Gigabyte RX 7800 XT Gaming OC, Source: Techtesters
The Radeon RX 7800 XT earned favorable reviews and gamer acclaim following its release two weeks ago. It poses a competitive challenge to the GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card while maintaining a lower price point. However, there was one aspect where the RTX 4070 held an advantage, and it wasn’t due to DLSS 3.5 support. RTX GPUs generally demonstrate lower power requirement compared to the RDNA3 desktop GPUs, and the RX 7800 XT was no exception.
Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC undervolted, Source: Techtesters
In contrast to the RTX 4070, which boasts a TDP of 200W and registers a typical power consumption of 196W during gameplay, the RX 7800 XT demanded a more substantial 252W to 286W of power, depending on whether we’re considering the reference or custom GPU models. This 60 to 90W power gap may still sway gamers towards choosing the RTX 4070 over AMD’s latest offering at $499.
Techtesters, a media channel based in the Netherlands known for its high power costs, took on the challenge of assessing the extent to which the RX 7800 XT’s power efficiency could be enhanced through undervolting and power limiting. They settled on a 90% power limit for the Gigabyte RX 7800 XT Gaming GPU.
Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC undervolted, Source: Techtesters
The comparison involved testing the card in a variety of titles that exhibited a wide range of performance characteristics. Overall, the Gigabyte RX 7800 XT Gaming OC, with stock settings, consumes 40% more power while delivering only a 9% increase in performance compared to 200W undervolted card, but it is worth adding that the AMD reference card needs 24% more power at stock. As mentioned, a 9% performance boost should not be underestimated, but the substantial reduction in power consumption also resulted in quieter GPU operation and lower temperatures.
More importantly, even with a 200W configuration, the card managed to hold its own against the RTX 4070, which consumed roughly the same amount of power at stock settings. This essentially means that there’s virtually no difference between these GPUs once the RX 7800 XT is undervolted. Naturally, the choice between the two cards will heavily depend on the specific games chosen to play, as not everyone is comfortable with undervolting or altering GPU settings.
Radeon RX 7800 XT Gaming OC undervolted, Source: Techtesters
AMD has no plans to release an RX 7800 card with lower power settings, but they do offer an RX 7700 XT card with nearly as high a TBP out of the box (245W). Gamers anticipating RDNA3 GPUs with a TBP of approximately 200W may need to wait for the Radeon RX 7600 XT card, which has already made its debut in the initial leaks.
