracing, the average frame rates drop significantly. Compared to Nvidia, AMD has significantly more difficulties to produce the 3D performance here. Unfortunately, the top model is unable to keep up with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super. However, we cannot really give any general opinion on the raytracing performance. The performance varies from one game to the next, and we also have to consider the driver development. Alan Wake 2, which causes an extreme drop in the frame rate with activated raytracing, presents itself as extremely power hungry. Our XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition even falls behind an Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super here. At the same time, we also see the huge performance increase compared to the MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio in this example.
| Spider-Man Miles Morales - 1920x0180 Very High Preset + Ray-Tracing AA:T | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| Metro Exodus - 1920x1080 Ultra Quality DXR AF:16x | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| Far Cry 6 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics Quality + HD Textures + DXR AA:T | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| The Callisto Protocol - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (without FSR Upscaling) + Full Ray-Tracing | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Guardians of the Galaxy - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset + Ultra Ray-Tracing | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| F1 23 - 1920x1080 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC (1038401) | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC (1022189) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG (1070925) | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition (1070925) | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super (1057599) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (1016022) | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio (1016022) | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (1022189) | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC (1012607) | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX (1021115) | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT (1026791) | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 (1016022) | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 (1026791) | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT (1016022) | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super (1021115) | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition (1016022) | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super (1021115) | |
| Star Wars Jedi Survivor - 1920x1080 Epic Preset + Ray Tracing | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| Hogwarts Legacy - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset + Full Ray Tracing AA:High T | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Ghostwire Tokyo - 1920x1080 Highest Settings + Maximum Ray Tracing | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart | |
| 1920x1080 Very High Preset + Very High Raytracing AA:T | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| 3840x2160 Very High Preset + Very High Raytracing + DLSS Quality + FG | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti OC | |
| Alan Wake 2 - 1920x1080 High Preset + High Ray Tracing | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio | |
| Nvidia Titan RTX | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super | |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Horizon Zero Dawn - 3840x2160 Ultimate Quality FidelityFX Quality | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty | |
| 1920x1080 Ray Tracing Ultra Preset (DLSS off) | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC (2.0) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG (2.02) | |
| Asus TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super (2.1) | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition (2.11) | |
| MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio (2.02) | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7700 XT (2.02) | |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 (2.02) | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 (2.0) | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT (2.02) | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition (2.02) | |
| 3840x2160 Ray Tracing Ultra Preset (FSR2 on) | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition (2.12) | |
| Enshrouded - 3840x2160 Max. Quality + Quality FSR | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
Overview of the Games Tested with the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD FSR | QHD | 4K FSR | 4K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (2024) | 358 | 358 | 358 | 358 | 358 | |||
| Palworld (2024) | 236 | 223 | 187.3 | 184.1 | 154.5 | 92.2 | ||
| Enshrouded (2024) | 195.5 | 181.3 | 159.5 | 134 | 105.2 | 106.3 | 66 | |
| Helldivers 2 (2024) | 211 | 203 | 198 | 196.8 | 153.7 | 82.7 | ||
| Skull & Bones (2024) | 210 | 165 | 132 | 129 | 112 | 101 | 68 | |
| Last Epoch (2024) | 297 | 296 | 294 | 293 | 238 | 104.4 | ||
| Alone in the Dark (2024) | 308 | 297 | 297 | 231 | 148 | 148.3 | 70.9 | |
| Horizon Forbidden West (2024) | 222 | 221 | 166.2 | 162.1 | 132.8 | 109.6 | 84.9 | |
| Dragon's Dogma 2 (2024) | 100.4 | 101.9 | 101 | 93.5 | 89.9 | |||
| Ghost of Tsushima (2024) | 196.3 | 179.9 | 168.8 | 156.9 | 139.2 | 125.5 | 85.3 | |
| Senua's Saga Hellblade 2 (2024) | 157 | 131.3 | 102.4 | 104.9 | 79.9 | 72.1 | 45.5 | |
| F1 24 (2024) | 536 | 576 | 484 | 134.9 | 91.2 | 80.7 | 46.6 | |
| The First Descendant (2024) | 324 | 234 | 225 | 191.3 | 134.9 | 50.3 | 75.4 | |
| Once Human (2024) | 412 | 340 | 296 | 276 | 191.9 | 122.6 | 99.7 | |
| Black Myth: Wukong (2024) | 212 | 155 | 119 | 68 | 53 | 32 | ||
| Star Wars Outlaws (2024) | 119.5 | 111.8 | 98.5 | 82.9 | 83.9 | 61.5 | 54.3 | 35.6 |
| Space Marine 2 (2024) | 113.8 | 114.6 | 110.6 | 110.8 | 110 | 110.1 | 107.3 | 74.2 |
| Final Fantasy XVI (2024) | 174 | 169.3 | 144.2 | 127.5 | 121.9 | 101.7 | 84.5 | 60.8 |
| God of War Ragnarök (2024) | 295 | 260 | 231 | 213 | 212 | 174.3 | 146.8 | 107.3 |
| Until Dawn (2024) | 183.3 | 173.2 | 139.1 | 105.4 | 80.4 | 82.2 | 51.3 | 48.7 |
| Call of Duty Black Ops 6 (2024) | 242 | 216 | 160 | 151 | 142 | 141 | 107 | 112 |
| Stalker 2 (2024) | 147 | 129.3 | 112.3 | 93.4 | 177 | 76.5 | 120.5 | 48.8 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024) | 253 | 182.1 | 160.5 | 127.1 | 76.7 |
Emissions - Cooling more than 400 watts is audible
Noise Emissions
XFX uses a very long cooling element with three 100-millimeter (~3.9 in) fans in the Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition. The back consists of a massive metal plate that is also used to dissipate the heat. The Performance BIOS allows a power consumption of just above 400 watts for the graphics card, which makes it clearly audible under load. You can still hear the graphics card even inside an enclosed case.
For our test, we move the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition into our noise level test system with an open setup. If there is no load, the graphics card can be cooled silently. But we still notice some quiet electronic noises, although they aren't audible in regular operation. Under low load, the fans spin at a low speed, only producing a noise level of around 29.7 dB(A). As already mentioned, the fans spin up quite a bit under full load, where we measure top noise levels of 51.6 dB(A). Those who don't use the graphics card with the Performance BIOS will be rewarded with lower noise levels, and the maximum noise level then drops to about 45 dB(A) with our open setup. Features such as VSync or manual frame rate limitation also have an influence on the noise level of the graphics card. You can also manually adjust the fan curve in the AMD driver.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 25.9 / 25.9 / 26 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 29.7 / 51.6 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R (15 cm distance) environment noise: 24.9 dB(A) | ||
Temperatures and Power Consumption
During the stress test, we see that the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is able to maintain its high performance constantly. At the GPU hotspot, our test unit reaches 81 °C (178 °F), although the maximum temperature of the VRAM is 86 °C (187°F). As cooling system, XFX uses a vapor chamber unit that covers the GPU chip and the VRAM. Numerous heat pipes will then lead the heat to the large cooling body and fins that are provided with cool air by three 100-millimeter (~3.9 in) fans. The design works well, and the graphics card is able to constantly maintain almost 400 Watt (TGP - Total Graphics Power) on average.
AMD's top models are known for not being the most efficient. This also goes for the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition, which consumes a lot of power without manual tuning. With 590 watts on average during the stress test, our test unit places directly behind the Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC. While gaming, that will even move clearly ahead with 635 watts on average. Due to the CPU limitation, Nvidia's top model is unable to deliver its full performance here. Looking at brief load peaks, we measure almost 600 watts, so the power supply has to hold up to heavy demands. This also explains the manufacturer's recommendation for an 850-Watt power supply, and in our opinion you'd be wise to stick to that.
| Power Consumption / FurMark 1.19 GPU Stress Test (external Monitor) | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (Idle: 86.5 W) | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (Idle: 84.6 W) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG (Idle: 88.9 W) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG (Idle: 86.4 W) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti EX Gamer | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 6650 XT | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti EX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4060 1-Click-OC 2X | |
| Power Consumption / The Witcher 3 ultra (external Monitor) | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (Idle: 86.5 W) | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG (Idle: 86.4 W) | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (Idle: 84.6 W) | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG (Idle: 88.9 W) | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 6650 XT | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti EX | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4060 1-Click-OC 2X | |
| Power Consumption / Witcher 3 ultra Efficiency (external Monitor) | |
| Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 SG | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4080 Super SG | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 Ti EX Gamer | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4070 EX Gamer | |
| XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX Merc 310 Black Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti EX | |
| AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 4060 1-Click-OC 2X | |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6750 XT | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition | |
| XFX Speedster QICK 308 Radeon RX 7600 Black Edition | |
| KFA2 GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SG | |
| Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 6650 XT | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption With External Monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Good price-performance ratio with 24 GB VRAM
The XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is a good alternative to AMD's reference design if you need to tease a higher performance from the hardware used. At this point, nothing has changed in the architecture, even though the higher performance of our test unit compared to the reference model is only achieved due to the higher GPU clock speeds. However, XFX also pays for the additional performance with a huge power consumption that almost comes close to that of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090. The direct competitor of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super that has only been introduced in the beginning of this year, though. AMD has not announced any update of its top models yet, so it is currently entering the competition with a graphics card that is more than a year old. The performance of the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is excellent, as long as you don't use the raytracing features. Without this feature, the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition often even reaches the same frame rates as Nvidia's currently fastest Super model.
The XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is a good AMD graphics card and a good price-performance alternative to the current Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super. The larger VRAM is reassuring, even though the efficiency of the AMD graphics card is unable to keep up with Nvidia.
Arguments for the purchase of the AMD graphics card are the large VRAM with 24 GB as well as the relatively low purchase price compared to the competitors. You still have to pay around 950 Euros (~$1,031) for AMD's top model, while an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super currently costs more than 1,100 Euros (~$1,193). You have to decide for yourself whether the higher raytracing performance is worth the additional cost.
With the XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition, you get a very powerful Radeon RX 7900 XT. With a little fine tuning, you can counter the high power consumption and improve its efficiency significantly. But those who want to use the graphics card with the settings out of the box should better use it with the Standard BIOS.
Price and Availability
The XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is currently available for example from Amazon for ~$930 or from BestBuy for $999.
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was freely purchased by the author at his/her own expense. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
This is how Notebookcheck is testing
Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
