The Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 has recently undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to an innovative BIOS flash that allows it to emulate the performance characteristics of the Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT. This upgrade not only boosts the clock speeds but also elevates the power limits, providing a tantalizing glimpse into the potential of this graphics card.
Technical Insights
Community member Gurdi, a seasoned hardware enthusiast and overclocking expert from the PCGH-X forum, successfully flashed his Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 with the vBIOS of the RX 9070 XT. This process has enabled his graphics card to operate at significantly enhanced clock speeds, reaching up to 3.1 GHz compared to the original 2.6 GHz. Additionally, the Total Graphics Power (TGP) has surged from 220 watts to an impressive 317 watts.
By utilizing the vBIOS available for download on TechPowerUp, Gurdi has effectively replicated the operating conditions of the RX 9070 XT for his AMD Radeon RX 9070. While the eight disabled compute units and the missing 512 streaming processors of the Navi 48 XT cannot be reactivated—an impossibility since the era of “lasercuts”—this achievement is nonetheless groundbreaking and opens up new avenues for adventurous hardware enthusiasts.
Performance Comparisons
The following table outlines the specifications and performance metrics of the Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 in comparison to its XT counterpart:
| Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 OC | Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT OC* | Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT OC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microarchitecture | RDNA 4 (GFX12) | RDNA 4 (GFX12) | RDNA 4 (GFX12) |
| Graphics Processor | Navi 48 XT (GFX1201) | Navi 48 XT (GFX1201) | Navi 48 XTX (GFX1201) |
| Compute Units | 56 | 56 | 64 |
| Shader Units | 3,584 | 3,584 | 4,096 |
| Clock Speeds | 2,120 – 2,590 MHz (Standard Profile) 2,140 – 2,610 MHz (OC Profile) |
2,460 – 3,010 MHz (Standard Profile) 2,480 – 3,030 MHz (OC Profile) |
2,460 – 3,010 MHz (Standard Profile) 2,480 – 3,030 MHz (OC Profile) |
| Total Graphics Power | 220 Watts | 304 Watts | 304 Watts |
| Power Supply | 2 × 8-Pin PCIe 4.0 | 2 × 8-Pin PCIe 4.0 | 3 × 8-Pin PCIe 4.0 |
*Flashed via BIOS.
Initial synthetic benchmarks conducted by Gurdi with his newly upgraded “XT” variant have shown promising results, even surpassing stock RX 9070 XTs under certain conditions. Gurdi noted, “I’m currently testing a quick and dirty game setting to see where I can realistically land. A stock XT is no longer a problem with the BIOS, that much is certain.”
Despite the RX 9070 OC only requiring two 8-pin connectors compared to the three needed for the RX 9070 XT OC, this limitation does not detract from its performance capabilities. Gurdi has already shared his first stable gaming settings, which have proven effective against reference RX 9070 XT models.
While there are still minor stability issues to address, particularly during idle states on the desktop, these are anticipated to stem from the elevated core clock speeds. The community eagerly awaits further updates on this exciting development, as the PCGH editorial team continues to monitor this intriguing topic closely.
Source: PCGH-X-Forum
