RTX 3090 vs RX 7900 XTX for local AI (2026)
VRAM, memory bandwidth, today's prices (new, used and rental) and which local AI models each card can run.
Prices updated Nov 12, 2026The short version
- VRAM: both have 24 GB, so they fit exactly the same models.
- Speed: the RX 7900 XTX has about 3% more memory bandwidth, so expect roughly 3% faster token generation on models that fit both (estimate; prompt processing and image generation depend on compute, not shown).
- Price: the RX 7900 XTX is $418 cheaper today ($1,618 used vs $1,200 used); per GB of VRAM that's $67 vs $50.
- Software: RTX 3090: CUDA - best support in llama.cpp, vLLM, ComfyUI. RX 7900 XTX: ROCm/Vulkan - works in llama.cpp & Ollama; image/video tooling less mature.
Specs and prices
| RTX 3090 | RX 7900 XTX | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 24 GB GDDR6X | 24 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory bandwidth | 936 GB/s | 960 GB/s |
| Memory bus | 384-bit | 384-bit |
| Cheapest today | $1,618 usedGPU Sold · 2026-11-10 | $1,200 usedGPU Sold · 2026-11-10 |
| Lowest new | — | — |
| Used (median eBay ask) | $1,618GPU Sold | $1,200GPU Sold |
| $ per GB VRAM | $67 | $50 |
| Rent from | $0.14/hrVast.ai | — |
| Launch MSRP | $1,499 | $999 |
| Launched | 2020-09 | 2022-12 |
| Software | CUDA - best support in llama.cpp, vLLM, ComfyUI | ROCm/Vulkan - works in llama.cpp & Ollama; image/video tooling less mature |
| Check priceused · eBayor new on Amazon | Check priceused · eBayor new on Amazon |
Which models fit
| Model | RTX 3090 Q4 | RX 7900 XTX Q4 | RTX 3090 Q8 | RX 7900 XTX Q8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | ✓ ~94 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~96 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~58 tok/s9.9 GB | ✓ ~59 tok/s9.9 GB |
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct | ✗needs 43 GB | ✗needs 43 GB | ✗needs 73 GB | ✗needs 73 GB |
| Qwen3 8B | ✓ ~90 tok/s6.7 GB | ✓ ~93 tok/s6.7 GB | ✓ ~56 tok/s10.2 GB | ✓ ~58 tok/s10.2 GB |
| Qwen3 14B | ✓ ~54 tok/s10.6 GB | ✓ ~55 tok/s10.6 GB | ✓ ~32 tok/s16.9 GB | ✓ ~33 tok/s16.9 GB |
| Qwen3 32B | ✓ ~25 tok/s21.5 GB | ✓ ~26 tok/s21.5 GB | ✗needs 35 GB | ✗needs 35 GB |
| Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) | ✓ ~197 tok/s19.0 GB | ✓ ~202 tok/s19.0 GB | ✗needs 32 GB | ✗needs 32 GB |
| Qwen2.5 Coder 32B Instruct | ✓ ~25 tok/s21.5 GB | ✓ ~26 tok/s21.5 GB | ✗needs 35 GB | ✗needs 35 GB |
| Qwen3 235B-A22B (MoE) | ✗needs 135 GB | ✗needs 135 GB | ✗needs 235 GB | ✗needs 235 GB |
| Gemma 3 12B IT | ✓ ~67 tok/s8.7 GB | ✓ ~69 tok/s8.7 GB | ✓ ~40 tok/s13.9 GB | ✓ ~41 tok/s13.9 GB |
| Gemma 3 27B IT | ✓ ~31 tok/s17.5 GB | ✓ ~32 tok/s17.5 GB | ✗needs 29 GB | ✗needs 29 GB |
| Mistral 7B Instruct v0.3 | ✓ ~102 tok/s6.1 GB | ✓ ~105 tok/s6.1 GB | ✓ ~64 tok/s9.2 GB | ✓ ~65 tok/s9.2 GB |
| Mistral Small 24B Instruct (2501) | ✓ ~35 tok/s15.6 GB | ✓ ~36 tok/s15.6 GB | ✗needs 26 GB | ✗needs 26 GB |
| Mixtral 8x7B Instruct (MoE) | ✗needs 28 GB | ✗needs 28 GB | ✗needs 48 GB | ✗needs 48 GB |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B | ✓ ~94 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~96 tok/s6.5 GB | ✓ ~58 tok/s9.9 GB | ✓ ~59 tok/s9.9 GB |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B | ✓ ~53 tok/s10.8 GB | ✓ ~54 tok/s10.8 GB | ✓ ~32 tok/s17.1 GB | ✓ ~33 tok/s17.1 GB |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B | ✓ ~25 tok/s21.5 GB | ✓ ~26 tok/s21.5 GB | ✗needs 35 GB | ✗needs 35 GB |
| FLUX.1 [dev] | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB |
| FLUX.1 [schnell] | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits9.9 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB | ✓ fits15.0 GB |
| Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 | ✓ fits5.2 GB | ✓ fits5.2 GB | ✓ fits6.3 GB | ✓ fits6.3 GB |
| Wan 2.1 T2V 14B (video) | ✓ fits14.9 GB | ✓ fits14.9 GB | ✓ fits20.9 GB | ✓ fits20.9 GB |
| Wan 2.1 T2V 1.3B (video) | ✓ fits4.6 GB | ✓ fits4.6 GB | ✓ fits5.2 GB | ✓ fits5.2 GB |
8K-token context. tok/s = rough bandwidth-based estimate. Method.
FAQ
Is the RTX 3090 or RX 7900 XTX better for local AI?
VRAM: both have 24 GB, so they fit exactly the same models. Speed: the RX 7900 XTX has about 3% more memory bandwidth, so expect roughly 3% faster token generation on models that fit both (estimate; prompt processing and image generation depend on compute, not shown). Price: the RX 7900 XTX is $418 cheaper today ($1,618 used vs $1,200 used); per GB of VRAM that's $67 vs $50. Software: RTX 3090: CUDA - best support in llama.cpp, vLLM, ComfyUI. RX 7900 XTX: ROCm/Vulkan - works in llama.cpp & Ollama; image/video tooling less mature.
Which has more VRAM, RTX 3090 or RX 7900 XTX?
RTX 3090: 24 GB; RX 7900 XTX: 24 GB.
Is the RX 7900 XTX faster than the RTX 3090 for LLMs?
For token generation, likely yes by roughly 3% (memory bandwidth 960 vs 936 GB/s). This is an estimate, not a benchmark.
How much do the RTX 3090 and RX 7900 XTX cost today?
RTX 3090: about $1,618 (used, GPU Sold). RX 7900 XTX: about $1,200 (used, GPU Sold). Observed Nov 12, 2026.
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