Quick Answer

For Celeste at 1440p, both the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 clear the practical frame target with room to spare, so the RX 9070 is the smarter pick at roughly R12,500 to R15,500. Put the saving toward a faster SSD rather than GPU you will never use.

RTX 5070 and RX 9070 in Celeste at 1440p

Celeste is precision platformer that is light enough that any modern card runs it far above the refresh ceiling. On a 1440p 144Hz or 165Hz panel, the RTX 5070 brings DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and clean ray tracing, while the RX 9070 answers with a larger 16GB frame buffer and strong raster value. 1440p is the sweet spot for both cards, and the gap narrows to a few frames in most Celeste scenes, so the call often comes down to price on the day in Johannesburg. Settings discipline closes most of the gap between these two on the day.

Building Around the RX 9070 in South Africa

Whichever card wins on the day, feed it properly. Pair RX 9070 with at least a current six or eight-core CPU, 32GB of DDR5 for Celeste plus background apps, and a fast 1TB NVMe SSD for the install. A 750W 80 Plus Gold power supply gives headroom for the 250W to 220W draw of these cards. Airflow matters in a typical SA living-room setup near a sunny window, so a mesh-front case with three intake fans keeps clocks stable through long sessions. Tidy cable routing and a clean intake filter shave a few degrees off the card over a long session.

TIP

at 1440p, set a target frame rate first, then pick the cheaper of the two cards that holds it on the panel you own. Enable quality-mode upscaling before adding more GPU budget.

FAQ

Is the RTX 5070 or RX 9070 better for Celeste at 1440p?

In short, both cards clear the target comfortably, so the RX 9070 wins on rand-per-frame value since you are not spending money you will never use. On the panel you actually own, the cheaper card that holds your target frame rate is the right answer.

How much should I budget for these cards in South Africa?

Plan for roughly R13,500 to R16,500 for the RTX 5070 and roughly R12,500 to R15,500 for the RX 9070 at current Evetech pricing. Add the cost of a suitable PSU and case if you are building fresh rather than upgrading.

Will 12GB of VRAM be enough at 1440p?

For Celeste, the 16GB GDDR6 on the RX 9070 gives extra comfort at higher textures, while the 12GB GDDR7 on the RTX 5070 pairs with smarter memory handling. At 1440p both stay sensible for this title.