AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Review – Sapphire PULSE Tested

A brief look at the RX 9060 XT – and a longer look tomorrow

AMD’s latest GPU is almost here, with AMD-provided samples of the midrange Radeon RX 9060 XT in the hands of reviewers for pre-launch reviews like this one. Pricing for these GPUs is attractive relative to the current market, with the 16GB variant starting at AMD’s announced $349 USD MSRP (8GB cards, if desired, start at $299 USD).

Our own Josh Walrath spent quite a bit of quality time testing another Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB card, but there is an embargo on certain partner-supplied cards for one more day, and that review will have to wait 24 hours. For now, you can at least see how the newest 16GB card on the block handles max settings at 2560×1440 (Josh’s review is more balanced).

The Sapphire PULSE Card

Here we have a compact, dual-fan design with a single 8-pin power connector on top. Nothing flashy, but that’s not what the PULSE cards are about.

Officially listed as a “2.3-slot” card, the PULSE measures 240 mm in length, is 124 mm wide, and 46.1 mm thick. It is rated for AMD’s stock 170-watt Typical Board Power, and a minimum 450W PSU is required.

Beyond what AMD is bringing to the table with the RX 9060 XT’s GPU, the features of the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB PULSE card include (via Sapphire):

• Honeywell PTM7950 Thermal Interface Material (TIM)
• AeroCurve Fan Blade
• Free Flow
• FrameDefense
• Integrated Cooling Module
• Dual-X Cooling Technology
• High TG Copper PCB
• Optimized Composite Heatpipes
• Metal Backplate
• Sleeve Bearing Fans
• 9-Phase Digital Power Design
• Fuse Protection
• Intelligent Fan Control
• Precision Fan Control
• TriXX Supported
• TriXX Boost

Some Performance Numbers

Not to make excuses (excuses incoming), but when I initially began testing this card and realized that the settings I was using were a little high for a smaller GPU like this, I asked the ever-helpful Josh Walrath to pick up my slack for the launch review. He did, but that review was delayed by embargo red tape, and I am presenting these 1440/Ultra results as a “what-if” scenario for buyers of the 16GB variant of the RX 9060 XT. It has the VRAM, after all, so how does the 9060 XT fare in a few rather demanding workloads?

I was hoping for better performance than the Radeon RX 7700 XT, and in Steel Nomad we see that this eventuality is definitely in the cards (pun intended). Moving to the more DXR-focused Speed Way test, however, we see the lowest result on the chart from the new Radeon – though it was pretty close.

And now a few game benchmarks at max settings and 2560×1440 resolution:

If you are reading this 24 hours in the future, notice the difference in my findings with Cyberpunk and Josh’s. Settings matter, and it just so happens that RDNA 4 is very good at ray tracing.

Anyway, incomplete and maddeningly rushed results aside, let’s check out power draw from this smaller Navi 44 GPU:

The card’s maximum momentary power draw was measured at 183.41 watts via PCAT hardware passthrough, though average power was closer to 130 watts under load during the 3DMark Speed Way test.

Closing Thoughts

Staggered embargoes aren’t limited to NVIDIA anymore, and we are forced to wait another day for Josh’s more comprehensive look at the new AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT. What the two of us have concluded internally is that the RX 9060 XT 16GB is capable of nearly always besting the RX 7700 XT, and doing so at an MSRP that starts $100 below that previous card – and does so with superior real-time ray tracing performance and much lower power draw, to boot.

In short, AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT is an excellent entry in the segment, and today’s PULSE card is another solid MSRP offering from Sapphire. We will see many more AIB designs in the coming hours, and it will be particularly interesting to see where pricing and availability for the factory OC models (including Sapphire’s) end up.

I don’t see the RX 9060 XT being quite as disruptive as the RX 9070 XT was, but if the 9070 was a home run for AMD, then the RX 9060 XT is at least a run-scoring double. Possibly even a triple – but only if you really hustle. Perhaps some overclocked cards will push this new GPU around 3rd. But that’s enough with the baseball metaphors for now.