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Is it worth upgrading?

A newer card winning every row of a comparison table does not make it worth buying. This works out how much faster it actually is at your resolution, what that improvement costs per percentage point, and whether a cheaper card would get you most of the way there.

Both cards have to be ones CompareYourGPU tracks. The database currently covers current and recent desktop cards, so if you are coming from something older it may not be listed yet. See what is covered.

What resolution do you play at?
Which of these do you play? Optional. Sizes the estimate against the most demanding one.

RX 7800 XTRTX 5090 at 1440p

Worth upgrading

Recommended
Performance gain
+122.2%
Estimated, native
Measured cross-check
+129.9%
Third party, upscaled
Upgrade cost
$1,999
Price of the new card
Cost per 1% gained
$16.4

What you gain

  • In favour: Estimated 122.2% more performance at 1440p.
  • In favour: Third-party measured suite ratings put the gain at 129.9%, which is an independent check on the estimate above.
  • In favour: Estimated frame rate moves from roughly 80-115 FPS to 180-260 FPS.
  • In favour: 16 GB more memory.
  • In favour: 222.6% stronger in ray-traced workloads.
  • In favour: Adds DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, DLSS 4 Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction.
  • In favour: Works out at about $16.4 per percentage point of performance gained.

What it costs you

  • Caution: Board power rises by 312 W, from 263 W to 575 W. Check your power supply before ordering.

The two cards side by side

Key differences between the RX 7800 XT and the RTX 5090
MeasureRX 7800 XTRTX 5090Change
Estimated FPS at 1440p80-115180-260+122.2%
VRAM16 GB32 GB+16 GB
Board power263 W575 W+312 W
Ray tracing index31100+222.6%
Price on record$499$1,999+$1,500
LaunchedSeptember 6, 2023January 30, 20251.4 years apart

Where these numbers come from

  • Performance gain: CompareYourGPU estimated index, native resolution, no upscaling.
  • Measured cross-check: third-party suite rating, run with vendor upscaling at Quality. Not directly comparable with the native estimate, which is why both are shown.
  • VRAM, board power and features: manufacturer specifications.
  • Prices: launch MSRP. CompareYourGPU holds no verified street price for these cards, so the cost per percentage point is a reference figure rather than what you would pay today.
  • The cost of the upgrade is the price of the new card. CompareYourGPU does not model what your current card might sell for.