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XFX Speedster MERC310 AMD Radeon RX 7900XT

XFX's premium take on the Radeon RX 7900 XT, with 20GB of GDDR6, triple-fan MERC cooling, and strong 1440p ultra and entry 4K rasterisation performance.

In stock20GB GDDR6RDNA 3 architectureTriple-fan MERC coolingStrong rasterisation315W TDP
XFX Speedster MERC310 AMD Radeon RX 7900XT
20GB GDDR6RDNA 3 architectureTriple-fan MERC coolingStrong rasterisation315W TDP
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£659›

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Our verdictCompare Electronic editors

A capable previous-gen 1440p ultra card with generous 20GB VRAM and strong rasterisation, only worth buying at a discount versus RDNA 4.

75/100
vs. other £600 to £800 high-end 1440p GPUs
Scored within its class as a high-end 1440p and entry 4K AMD card, not against current-gen RDNA 4 flagships or sub-£500 mid-range GPUs.
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£659
30-day low £659 · Average £659
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What we think

Swipe or tap to explore what we like, what to watch for, and who it's for

+

Generous 20GB VRAM allocation

Significantly more memory than equivalent Nvidia options at this price tier. Genuinely useful headroom for 4K with heavy textures, modded games, and creator workloads where VRAM often becomes the bottleneck.

+

Strong rasterisation performance

10752 stream processors deliver excellent traditional gaming performance at 1440p ultra. In non-ray-traced games, trades blows with the RTX 4070 Ti and 4070 Ti SUPER at lower prices.

+

Premium XFX MERC cooling

Triple-fan MERC cooler handles the 315W TDP comfortably with low noise under sustained load. Among the better partner card coolers for the 7900 XT, with proven build quality.

+

DisplayPort 2.1 outputs

Two DP 2.1 outputs futureproof for the latest high-refresh 4K and 8K monitors. Useful for content creators and gamers running multiple high-resolution displays.

In our testing

The 7900 XT remains a strong 1440p ultra card in pure rasterisation, but ray tracing performance trails Nvidia equivalents significantly. Buy it for the raster and VRAM, not for the RT or upscaling.

−

Weaker ray tracing than Nvidia

RDNA 3's 2nd-gen RT cores trail Nvidia's Ada and Blackwell equivalents significantly in heavy RT and path-traced workloads. Cyberpunk path tracing is essentially unplayable here without aggressive upscaling.

−

FSR is no DLSS 4

AMD's FSR upscaling has improved meaningfully with FSR 3.1 and 4, but it still trails Nvidia's DLSS in image quality and game support. No equivalent to DLSS 4 multi-frame generation either.

−

Superseded by RX 9070 series

Current-gen RDNA 4 cards offer significantly better ray tracing and FSR 4 support at similar money. The 7900 XT only makes sense at a clear discount versus the 9070 or 9070 XT now.

−

AMD driver day-one bugs are common

AMD's drivers have improved significantly but still occasionally ship with day-one bugs in major game releases. Worth a quick search before upgrading drivers during important release windows.

Worth knowing

The 20GB VRAM is the headline reason to buy this card over RTX 4070 SUPER class Nvidia options. If you don't need that memory headroom, current-gen alternatives offer better RT and upscaling at similar prices.

Best for

Clearance-price 1440p ultra gamers

If you find this card at a meaningful discount versus the RX 9070 XT, and you prioritise rasterisation and VRAM over ray tracing, it's a strong 1440p ultra card with genuine 4K capability in many titles.

Skip if

Ray tracing or DLSS fans

If you want strong RT performance or DLSS 4 multi-frame generation, this card simply can't compete with current Nvidia options at similar money. Look at the RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT instead.

Our take

A solid 1440p rasterisation card with great VRAM, only worth buying at a clear discount versus current RDNA 4 options. The RX 9070 XT is the smarter buy at similar prices.

How it performs & what it pairs with

Benchmarks against named rivals, plus the build requirements to actually run it

Benchmarks
Tested at 1440p ultra and 4K settings, FSR Quality where applicable
Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p ultra, RT off)
XFX MERC310 7900 XT
118 fps avg
RX 9070 XT
121 fps avg
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER
118 fps avg
Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p ultra, RT ultra, upscaling on)
XFX MERC310 7900 XT
58 fps avg
RX 9070 XT
64 fps avg
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER
80 fps avg
Call of Duty (1440p ultra, no RT)
XFX MERC310 7900 XT
165 fps avg
RX 9070 XT
174 fps avg
RTX 4070 Ti SUPER
162 fps avg
Test bench

Tested with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB DDR5-6000, Windows 11 24H2 on an 850W PSU. OC mode BIOS, latest driver at time of testing.

Build compatibility
What your PC needs
✓
Power supply
750W is the official recommendation. With a high-end CPU, step up to 850W for transient spike headroom against the 315W TDP.
!
Case clearance
Triple-fan MERC cooler is chunky. Needs a roomy mid-tower with plenty of GPU length and slot clearance. Won't fit ITX or compact mATX builds.
✓
Motherboard slot
Standard PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, works on PCIe 5.0 boards with no performance difference at this card's bandwidth.
✓
Power connectors
Uses standard 8-pin PCIe connectors rather than 12VHPWR. Works with any modern quality PSU without adapter cables or melting connector concerns.
!
Driver day-one bugs
AMD drivers occasionally ship with day-one bugs in major game releases. Worth a quick search before upgrading drivers during important release windows.

Performance breakdown

Scored relative to the class, not against flagship models

vs. other £600 to £800 high-end 1440p GPUs
75/100
Best in class scored 90
Class average 75
Lowest in class 55
1440p rasterisation86 / 100
Strong 1440p performance, trades with RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in non-RT titles
4K rasterisation75 / 100
Capable entry 4K performance, helped by the 20GB VRAM
Ray tracing55 / 100
Weaker RT than Nvidia equivalents, trails meaningfully in heavy RT
VRAM headroom92 / 100
20GB beats every Nvidia card under the 4080 series

Who this is right for

Picture yourself in these scenarios. How well does this fit?

1440p ultra rasterisation gamer
Plays at 1440p with everything cranked, mostly traditional rasterised titles. The 7900 XT's 20GB VRAM and strong raster performance shine here with comfortable margin.
Excellent fit
Multitasking creator on a budget
Uses the card for gaming plus light Blender or video editing. The 20GB VRAM helps in memory-bound creator workloads where 12GB Nvidia cards start to struggle.
Good fit
Entry 4K gamer
Plays at 4K mostly with FSR Quality enabled. Capable in most titles, though ray tracing at 4K will need heavy upscaling to stay playable.
Okay fit
Heavy ray tracing fan
Wants Cyberpunk path tracing or Alan Wake 2 with full RT cranked. The 7900 XT simply can't deliver, with Nvidia cards at similar prices being far stronger choices.
Look elsewhere

What every spec actually means

Numbers translated into real-world impact

vram_gb20

Generous memory allocation, well above 12GB Nvidia options at this tier. Real headroom for 4K with heavy textures, modded games, and creator workloads where VRAM matters most.

tdp_w315

Heavy power draw. The 750W PSU recommendation is the realistic floor, with 850W sensible alongside a high-end CPU and any manual overclocking.

memory_bandwidth_gbps800

High bandwidth thanks to 20 Gbps GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus. Comfortable for 1440p ultra and entry 4K, with proper headroom for memory-heavy workloads.

ray_tracing_generation2nd Gen

AMD's second-generation RT acceleration, behind Nvidia's 3rd and 4th-gen RT cores in heavy ray traced workloads. Adequate for moderate RT, struggles in path-traced titles.

boost_clock_mhz2535

Factory-overclocked boost clock above the reference 7900 XT's 2400 MHz. A small but tangible bump in performance straight out of the box, with thermal headroom for further manual tuning.

displayport_version2.1

Latest DisplayPort standard, supporting the highest-refresh 4K and 8K monitors on the market. Future-proof for the next generation of high-end displays.

Complete specifications

Verified across manufacturer datasheets and retailer spec tables

All specs
tdp w
315
250 to 355W class range, this sits high at 315
vram gb
20
12 to 24GB typical, this sits high at 20
gpu chip
Navi 31
·
cuda cores
10752
·
hdmi count
1
1 to 2 typical, this has 1
memory type
GDDR6
GDDR6 or GDDR6X typical, this is GDDR6
architecture
RDNA 3
·
hdmi version
2.1
HDMI 2.1 standard across class
release year
2022
·
lithography nm
5
4nm or 5nm typical, this is 5nm
memory bus bit
320
192 to 384-bit typical, this is 320-bit
boost clock mhz
2535
2400 to 2700 MHz typical, this is 2535
displayport count
2
2 to 3 typical, this has 2
memory speed gbps
20
18 to 24 Gbps class range, this is 20
ray tracing cores
84
·
displayport version
2.1
DP 1.4a or 2.1 in class, this is 2.1
psu recommendation w
750
650 to 850W typical, this is 750
memory bandwidth gbps
800
440 to 960 GB/s class range, this is 800
ray tracing generation
2nd Gen
·

Common questions

The things people ask before buying this product

Is the XFX MERC310 7900 XT worth buying in 2026?

Only at a clear discount versus the RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070 Ti. The 7900 XT remains a strong rasterisation card with generous VRAM, but newer cards offer better RT and FSR 4 or DLSS 4 features.

How does the 7900 XT compare to the RX 9070 XT?

The 9070 XT offers similar rasterisation performance with significantly better ray tracing and FSR 4 support. The 7900 XT wins on raw VRAM at 20GB versus 16GB. Pick based on whether you value memory or RT more.

What PSU do I need for the XFX MERC310 7900 XT?

AMD recommends 750W and that's the realistic floor. With a power-hungry CPU like a Core i9 or Ryzen 9, step up to a quality 850W unit for transient spike headroom.

Is the 7900 XT good for 4K gaming?

For rasterised games, yes, at native 4K with FSR Quality enabled. Heavy ray tracing at 4K is a stretch even with upscaling. The 20GB VRAM provides good long-term headroom for 4K texture work though.

If this isn't quite right

Better alternatives depending on what you actually need

Current-gen upgrade
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
RDNA 4 successor with better ray tracing, FSR 4 support, and similar rasterisation. Smarter buy at full RRP.
See review →
Nvidia alternative
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
Stronger ray tracing, DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation, and GDDR7 memory. Trade-off is 16GB versus 20GB VRAM.
See review →
Cheaper sibling
amd radeon rx 7800 xt
Less powerful and 16GB VRAM, but significantly cheaper. Fine for 1440p high without ultra settings.
See review →
Compare Electronic editors
Independent graphics cards comparison since 2025
Every product is scored against its own product class, not against flagship models. Spec data is cross-checked across manufacturer datasheets and multiple retailer spec tables. Prices are verified daily. We never rank by affiliate commission.
Read our methodology