Conclusion
In today’s review, we took a look at the XFX QuickSilver AMD Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition video card, in XFX’s QuickSilver lineup. Previously, we have evaluated the SWIFT Radeon RX 9070 OC White Edition, and got a chance to see what makes that one tick as well. Both video cards have the same factory overclock and a triple-fan design, but do have different cooling configurations and features, as well as price points.
The QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 features XFX’s Magnetic Wings, which are detachable wing plates on the shroud that allow enthusiasts to 3D print their own unique designs. The cooling is also beefier, and the TDP is cranked up on the XFX QuickSilver AMD Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition to deliver a powerful level of performance out of the box compared to a reference Radeon RX 9070.
In our review today, we put it through its paces at 1440p. We found that this is a very well-designed video card with an excellent cooling system. The QuickSilver tier of video cards from XFX is very sleek and clean in its design and shows good gameplay performance at 1440p, thanks to its 16GB VRAM framebuffer for gaming, which is needed today.
Gameplay Performance
In standard performance gameplay, the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition was playable in every game we tested. Two games needed to be upscaled to achieve this: Black Myth: Wukong and Claire Obscur: Expedition 33, but nonetheless, all games were playable at 1440p. The XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition bettered the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 GAMING TRIO OC in 7 of 9 games. The margin was an average of 8%, with a range of 4 to 24% depending on the game. The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 GAMING TRIO OC took the top spot in Claire Obscur and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
We discussed in the gameplay section how we use 4 games with some sort of “always-on” ray tracing. Each of our videocards was faster in 2 of 4 games. The XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition took top spot in Doom: The Dark Ages and Star Wars Outlaws, while the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 GAMING TRIO OC was faster in Claire Obscur and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
In the games we used with “optional” ray tracing, things didn’t go so well for either card. Neither video card was playable without upscaling, and then the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition could only manage to reach a playable frame rate in Cyberpunk 2077. All in all, this card just can’t perform with ray tracing enabled at the settings we tested. The MSI GeForce RTX 5070 GAMING TRIO OC was playable in 3 of 4 games using upscaling.
Overclocking, Temp & Power
The XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition is a factory overclocked video card, and overclocked very high as well out of the box. It comes with a game clock of 2210MHz and a boost clock of 2700MHz, which compares to the AMD reference Radeon RX 9070 game clock of 2070MHz and the boost clock of 2520MHz, giving the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition an edge.
In addition, the reference TDP for the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is 220W, and we can see that the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition operates at a higher TDP in our testing, 245W out of the box. This gives it the headroom to allow that clock speed to run higher than the factory overclock. In our testing, it operated above 2700MHz while gaming, without even doing any overclock ourselves, so it was able to have the power needed, and the cooling needed, to run over its factory overclock to begin with.
Then, when we overclocked the video card and applied some undervolting, we managed to push the overclock even higher, upwards of 2800MHz to 2900MHz while gaming, further extending its performance potential. The XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition clearly has the power headroom and cooling to allow this. Overall, the video card was rock stable with our final settings. This enabled us to gain 5.5% more FPS versus the factory settings. At the end of the day, the Ghost Thermal Design on the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition is well suited for this video card, and gives it headroom, and does not limit its potential for enthusiast tweaking.
Final Points
Overall, the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition is a very impressive video card from XFX, delivering a clean and simple design, yet with cooling that is very robust for the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GPU underneath. The XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition offers a higher TDP Radeon RX 9070, with a high factory overclock that makes a difference in the gameplay experience at 1440p, and in comparison to the competition.
We found the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition to be very competitive in performance, besting the competition a lot of the time, except for the most intensive ray tracing situations. If you are a 1440p gamer, the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition is well suited, and that 16GB of VRAM is needed at 1440p; you will feel the benefit in today’s games, and games moving forward. You can rest assured that the Ghost Thermal Design offers a cool and quiet experience, and the headroom for enthusiast tweaking to overclock or undervolt.
Pricing is going to be a major variable at this time, as current pricing is unstable and constantly in flux. The MSRP from XFX for the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition is officially $589.99, with the adjusted shelf price of $649.99, but as we know, reality may dictate something else. It will be important to check online retailers and in-shop retailers for the latest, up-to-date pricing, as well as our price widget below, when products are available. We suggest spending time looking around for the best deals if you are interested. From an outside perspective, at MSRP, the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition offers a better value compared to the competition, with a higher VRAM capacity that will make it stand out.
If you are in the market for a Radeon RX 9070, a factory overclocked, higher TDP model is the way to go, and the XFX QuickSilver Radeon RX 9070 OC Gaming Edition delivers a great gaming experience for 1440p gamers.