NVIDIA RTX 4090 vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Side-by-side local AI comparison: VRAM, memory bandwidth, model compatibility, and estimated tokens per second across 107 open-weight models.
Quick verdict
NVIDIA RTX 4090 is faster for local AI inference, but only on memory bandwidth (5.0% more). Both GPUs have 24 GB VRAM and run the exact same 57 models natively; neither fits anything the other can't. Note: NVIDIA RTX 4090 uses CUDA while AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX uses ROCM; software ecosystem matters for your framework.
Specs comparison
| Spec | NVIDIA RTX 4090 | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 24 GB | 24 GB |
| Memory type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 |
| Bandwidth | 1008 GB/s(+5%) | 960 GB/s |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | RDNA 3 |
| Backend | CUDA | ROCM |
| Tier | Consumer | Consumer |
| Released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Models (native) | 57 | 57 |
Estimated tokens per second
Computed from memory bandwidth and model active-parameter weight. Assumes model fits natively in VRAM.
| Model | NVIDIA RTX 4090 | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct(70B) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Qwen 3.6 27B(27B) | 38.3 t/s(Q5_K_M) | 36.7 t/s(Q5_K_M) | +4% |
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct(8B) | 47.2 t/s(BF16) | 45.2 t/s(BF16) | +4% |
| Qwen 2.5 7B Instruct(7.6B) | 51.7 t/s(BF16) | 49.4 t/s(BF16) | +5% |
Delta is NVIDIA RTX 4090 relative to AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, compared at the highest quantization that fits natively on both cards.
Only NVIDIA RTX 4090 can run(0)
No exclusive models: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX can run everything NVIDIA RTX 4090 can.
Only AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX can run(0)
No exclusive models: NVIDIA RTX 4090 can run everything AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX can.
Both run natively(57)
These models fit in VRAM on both GPUs. Bandwidth determines which runs them faster.
- Mixtral 8x7B Instruct v0.1106.7 t/svs77.8 t/s
- Flint 40B (MoE)176.1 t/svs94.7 t/s
- Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B (MoE)196.2 t/svs109.8 t/s
- Qwen 3.6 35B-A3B (MoE)196.2 t/svs109.8 t/s
- Ornith 1.5 35B-A3B (MoE)196.2 t/svs109.8 t/s
- Yi 1.5 34B Chat40.8 t/svs39.1 t/s
- Qwen3 32B43.2 t/svs41.5 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 32B Instruct41.9 t/svs40.2 t/s
- Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B Instruct41.9 t/svs40.2 t/s
- DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B41.9 t/svs40.2 t/s
- Nemotron 3 Nano 30B155.8 t/svs86 t/s
- Gemma 4 31B37.9 t/svs36.3 t/s
- Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE)144.9 t/svs85.1 t/s
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B152.6 t/svs85 t/s
- Muse Glimmer 30B39 t/svs37.3 t/s
- Gemma 2 27B Instruct40.1 t/svs38.4 t/s
- +41 more on both
Which should you choose?
- • Faster token generation is the priority
- • You rely on CUDA-based tools (PyTorch, vLLM, Ollama)
- • Price or availability decides it: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has no VRAM, bandwidth or backend advantage over NVIDIA RTX 4090
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better for local AI, the NVIDIA RTX 4090 or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX?
- For local AI inference, the NVIDIA RTX 4090 has the edge. It offers 24 GB VRAM (vs 24 GB) and 1008 GB/s bandwidth (vs 960 GB/s), letting it run 57 models natively in VRAM vs 57 for its rival.
- How much VRAM does the NVIDIA RTX 4090 have vs the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X at 1008 GB/s. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 at 960 GB/s. Both GPUs have the same VRAM amount; bandwidth determines which generates tokens faster.
- Can the NVIDIA RTX 4090 run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The NVIDIA RTX 4090 can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q3_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- Can the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX run Llama 3.3 70B?
- The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX can run Llama 3.3 70B with CPU offload at Q3_K_M, but at reduced speed.
- What is the difference between the NVIDIA RTX 4090 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX for AI?
- The key difference for AI inference is VRAM and memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA RTX 4090 has 24 GB VRAM at 1008 GB/s (CUDA backend). The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB VRAM at 960 GB/s (ROCM backend). VRAM determines which models fit; bandwidth determines tokens per second. The NVIDIA RTX 4090 runs 57 models natively vs 57 for the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.