MSI GeForce RTX 5070 SHADOW 12GB GDDR7 Black
Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX PULSE 24GB GDDR6 Black
What Buyers Say
MSI GeForce RTX 5070 SHADOW 12GB GDDR7 Black
The MSI RTX 5070 Shadow 2X OC is widely praised as an excellent budget GPU for 1440p gaming, offering strong performance and a compact dual-fan design that fits smaller cases like the Alienware Aurora R11. Users report smooth frame rates on ultra settings in demanding titles like MSFS 2020/2024 and above-average 3D Mark scores. However, some note the price is steep for a mid-range card, with a recent markup from $880 to $902, and a few express concerns about cooling with only two fans.
Pros
- Excellent 1440p gaming performance
- Compact dual-fan design fits small cases
- Smooth frame rates on ultra settings
- Above-average 3D Mark scores
- Great value for the price
Cons
- High price for a mid-range card
- Recent price increase ($880 to $902)
- Only two fans may limit cooling
- No LED lights mentioned
- Only 12GB GDDR7 memory
Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX PULSE 24GB GDDR6 Black
The Sapphire Pulse RX 7900 XTX is widely praised for its excellent price-to-performance ratio, offering massive 24GB VRAM and strong rasterization that rivals the RTX 4080 at a much lower cost. Users highlight its cool and quiet operation, though some note it runs hot in cases with poor airflow and requires a high-wattage PSU (800W minimum, 1000W recommended). A few negative reviews mention receiving a wrong item (keyboard instead of GPU) or driver issues that were resolved by upgrading other PC components. Overall, it's considered a beast for gaming and 3D work, but not ideal for eGPU setups.
Pros
- Excellent price-to-performance ratio
- Massive 24GB VRAM
- Cool and quiet operation
- Strong rasterization performance
- Great for gaming and 3D work
Cons
- Requires high-wattage PSU (800W min, 1000W recommended)
- Runs hot in cases with poor airflow
- Power spikes up to 400W
- Not ideal for eGPU setups
- Driver issues reported (resolved with system upgrades)
Scores
Specifications
| MSI GeForce RTX 5070 SHADOW | Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX PULSE | |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | ||
| GPU Chipset | GeForce RTX 5070 | Radeon RX 7900 XTX |
| Brand | NVIDIA | AMD |
| Architecture | Blackwell | RDNA 3 |
| Class | consumer | consumer |
| Process | 5 | 5 |
| Memory | ||
| VRAM | 12 GB | 24 GB★ |
| Memory Type | GDDR7★ | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | ||
| Bandwidth | ||
| ECC | — | ✗ |
| Compute | ||
| CUDA Cores | No data | |
| Stream Processors | No data | |
| Tensor Cores | ||
| RT Cores | 48 | 96★ |
| Base Clock | ||
| Boost Clock | ||
| FP16 TFLOPS | ||
| FP32 TFLOPS | 30.8700008392334 | 61.38999938964844★ |
| Performance | ||
| PassMark G3D | ||
| GPU Compute | ||
| Power & Cooling | ||
| TDP | 250★ | 370 |
| Recommended PSU | 650★ | 800 |
| Power Connectors | 1 x 16-Pin | 3 x 8-Pin |
| Cooler | Dual Fan | Triple Fan★ |
| Fans | 2 | 3★ |
| Connectivity | ||
| Interface | PCI Express 5.0 | PCI Express 4.0 x16 |
| DisplayPort | 3★ | 2 |
| HDMI | 1 | 2★ |
| Max Displays | 4 | 4 |
| Max Resolution | 7680 x 4320 | 7680 x 4320 |
| Physical | ||
| Length | 231★ | 313 |
| Slot Width | 2.5★ | 3 |
| Form Factor | Full Height | ATX |
| Weight | 2.09 kg | 1.95 kg★ |
| Features | ||
| Ray Tracing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Upscaling | DLSS 4 | FSR |
| AV1 Encode | ✓ | ✓ |
| VR Ready | ✓ | ✓ |
| DirectX | 12 Ultimate | 12 Ultimate |
| RGB | ✗ | ✓★ |
Pros & Cons
MSI GeForce RTX 5070 SHADOW 12GB GDDR7 Black
- Strong social proof (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong connectivity (94th percentile)94th %ile
- Strong feature (90th percentile)90th %ile
- Strong rt (83rd percentile)83rd %ile
Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX PULSE 24GB GDDR6 Black
- Strong rt (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong feature (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong compute (96th percentile)96th %ile
- Strong ai (95th percentile)95th %ile
- Below average affordability (18th percentile)18th %ile
Pricing
MSI GeForce RTX 5070 SHADOW 12GB GDDR7 Black offers 2.0x better value for money
Verdict
Scores 90 overall, wins 5 of 8 usage categories and 14 of 40 specs.
