What are the power consumption differences between the RX 9070 XT Red Devil and the RX 7900 XTX Red Devil

Power Requirements

- RX 9070 XT Red Devil: The packaging for this card recommends a minimum power supply of 900W for the entire system, not just the GPU. This is similar to the RX 7900 XTX Red Devil, indicating that both cards are designed for high-performance systems with substantial power demands. The total board power (TBP) for the RX 9070 XT Red Devil is estimated to be over 300W, considering its 3.0 GHz boost clock and factory overclocks[1][4][9].

- RX 7900 XTX Red Devil: This card also requires a 900W power supply, which is 100W more than the official recommendation for the vanilla RX 7900 XTX model. The TBP for the RX 7900 XTX Red Devil is reported to be around 500W in gaming scenarios, highlighting its high power consumption compared to other models[5][8].

Power Consumption in Use

- RX 9070 XT Red Devil: While specific real-world power consumption figures are not yet widely available, the card's high TBP and recommended system power suggest it will consume significantly more power than standard models, especially under load.

- RX 7900 XTX Red Devil: In practical use, a system with this card can draw around 666W from the wall when both the GPU and CPU are fully utilized, which translates to about 600W being supplied by the power supply, assuming a typical efficiency of around 90%[2].

Cooling and Design

Both cards feature advanced cooling systems designed to manage their high power consumption. The RX 7900 XTX Red Devil, for example, uses a sophisticated cooling system with dual ball bearings in the fans and an efficient heatpipe design to keep temperatures under control[8]. The RX 9070 XT Red Devil likely employs similar or improved cooling technologies to handle its power demands.

Variants with Lower Power Requirements

AMD's Frank Azor has confirmed that there will be RX 9070 XT variants with lower power supply requirements, offering users more flexibility in system configuration[1][7]. This contrasts with the high-end Red Devil models, which are optimized for maximum performance and thus require more power.

In summary, both the RX 9070 XT Red Devil and the RX 7900 XTX Red Devil are power-hungry cards designed for high-performance systems. While they share similar recommended power supply requirements, their actual power consumption can vary based on system configuration and usage patterns.