AMD has been pushing the boundaries of graphics cards with its latest offerings. One such card is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is already powerful out of the box. But what happens when you remove its power limits? An enthusiast overclocker decided to find out, and the results were staggering.
Enthusiastic overclocker tests custom AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card
Jedi95 from the AMD subreddit wanted to test the limits of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. He removed all the power limits and tweaked it to see just how far he could push the card. The result was a card that drew up to 700W of power, which is more than twice its rated TBP of 355W.
The modification made to the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card allows for adjusting power consumption and GPU current via software. This gives enthusiasts the ability to push their graphics card to its limits. Jedi95 managed to push this card to a nearly unheard-of power draw of 700W.
Overclocked GPU scores 38,725 points in 3DMark Time Spy
The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX already has excellent performance out of the box. But when you remove its power limits and overclock it, the results are nothing short of breathtaking. In fact, Jedi95’s tweaked version of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX scored an impressive 38,725 points in 3DMark Time Spy.
Graphics Points Show Performance Close to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
The great thing about 3DMark Time Spy is that it gives you a score based on the graphics and CPU performance of your system. These are graphics points that matter more. Based on the numbers, the overclocked AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT came very close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090.
The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX may not outright beat the NVIDIA 4090 in benchmarks, but it is still impressive. However, it’s worth noting that the GPU consumes up to 700 Watts of power, which is almost twice its rated TBP of 355W. This level of power consumption is significant, but it’s necessary when pushing a graphics card to its limits.
Benchmarks show a significant improvement over the stock 7900 XTX, but it does not surpass NVIDIA 4090. As impressive as the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is, it still falls just short of the NVIDIA 4090. The overclocked version of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX did score very close to the NVIDIA 4090 but fell short. However, the performance increase over the stock 7900 XTX is significant.
AMD considered developing a rival to NVIDIA’s 4090, but ultimately decided against it due to price and power constraints. In March, Scott Herkelman, the CVP and GM of the Radeon Business Unit, commented that it was possible to develop such a card using the RDNA 3 GPU architecture. However, AMD recognized that releasing a card above the 7900 XTX or a comparable model designed to challenge the 4090 would have consumed excessive power and required bulky cooling. These factors would have decreased the card’s efficiency, leading AMD to not pursue development.
Releasing a higher-performance variant of the 7900 XTX would result in a power-hungry card with less efficiency and larger cooling requirements. If AMD wanted to put out a card that outperformed the 7900 XTX and competed with the 4090, it would have come at a cost. Such a card would have been a power hog, less efficient, and would require much beefier cooling. Consumers would have to weigh the benefits of having a powerful graphics card against the cost of running it.
The fact that the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX can perform so well with a little tweaking is a testament to its potential. Still, it’s a showcase of what could have been an AMD flagship offering. Despite not outrightly beating the NVIDIA 4090, the performance increase over the stock 7900 XTX is significant. It’s impressive to see what can be achieved with a little push, but as we’ve seen, there are trade-offs when it comes to power consumption and efficiency.