Summary
Overall, the Radeon AI R9700 presents itself as an extremely powerful workstation graphics card that achieves consistently strong results in almost all professional benchmarks. In the extensive SPEC, CAD, DCC and AI workloads, the card confirms a performance profile that positions it clearly above the Radeon Pro series and in many cases even above comparable NVIDIA solutions. The consistency with which the R9700 performs in very different software environments is particularly striking. In AutoCAD, Inventor, Creo, SolidWorks and Maya, it achieves values that are only minimally below the maximum possible results, while at the same time playing to its strengths in image and text generation, rendering, AI inference and complex engineering tests. Especially in AI workloads, the R9700 shows a clear dominance that is unusual for AMD, which is due to the optimized ONNX pipeline and a very high computing power per time unit. This performance character is then also reflected in the SPECviewperf results, where the card lands in the top group in almost all sub-areas.
When all benchmarks are combined, the result is a picture that clearly identifies the R9700 as a universally applicable compute and engineering card. In classic CAD augmented workloads, it works almost at pro-model level, is close behind its RX-9070XT sister in DCC software such as Maya and Blender and clearly outperforms it in AI and data load profiles. This makes the card particularly interesting in heterogeneous workflows where classic graphics performance and modern AI acceleration are equally in demand.
An analysis of the thermal properties reveals an ambivalent picture. The GPU temperatures are initially still within an acceptable range, but the hotspot values of up to ninety degrees Celsius are already significantly higher for a workstation card. The situation is more critical for the memory, which regularly reaches values just above ninety degrees under continuous load in the test. This temperature is not critical for GDDR6X, but is already too high for conventional GDDR6, especially during longer compute phases. The backplate hardly contributes to this and functions more as a decorative element than as a thermal mass. There is practically no direct dissipation of heat, which is also confirmed by the IR images. The heat is strongly concentrated in the center of the storage surface and is only insufficiently distributed. The reference to the optimum combination of heat conducting pad and putty is imperative here, as the temperatures could be significantly reduced with a better planned backplate and cleanly coupled thermal transitions.
The fan control reacts consistently to the rising temperatures and keeps the speeds at well over three thousand revolutions for long stretches. This leads to a high background noise, which is particularly noticeable due to the combination of air turbulence and tonal peaks. In addition, there is a clearly identifiable coil beeping, which is clearly evident in the lower load range and is only partially overlaid when the fan curve is fully turned up. The frequency spectrum from the analysis shows a pronounced peak in the mid-kilohertz range, which is apparently caused by the load changes in the VRM range and was clearly reproduced in the measurement setup. All in all, this results in a noise level that is significantly higher than what you would expect in the workstation segment.
The clock rate, on the other hand, is stable. The card reaches a plateau of just under 2.8 GHz after a few seconds, which it largely maintains continuously despite high hotspot values. Only minor outliers due to the load distribution and occasional thermal peaks were visible, but these never seriously lowered the clock rate. The R9700 thus consistently utilizes its power budget and remains at maximum frequency even under continuous load.
Pros and cons table for the Radeon AI R9700
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very high performance in AI workloads and complex compute scenarios | Hotspot temperatures up to around 90 °C, thermally borderline |
| Strong results in CAD, DCC, simulation and rendering | Memory permanently too hot, backplate without effective thermal connection |
| Constant clock rates without significant throttling | High noise levels due to fan speeds above 3,000 rpm |
| Good raster graphics performance at the level of the RX 9070 XT | Clearly perceptible coil beeping in several load ranges |
| Professional driver base for engineering and design software | High power consumption of up to around 400 W under AI load |
| High compute density and efficiency for mathematical core operations | Limited optimization options due to backplate design and specifications |
Conclusion and market position
In conclusion, the Radeon AI R9700 is an unusually powerful workstation GPU that sets new standards for AMD in many areas. Its AI performance is particularly impressive and it achieves values that were previously typically reserved for NVIDIA accelerators. Compared to consumer cards such as the RX 9070XT, it offers significantly better stability, driver compatibility and compute performance with similar raster performance. Conversely, it inherits some of the disadvantages of the RX 9000 series, namely high temperatures, noticeable noise development and a power budget that is significantly higher than what many workstation systems can cope with without adaptation.
The ASRock model is priced at around 1300 euros, which is around the same price as an NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada, which also explains the current card selection. Its target group is not gamers or classic content creators, but companies, engineering offices and research institutions that require both computing power and robustness on the GPU side, as well as a stable driver landscape. The R9700 is particularly interesting for users who combine professional software with AI-modulated models. On the other hand, if you are only looking for a reliable, quiet and cool-running workstation GPU, you will probably be better off with a Radeon Pro W7800 or an NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada. The Radeon AI R9700 is therefore a powerful but demanding tool that only develops its full strength in the exact environments for which it was designed. And you should also factor in around 50 euros for good hearing protection, because you’ll need it.
ASRock Radeon AI PRO R9700 Creator 32GB, R9700 CT 32G, 32GB GDDR6, 4x DP (GV-R9700AI TOP-32GD)
 | 12-15 Werktage | 1373,00 €*Stand: 23.12.25 07:40 |
 | Noch nicht verfügbar, Nicht vorrätig | 1373,00 €*Stand: 23.12.25 07:22 |
 | Noch nicht verfügbar, Nicht vorrätig | 1373,00 €*Stand: 23.12.25 07:35 |
- 1 - Introduction and technical data
- 2 - Test system and equipment
- 3 - Autodesk AutoCAD
- 4 - Autodesk Inventor Pro
- 5 - PTC Creo
- 6 - Dassault Systèmes Solidworks
- 7 - Autodesk Maya
- 8 - SPECviewperf 15 (2025)
- 9 - Adobe Photoshop 26.10
- 10 - Adobe After Effects 2025
- 11 - Adobe Premiere Pro 25.41
- 12 - KI Benchmarks (AI Vision, Image, Text)
- 13 - Rendering
- 14 - Temperatures, clock rate, fans, noise and power draw
- 15 - Summary and conclusion
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