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When the Radeon RX 9070 launched at $549 in March 2025, TechSpot called it the best 1440p graphics card you could buy. In late 2026 it still is. The difference is that it now costs about $750, when you can find it at all. The memory shortage has pushed every mid-range card up by $200–500, so the question isn’t which card is fastest, but which one is still worth the money.
My picks, with prices checked on November 3, 2026:
- Best value: Radeon RX 9070, if you see one under $800. Stock comes and goes.
- The one you can actually buy: Radeon RX 9070 XT, from about $920. 13% faster than the RX 9070 and properly in stock.
- If it has to be NVIDIA: RTX 5070 Ti, but only if you need DLSS or strong ray tracing, because it costs $1,300 or more.
| Card | VRAM | 1440p Ultra average | Cheapest in stock (Nov 3) | Fps per $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB | 8 GB | 56 fps | $530 | 10.5 |
| RX 9060 XT 16 GB | 16 GB | 59 fps | $790 (scarce) | 7.5 |
| RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB | 16 GB | 62 fps | $800 | 7.7 |
| RX 9070 | 16 GB | 86 fps | $750 (scarce) | 11.5 |
| RTX 5070 | 12 GB | 81 fps | $900 (scarce) | 9.0 |
| RX 9070 XT | 16 GB | 98 fps | $920 | 10.6 |
| RTX 5070 Ti | 16 GB | 101 fps | $1,300 (scarce) | 7.7 |
| RTX 5080 | 16 GB | 111 fps | $2,160 (scarce) | 5.1 |
What 1440p actually asks of a graphics card
Two things: enough speed for the refresh rate you want, and enough video memory that you never have to think about it.
Speed depends on your monitor. If you’re happy at 60 fps, most cards in the table get there at High settings, with upscaling in the heaviest games. Many 1440p monitors run at 144 Hz or more, though, and to make use of that you want a card that averages well above 80 fps at Ultra before upscaling. That’s where the line falls between the RX 9070 and everything cheaper.
VRAM is the part people underestimate. At 1440p, 12 GB is the practical minimum and 16 GB is what I’d buy. The RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB looks like good value in the table, at 10.5 fps per $100, but that average hides the games where 8 GB runs out and frame rates collapse. We covered one example in our S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 requirements article: in TechSpot’s testing, 8 GB cards struggled even at 1080p with upscaling, and fell apart at 1440p on Epic settings. I wouldn’t buy an 8 GB card for this resolution in 2026.
Radeon RX 9070: the best deal, if you can catch it
The RX 9070 averages 86 fps at 1440p Ultra, 16 GB of VRAM, and on November 3 the cheapest listing was $750, an ASRock Challenger at Newegg. That’s about the same money as an RX 9060 XT 16 GB or RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, and around 40–45% more performance. It’s also about 7% faster than the RTX 5070, which costs $150 more and has only 12 GB.
The catch is stock. That $750 listing has gone in and out of stock several times since October 28, and the next cheapest RX 9070 was $870. At $870 it stops being the obvious choice, because the RX 9070 XT is only $50 more. So the rule is simple: under $800, buy it; over $850, buy the XT instead.
Radeon RX 9070 XT: the safe choice
The RX 9070 XT is the card I’d point most people to, mostly because you can buy it today: 14 listings were in stock on November 3, starting at about $920. It averages 98 fps at 1440p Ultra, which is high-refresh territory in most games without touching upscaling, and FSR 4 Quality takes it further.
It’s 13% faster than the RX 9070 for about 23% more money, so it’s slightly worse value on paper. In practice that 13% buys a year or two more before you need to drop settings. Its closest rival, the RTX 5070 Ti, is only about 3% faster and costs roughly $380 more.
Buy a cheaper model. The listings ranged from $920 to $1,170, and the difference between a basic triple-fan card and a premium one is mostly noise levels and RGB, not frame rates.
What about NVIDIA?
NVIDIA’s real advantages are software: DLSS 4 is supported in more games than FSR 4, Multi Frame Generation is a better fit for very high-refresh monitors, and NVIDIA cards still pull ahead in heavy ray tracing and path tracing. If those matter to you, they’re worth paying something for.
The trouble is how much. The RTX 5070 is the price-match for the RX 9070 XT at $900, but it’s 17% slower and has 12 GB. That’s enough for 1440p today, but it’s the card in this list I’d expect to age worst. The RTX 5070 Ti is the NVIDIA card I’d actually buy for 1440p. It’s a great card at a bad price: only three listings were in stock on November 3, from $1,300. If you find one near $1,000, it’s worth it. At $1,300, it’s a $380 premium for DLSS and ray tracing.
The RTX 5080 makes no sense for 1440p at $2,160. It’s 14% faster than the RX 9070 XT for 2.3 times the price.
Buying used
Used prices have risen with new ones, and most used NVIDIA cards are no longer a bargain. The cheapest RTX 4070 Super on eBay was about $700 on November 3, nearly the price of a new RX 9070, which is faster and has more VRAM, and you’d lose the warranty.
My own PC has an RTX 4070 Ti Super, so I’ll admit a soft spot for it, but the numbers are odd: used ones sell for around $785–800, about what the card cost new when it launched at $799 in January 2024. If you already own one, there’s no reason to upgrade for 1440p. If you’re buying, a new RX 9070 XT costs about $120 more, is at least as fast, and comes with a warranty.
The used card that does make sense is the Radeon RX 7800 XT. It has 16 GB, sells for around $475–495 on eBay, and in Notebookcheck’s testing the RTX 4070 Super was only about 8% faster at 1440p. It won’t do high-refresh Ultra in new games, but for 1440p at High settings it’s the cheapest sensible card right now. Buy from a seller with buyer protection, and ask to see it running a game first.
Before you buy
Your CPU still matters. 1440p is less CPU-bound than 1080p, but an RX 9070 XT is fast enough to outrun an older six-core in some games. A Ryzen 5 5600X is fine with an RX 9070; with an XT, a Ryzen 5 7600X or anything with 3D V-Cache is a better match. Our Ryzen 5 5600X in 2026 article goes into more detail.
Check your power supply. AMD rates the RX 9070 XT at 304 W of board power, against 220 W for the RX 9070. I’d want a quality 750 W unit for the XT, and 650 W is plenty for the RX 9070.
Don’t wait for a price drop unless you can wait a long time. NVIDIA’s RTX 50 Super refresh has been pushed back by memory prices, with nothing confirmed, and any new card would face the same memory costs. Our budget graphics card guide covers the timing in more detail, along with cheaper cards for 1080p.
Sources
- FPS per Dollar: Best GPUs for 1440p (21-game 1440p Ultra averages, November 3, 2026)
- NowInStock trackers for the RX 9070, RX 9070 XT, RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, RTX 5060 Ti and RX 9060 XT (in-stock prices, November 3, 2026)
- GPU Dojo: RTX 4070 Super price history (eBay, November 3, 2026)
- Tech Upgrade Guide: used GPU vs new in 2026 (used RTX 4070 Ti Super and RX 7800 XT prices, October 2026)
- Notebookcheck: RTX 4070 Super review (comparison with the RX 7800 XT, 2024)
- Overclock3D: RTX 50 Super delayed over memory prices
- Featured image: Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT by Chaddy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
