The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT was announced last Computex 2025 with 8GB and 16GB options for gamers. The release of the RX 9060 XT brings more options for the value-oriented gamers as the GPU is set to compete against Nvidia’s RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti graphics cards, with the latter having the same 8GB and 16GB options, albeit at a premium. We have the ASUS Prime RX 9060 XT 16GB as our OC 16GB RX 9060 XT variant to compare in the budget segment.
AMD RNDA 4 Architecture
AMD’s RDNA 4 architecture is engineered for the next generation of gaming, emphasizing high-end workloads with advancements in rasterization, compute efficiency, and a substantial leap in Raytracing performance compared to RDNA 3. Key innovations include 3rd Generation Ray Tracing with double ray intersection rates, improved BVH compression, and accelerated ray traversal and shading. The introduction of Oriented Bounding Boxes (OBB) enhances efficiency by more tightly bounding geometry, reducing traversal steps, and improving performance by approximately 10%. RDNA 4 optimizes memory latency with out-of-order memory queues, allowing shaders to execute more efficiently. The architecture also features dynamic register allocation for shaders, increasing occupancy and overall shader core efficiency.
Beyond gaming, RDNA 4 provides comprehensive high-performance ML support, tailored for gaming and content creation models. It incorporates enhanced Wave Matrix Multiply Accumulate (WMMA) operations, support for 8-bit floating point formats, and 4:2 Structured Sparsity, which can double peak performance. This translates to a nearly 2x per-CU performance uplift for image generation with SDXL 1.5 using FP16. The architecture also boasts enhanced bandwidth efficiency across all workloads and multimedia improvements, including an updated encode/decode engine for low-latency streaming with up to 25% quality improvement in AVC, H.264, and H.265, and double AV1 throughput. Display features are also upgraded with enhanced FreeSync Power Optimization, Hardware Flip Queue Support, and Radeon Image Sharpening 2. The RDNA 4 is built on a TSMC 4nm process, featuring a monolithic design with 53.9 billion transistors.
FSR 4
AMD’s FSR 4 is the latest iteration of its DLSS counterpart, FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology, incorporating ML-powered capabilities and designed specifically for the new RDNA 4 architecture. It aims to provide high-quality, low-latency upscaling by integrating features like frame generation and Anti-Lag. The technology utilizes custom game ML models, trained on AMD Instinct Accelerators, to upscale game output to 4K, leveraging RDNA 4’s AI acceleration capabilities. FSR 4 is “Neural Rendering Ready” and built on an upgradable FSR 3.1 API. Demonstrations suggest significant performance uplifts, with some games experiencing multiple times higher average FPS at 4K. AMD plans to support over 30 games at launch, with more than 75 titles expected in 2025.
AMD HYPR-RX
AMD HYPR-RX is a software feature designed to optimize gaming performance with a single click, integrating multiple AMD technologies for an enhanced experience across numerous titles. It combines AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) for upscaling, AMD Radeon Anti-Lag for reducing input latency, and AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) for in-driver frame generation. Compatible with AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series GPUs and newer, as well as Ryzen 7040 Series APUs with integrated RDNA 3 graphics and later, HYPR-RX aims to deliver higher frame rates and smoother gameplay. Recent updates, particularly with AFMF 2.1, have shown substantial performance improvements, with some games demonstrating average frame rate uplifts of up to 3.0x compared to native 4K resolution.
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC – A Closer Look
ASUS has a slightly different print design on the Prime RX 9060 XT. I personally like the aesthetics more compared to the RTX 50 Prime series, as the Prime RX 9060 XT box looks more like a premium, professional GPU. There’s a 16GB badge on the lower left of the front box to indicate its VRAM capacity, and moving to the back shows the Prime GPU features as well as AMD RDNA 4 architecture features.
The ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is a triple-fan cooler featuring three Axial-tech fans that support 0dB technology. The fans will only ramp up once the GPU temp reaches 55°C. Design wise, the Prime RX 9060 XT looks very similar to the RTX 50 series Prime GPUs except for the print on the side. The AMD Prime has Radeon printed, whereas the Nvidia ones have GEFORCE RTX printed.
The Metal backplate on the Prime RX 9060 XT is more conservative compared to the Prime RTX 5060 Ti. While the Prime 9060 XT is smaller, it also has a smaller heatsink cutout that’s roughly 50% less compared to the backplate cutout found on the Prime RTX 5060 Ti. Instead of the GEFORCE RTX that’s printed vertically, you have the AMD RADEON text printed horizontally on the left side of the metal backplate.
The placement of the BIOS switch is a major change compared to the one we usually find on RTX Prime GPUs. Instead of being next to the Power Button, the BIOS switch of the ASUS Prime RX 9060 XT 16GB is located on the left side and can be accessed via the top view or the metal backplate, not on the side.
The ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is only a 2.5-slot card measuring 304 x 126 x 50mm and will likely fit most SFF cases.
The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB has a 160W TGP, 10W more than the 8GB variant. The ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB only requires one 8-pin PCI-E connector. Both ASUS and AMD recommend atleast a 550W powersupply for the RX 9060 XT.
The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT, despite its 16GB VRAM options, falls short on IO. AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT GPUs, regardless of VRAM configuration, only come with one HDMI 2.1b port and one DisplayPort 2.1a port. Performance and pricing aside, this is the most disappointing aspect of the RX 9060 XT, as this configuration limits multi-monitor setups. It would’ve been more acceptable if the GPU were a sub $200 card, but being the first modern GPU in a while to launch with one less port than the industry standard is surely a deal breaker for some people, particularly those with more than three monitors.
Size Comparison vs other GPUs
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC vs Gigabyte RX 9060 XT Gaming OC 16GB vs RTX 5070 FE vs ASUS Prime RTX 5060 vs Sapphire RX 9070 XT PURE OC
The ASUS Prime RX 9060 XT OC’s size sits between a compact 2-slot, dual fan card and a lengthy 2.5 triple-fan card. The GPU should have no problems fitting in most cases, except for cases that strictly require 2-slots of GPU width.
Benchmark Setup and Test Methodology
Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible so that our readers can replicate our tests, given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the tested component or device.
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D |
| COOLER | ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360mm V2 – Noctua NT-H2 Thermal Paste |
| MOTHERBOARD | Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master | BIOS F4i |
| MEMORY | GSkill Trident Z Neo 32GB(2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL28 |
| GPUs | Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition | Nvidia RTX 5080 Founders Edition | Inno3D RTX 5080 X3 | Nvidia RTX 4090 Founders Edition |
| STORAGE | Kingston Renegade 2TB NVME SSD |
| POWER SUPPLY | FSP VITA GM1000W Gold ATX 3.1 |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 Pro Build 24H2, VBS off |
| CASE | Open Benchtable V2 |
We use CapFrameX 1.7.5 BETA as our primary FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 11 Pro and WHQL-certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draws are recorded using HWINFO64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.
For more info, read our Review and Benchmark methodology article.
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC – Synthetic and Productivity Benchmarks
ADOBE PREMIERE PRO VIDEO EDITING BENCHMARK
Procyon benchmark suite is developed by UL, the same team behind 3DMark and PCMark benchmarks. The UL Procycon video editing benchmark uses Adobe Premiere in a typical video editing workflow. The benchmark starts by importing two video project files with various edits, adjustments, and effects – the second project uses several GPU-accelerated effects. Each project is exported in 1080p with H.264 encoding and again in 4K with HEVC H.265. The reported score is based on the time taken to export all four videos. GPU acceleration is turned on for GPU benchmarks.
PCMark10
From the same developers of the popular game benchmarking tool 3DMark, PCMark 10 is a benchmarking app for measuring a whole PC’s performance. It covers a wide variety of tests to reflect common tasks performed in a modern workplace. We selected PCMark 10’s extended benchmark and reported both the overall score and the Digital Content Creation Score.
V-RAY 6
V-Ray Benchmark is a stand-alone version of V-Ray developed by Chaos Group. It is designed to test the CPU and GPU by rendering sample scenes at a fixed amount of time. V-Ray is a plug-in mostly utilized by 3D computer graphics software applications mainly for industrial design, product design, architecture, film, and video game production. V-Ray is not limited to 64-threads as it supports multi and mega-threading.
GeekBench 6.3
Geekbench is a multi-platform benchmark used to gauge CPU performance and compare them across Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Geekbench 6 is the latest version and doesn’t rely on memory more than the previous Geekbench 4, making it a great tool to measure both single-core and multi-core CPU performance. Geekbench also sa GPU benchmarks using the OpenCL and Vulkan API.
BLENDER 4.3.0
Blender is a widely used, free, open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the whole 3D pipeline process from modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, and even motion tracking. Blender has become a standard for CPU benchmarks with the BMW27 and Classroom Scene most used. This prompted the company to release Blender Open Data Benchmark in 2018, a benchmark-specific version allowing users to run a preset benchmark and share the results online like 3DMark.
HANDBRAKE 1.8.2
Handbrake is a top-rated open-source video conversion software that is used by professionals, enthusiasts, and even reviewers as a reference point, mainly because of its wide variety of media codecs. The rise of streaming and blogging makes video content, both encoding and transcoding, important for these people, regardless of whether they’re seasoned professionals or just starting out. Handbrake also takes advantage of AVX-512 and OpenCL to accelerate certain types of media codecs. Our Handbrake benchmark converts a 3:16 4K60 clip shot from an S24 Ultra to 1080p60 H264 mp4 for CPU or 1080p NVENC H265 for GPU.
3DMark Benchmark Suite
3DMark is the go-to benchmark for gamers because of the ability to share and compare results online. We test GPUs both in DX11 Firestike and DX12 Timespy for the “classic” benchmarks. We also used 3DMark’s latest Steel Nomad and SpeedWay benchmarks as we slowly shift to these “more accurate” synthetic game benchmarks.
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC – AI Benchmarks
Geekbench AI
Computer Vision – Procyon
Image Generation – Procyon
Text Generation – Procyon
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC – Gaming Benchmarks
RETURNAL
Returnal is one of the most technologically advanced games since the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Released last April 2021 on PS5 and February 2023 on PC, it uses Unreal Engine 4 and supports multiple technologies such as Ray Tracing, DLSS, VSR, and FSR.
COUNTERSTRIKE 2
CounterStrike 2 or CS2 is the successor to the now-retired CSGO and now uses the Source 2 Engine – the same engine used on DOTA 2. CS2 is a great FPS game to test out CPU performance. Our benchmark process uses the replay function of the game.
DOTA 2
Dota 2 is a good reputation among F2P titles, especially MOBAs and RTS as it lands on the demanding side of the spectrum. Its gameplay and quality of life updates are far more frequent than most F2P titles, thanks to its vast popularity. Our benchmark sequence is based on a replay of Liquid vs. Gaimin Gladiators in the The International Grand Finals Game 3 from the team fight that happened from 16:24 to 17:24.
SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony, is one of the most popular PC port titles last 2022. It’s one of the few modern game titles that support upscaling technologies FSR, DLSS, and XeSS, making it a great title to use for benchmarks.
F1 23
F1 23 is the official video game of the 2023 Formula One and Formula 2 championships, developed by Codemasters. F1 2023 is the sixteenth installment in the franchise and uses the Ego Engine 4.0. F1 233 is a good representation of racing games thanks to its realistic graphics and fairly demanding spec requirements as well as support for Ray Tracing and the latest upscaling technologies such as DLSS, XeSS, and FSR.
ASSASSIN’S CREED: MIRAGE
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is the latest Assassin’s Creed game from Ubisoft making it the thirteenth major installment in the franchise. It uses the AnvilNext 2.0 game engine and is the very first AC game to support the latest upscaling technology such as XeSS, FSR, and DLSS.
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably the most hyped game of 2020. Developed by CD Projekt Red, the dystopian open-world, action-adventure RPG sports is one of the most demanding titles to date. Cyberpunk 2077 also supports three Ray Tracing settings as well as DLSS, which makes the game a great tool to measure Ray Tracing performance for both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards.
HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST
Horizon Forbidden West is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The Horizon Zero Dawn game sequel launched on PC last March 2024 built on the Decima Game Engine, the same one used on Death Stranding. Horizon Forbidden West features Ray Tracing and Upscaling technologies not present in the prequel game.
BLACK MYTH WUKONG
Black Myth: Wukong is one of the most popular game titles launched in 2024, with its stunning graphics thanks to the Unreal Engine 5. Developed by Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong is one of the most demanding titles recently released titles with complete Ray Tracing and Upscaling technology features, making it a great benchmark for new hardware.
GHOST OF TSUSHIMA
Ghost of Tsushima is an action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was initially released for the PlayStation 4 in July 2020 and later for PlayStation 5 and Windows. Ghost of Tsushima runs on a modified and optimized version of Sucker Punch’s in-house engine, originally built for the PlayStation platforms.
HOGWARTS LEGACY
Hogwarts Legacy is a popular game catering to the hearts of Harry Potter fans and gamers with its rich world and engaging gameplay. Developed by Avalanche Software and built on the Unreal Engine 4, Hogwarts Legacy delivers detailed environments and character models with support for the latest rendering and upscaling technologies.
FAR CRY 6
FarCry 6 is an FPS game published by Ubisoft that uses the Dunia engine. It heavily relies on and takes advantage of DirectX 12 to render a realistic environment that is taxing to both the CPU and GPU. It’s also the first game in the franchise to support Ray Tracing.
ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC – Temps and Power Draw
The ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB has a much compact cooler compared to its RTX 5060 Ti Prime counterpart. Our recorded peak temps were at 61°C, and considering its size, it’s a good balance, especially its relatively low noise. There’s clearly more headroom for overclocking as the cooler still shows to be an overkill for the RX 9060 XT GPU, similar to the one found on the Prime RTX 5060 Ti.
Conclusion
The ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB follows the general sentiment of its RTX 50 series counterparts, it’s a GPU series that offers a no-compromise approach without the unnecessary premium delegated to “gimmicks.” That said, ASUS went out of their way to tweak the Prime GPU series for the Radeon lineup, namely the BIOS Switch profile and a more compact size. These tweaks result in better compatibility at the slight expense of thermals, albeit the 61°C temp isn’t far from being concerning given the performance that you’re getting with the Prime RX 9060 XT.
That said, the ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT is still within the “optimal” mark of the diminishing return curve, with the main problem being the IO or connectivity, but that is AMD’s issue, not ASUS. Priced at Php 29,420, the ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC is considerably on the expensive side, considering the Php 25,000 average price of RX 9060 XT 16GB variants, especially that the 9060 XT class sits in between the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti GPUs, where most models overlap.
Overall, the ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC offers a good balance between performance, thermals, build quality, and noise. ASUS had tweaked the Prime line for Radeon to be much more suited for the RX 9060 XT class, albeit it came with a higher premium compared to its RTX 50 series counterparts. That said, and as mentioned earlier, it’s still within the optimal mark considering its overall package. So, if you want a no-frills, compact, and quiet RX 9060 XT 16GB OC card, the ASUS Prime Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB OC delivers a good balance in every aspect. Else, you’re better off spending the premium in moving up to an RTX 5060 Ti.
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
