Buying Guide
The Best GPUs for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Five graphics cards compared, from the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT to the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, with the trade-offs of each named.
By The PC Journal editorial team
12 min read5 products evaluated
For Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, the card matters less than the monitor, memory and storage around it, so compare price and memory first. Every pick is a Radeon RX or Intel Arc card that cost $700 or less, ordered from the highest price.
We sorted these picks by GPU, VRAM and memory, working from the makers' own data; if a maker skips boost clock, the guide says so, and no figure here comes from our own testing.
Quick Picks
Our 5 recommendations at a glance. Tap a pick for the full verdict.
Premium Pick
GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16G
The highest-priced pick here at the time of writing, with a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans.
Best for: Buyers who want a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans and can spend more than the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC costs.
Our take Check price for GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16G (opens in a new tab)
Also Consider
Gigabyte Radeon RX 7700 XT Gaming OC 12G
Three WINDFORCE fans.
Best for: Buyers who want three WINDFORCE fans.
Our take Check price for Gigabyte Radeon RX 7700 XT Gaming OC 12G (opens in a new tab)
Strong Alternative
ASRock Radeon RX 9070 Challenger 16GB OC
56 compute units.
Best for: Buyers who want 56 compute units.
Our take Check price for ASRock Radeon RX 9070 Challenger 16GB OC (opens in a new tab)
Worth a Look
XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT OC Triple Fan 16GB
A triple-fan SWFT cooler.
Best for: Buyers who want triple-fan SWFT cooler.
Our take Check price for XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT OC Triple Fan 16GB (opens in a new tab)
Lowest Price Here
PowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB
The lowest price of the group at our last check.
Best for: Spending as little as possible, with the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB the next step up.
Our take Check price for PowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB (opens in a new tab)
Our Picks
Premium Pick1 of 5
GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16G on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
Gigabyte's RX 9070 Gaming OC is the lowest-cost card here, with 16GB of GDDR6 and a WINDFORCE cooler.
Best for
- Buyers who want a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans and can spend more than the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC costs.
Skip if
- Price-first buyers should look at the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT, which cost less when we checked.
Why we like it
It leaves more of the budget for the CPU, board and memory. It matches the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger, the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB and the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT on video memory (16GB). It also offers server-grade thermal conductive gel and RGB lighting.
No dimensions are published for the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC; get length and thickness from the maker's page first. Its power connector and recommended PSU are not published, so confirm both for the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC with the maker. It was the highest-priced of the 5 picks at the time of writing, so the case for it rests on what it adds over the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC and the rest.
Key dimensions & specs
- GPU: RX 9070
- VRAM: 16GB
- Memory: GDDR6
Pros
- 16GB of VRAM for high-resolution textures
- WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans
- Server-grade thermal conductive gel
- RGB lighting
Cons
- Costs more than the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT at the time of writing
Also Consider2 of 5
Gigabyte Radeon RX 7700 XT Gaming OC 12G on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
What the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC brings to the table is three WINDFORCE fans, plus RGB Fusion lighting and a metal backplate.
Best for
- Buyers who want three WINDFORCE fans.
Skip if
- Skip it if video memory matters most to you; the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC offers 16GB.
Why we like it
It also offers a 12GB video memory. Its 12GB video memory is the smallest in this group; the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC leads at 16GB. No other pick in this guide offers an RX 7700 XT gpu; compare the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB, which has an RX 9060 XT gpu.
No dimensions are published for the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC; get length and thickness from the maker's page first. Its power connector and recommended PSU are not published, so confirm both for the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC with the maker. On price it sat fourth of 5, between the cheaper ASRock RX 9070 Challenger and the pricier Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, at the time of writing.
Key dimensions & specs
- GPU: RX 7700 XT
- VRAM: 12GB
- Memory: GDDR6
Pros
- 12GB of VRAM, more than 8GB cards
- Three WINDFORCE fans
- RGB Fusion lighting and a metal backplate
- RX 7700 XT gpu, the only one here
Cons
- Video memory trails the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC (16GB)
- Costs more than the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT at the time of writing
Strong Alternative3 of 5
ASRock Radeon RX 9070 Challenger 16GB OC on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
ASRock's RX 9070 Challenger is the most completely documented card here: 290mm long, 2.5 slots, two 8-pin plugs and a 700W PSU.
Best for
- Buyers who want 56 compute units.
Skip if
- Look at the others if this bothers you: needs two 8-pin PCIe power cables.
Why we like it
Its 16GB of memory on a 256-bit bus suits 1440p at high settings. The card uses AMD's RDNA 4 architecture with 56 compute units and 3,584 stream processors, 3rd-gen ray tracing and 2nd-gen AI accelerators. Its game clock is 2070MHz, and the 16GB of GDDR6 runs at 20Gbps.
It measures 290 x 123 x 51mm, so verify case clearance before buying. It matches the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB and the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT on video memory (16GB). It also offers a triple-fan cooler with 0dB fan stop.
Power for the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger comes through 2 x 8-pin, with 700W the maker's minimum PSU. Its price falls between the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB and the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC, based on our last check.
Key dimensions & specs
- GPU: RX 9070
- VRAM: 16GB
- Memory: GDDR6
- Length: 290mm
- Thickness: 2.5-slot
- Recommended PSU: 700W
- Power connector: 2 x 8-pin
- Boost clock: 2520MHz
Pros
- 16GB of VRAM for high-resolution textures
- 56 compute units
- 256-bit memory bus at 20Gbps
- Triple-fan cooler with 0dB fan stop
Cons
- Needs two 8-pin PCIe power cables
- Costs more than the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT at the time of writing
Worth a Look4 of 5
XFX Swift AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT OC Triple Fan 16GB on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB stands out for a triple-fan SWFT cooler, and it adds a boost clock of up to 3320MHz.
Best for
- Buyers who want triple-fan SWFT cooler.
Skip if
- If budget leads, the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT was cheaper at our last price check.
Why we like it
It also offers a 16GB video memory. It matches the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger and the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT on video memory (16GB). No other pick in this guide offers an RX 9060 XT gpu; compare the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger, which has an RX 9070 gpu.
No dimensions are published for the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB; get length and thickness from the maker's page first. Its power connector and recommended PSU are not published, so confirm both for the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB with the maker. On price it sat second of 5, between the cheaper PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT and the pricier ASRock RX 9070 Challenger, at the time of writing.
Key dimensions & specs
- GPU: RX 9060 XT
- VRAM: 16GB
- Memory: GDDR6
- Boost clock: 3320MHz
Pros
- 16GB of VRAM for high-resolution textures
- Triple-fan SWFT cooler
- Boost clock of up to 3320MHz
- RX 9060 XT gpu, the only one here
Cons
- Costs more than the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT at the time of writing
Lowest Price Here5 of 5
PowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT 16GB on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT is built around 16GB of GDDR6.
Best for
- Spending as little as possible, with the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB the next step up.
Skip if
- Look at the other picks if you need a feature not covered above.
Why we like it
On the spec sheet, it offers a 16GB video memory. It matches the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger and the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB on video memory (16GB). It is the only pick here with an RX 7800 XT gpu; the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC has an RX 9070 gpu instead.
No dimensions are published for the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT; get length and thickness from the maker's page first. Its power connector and recommended PSU are not published, so confirm both for the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT with the maker. It was the cheapest of the group when we checked; the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB was the next step up.
Key dimensions & specs
- GPU: RX 7800 XT
- VRAM: 16GB
- Memory: GDDR6
Pros
- 16GB of VRAM for high-resolution textures
- 16GB of GDDR6
- RX 7800 XT gpu, the only one here
- The lowest price of the group at our last check
How We Chose
Each pick was assessed across 4 criteria weighted for real-world use.
- How these picks were ranked
- We set side by side five cards on GPU, video memory, memory and boost clock as the makers state them. Nothing was tested in-house; 3 of the 4 fields compared are stated for every pick, while boost clock has gaps.
- The shared baseline
- All 5, from the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC to the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT, state GPU, video memory and memory and share GDDR6 memory.
- Where the specs have gaps
- The Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC and the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT give no boost clock.
- Price range
- From the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT to the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, all sat in the $500 to $1000 tier when we checked.
What to Look for in a GPUs for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Key buying criteria so you get the right fit the first time.
How much video memory you need
The Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC tops video memory at 16GB and the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC sits lowest at 12GB; 4 picks share the top figure. For less, the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger is the runner-up at 16GB ($500 to $1000 tier).
Boost clock
The ASRock RX 9070 Challenger lists 2520MHz; the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB lists 3320MHz.
Fit and compatibility
No dimensions are published for the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC; get length and thickness from the maker's page first. Measure for 290mm and 2.5 slots before ordering the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger.
Features beyond the spec table
The ASRock RX 9070 Challenger: a 256-bit memory bus at 20Gbps. The XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB: a boost clock of up to 3320MHz. The PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT: 16GB of GDDR6.
How much to spend
Price does little to separate these 5: the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT through the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC all landed in the $500 to $1000 tier, which leaves video memory to decide it.
How to Choose a GPUs for Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
By priority
| Priority | Consider | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buyers who want a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans and can spend more than the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC costs | Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC | The highest-priced pick here at the time of writing, with a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans |
| Buyers who want three WINDFORCE fans | Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC | Three WINDFORCE fans |
| Buyers who want 56 compute units | ASRock RX 9070 Challenger | 56 compute units |
| Buyers who want triple-fan SWFT cooler | XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB | A triple-fan SWFT cooler |
| Spending as little as possible, with the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB the next step up | PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT | The lowest price of the group at our last check |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Key specs side by side
The Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC leads on video memory at 16GB, ahead of the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger at 16GB. "Not listed" marks boost clock where the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC and the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT leave the figure out.
| Card | GPU | VRAM | Memory | Boost clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC | RX 9070 | 16GB | GDDR6 | Not listed |
| Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC | RX 7700 XT | 12GB | GDDR6 | Not listed |
| ASRock RX 9070 Challenger | RX 9070 | 16GB | GDDR6 | 2520MHz |
| XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB | RX 9060 XT | 16GB | GDDR6 | 3320MHz |
| PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT | RX 7800 XT | 16GB | GDDR6 | Not listed |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC the Premium Pick?
The label rests on the highest-priced pick here at the time of writing, with a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans. It suits anyone who wants a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans and can spend more than the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC costs.
Do the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC and the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC differ on GPU?
The Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC and the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger use RX 9070; the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC uses RX 7700 XT; the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB uses RX 9060 XT; the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT uses RX 7800 XT.
What should I check before buying the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT?
No dimensions are published for the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT; get length and thickness from the maker's page first. Its power connector and recommended PSU are not published, so confirm both for the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT with the maker. In this guide it ranks fifth of 5, as our Lowest Price Here pick, and fourth of 5 on video memory (16GB).
Beyond the specs, what sets the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC and the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC apart?
The Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC: a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans. The Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC: three WINDFORCE fans. The ASRock RX 9070 Challenger: 56 compute units.
Who should choose the PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT?
The PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT carries our Lowest Price Here label for the lowest price of the group at our last check. It ranks fifth of 5 here and sat in the $500 to $1000 tier at our last price check; it suits spending as little as possible, with the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB the next step up.
Bottom Line
Our first pick is the Gigabyte RX 9070 Gaming OC, chosen for the highest-priced pick here at the time of writing, with a WINDFORCE cooler with Hawk fans. Look at the Gigabyte 7700 XT Gaming OC for three WINDFORCE fans, the ASRock RX 9070 Challenger for 56 compute units and the XFX Swift 9060 XT 16GB for a triple-fan SWFT cooler if those matter more to you.
Install the latest driver from the maker after the card arrives.