AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700S vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The recorded data splits these two accelerators into very different use cases. The AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700S carries no benchmark entries in the database, while the NVIDIA L4 has two recorded scores: a Geekbench OpenCL result of 140,838 and a Geekbench Vulkan result of 121,306. That absence of AMD benchmark data means the database cannot confirm a single measured win for the R9700S. The L4, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 131,072 and sits in the 95th percentile of all GPUs tracked, whereas the R9700S sits at the 50th percentile with an average score of zero in the database.

The use-case split is therefore defined by what each card is built for. The R9700S is a Radeon Pro Navi series part with 32 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. It is designed around raw throughput, with 47.84 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a matching 47.84 TFLOPS FP16 rate, both at 1:1 ratio. The L4 is an Ada Lovelace server part with 24 GB on a 192-bit bus and 300.1 GB/s, producing 30.29 TFLOPS FP32 and 30.29 TFLOPS FP16. The AMD part wins on memory capacity, memory bandwidth, pixel rate, texture rate, and raw floating-point throughput. The NVIDIA part wins on shading unit count, tensor core presence, power efficiency, and physical footprint.

For workloads that need large memory buffers, high bandwidth, and maximum FP32 throughput, the R9700S is the clear choice from the specification data. For workloads that need tensor acceleration, low power draw, single-slot density, and no display outputs, the L4 is the only option between the two. The database shows no head-to-head benchmark entries, so each card wins in its own domain by virtue of what the other lacks.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute?

A: The AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700S delivers 47.84 TFLOPS FP32, compared to the NVIDIA L4's 30.29 TFLOPS. That puts the AMD card about 58% ahead in raw FP32 throughput.

Q: Does the NVIDIA L4 have tensor cores?

A: Yes, the L4 includes 240 tensor cores. The AMD R9700S lists no tensor core count in the database.

Q: How do their memory configurations differ?

A: The R9700S has 32 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 300.1 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD card offers 8 GB more capacity and more than double the bandwidth.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The R9700S has a TDP of 300 W and suggests a 700 W PSU, using a single 16-pin power connector. The L4 has a TDP of 72 W and suggests a 250 W PSU, requiring no power connector at all.

Q: Which card has display outputs?

A: The R9700S has 4x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs. The L4 has no display outputs, consistent with its server positioning.

Q: How does the L4 benchmark compared to its nearest rivals?

A: The L4's average score of 131,072 is 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti's 131,938, 3.1% behind both the RTX 4000 Ada Generation at 135,218 and the NVIDIA A10M at 135,230, and 3.2% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 at 135,396.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no direct head-to-head benchmark entries between the R9700S and the L4. The only measured scores belong to the L4. Its Geekbench OpenCL result of 140,838 is its stronger showing, while its Geekbench Vulkan result of 121,306 trails that OpenCL figure by about 16%. Both scores push the L4 into the 95th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival comparisons confirm it sits just below several established workstation cards. Against the RTX 3090 Ti, the L4 trails by only 0.7%, a narrow margin that puts it in the same performance neighborhood despite its far lower power draw. Against the RTX 4000 Ada Generation and the A10M, both at 135,218 and 135,230 respectively, the L4 is 3.1% behind, and it is 3.2% behind the Radeon PRO W6800 at 135,396.

For the R9700S, no benchmark data exists in the database, so there are no measured scores to compare against the L4 or any other card. The specification sheet, however, offers its own comparison. The R9700S produces 47.84 TFLOPS FP32, which is 1.58 times the L4's 30.29 TFLOPS. The R9700S outputs 373.8 GPixel/s pixel rate against the L4's 163.2 GPixel/s, a 2.29x advantage. The texture rate comparison shows 747.5 GTexel/s versus 489.6 GTexel/s, a 1.53x advantage for the AMD card. Memory bandwidth favors the R9700S even more strongly: 644.6 GB/s versus 300.1 GB/s, a 2.15x difference. The R9700S also uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface while the L4 uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The L4 counters with a 7424 shading unit count versus 4096, a 1.81x advantage. Its 240 tensor cores give it a capability the R9700S does not list. The L4's 5 nm process node is one generation behind the R9700S's 4 nm node, yet the L4 draws only 72 W against the R9700S's 300 W. That is a 4.17x power efficiency gap in favor of the L4 when comparing TDP alone. The L4 also fits in a single slot at 169 mm length, while the R9700S is a dual-slot card at 267 mm length.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification field. Process node: the R9700S uses 4 nm TSMC, the L4 uses 5 nm TSMC. Transistor count: the R9700S packs 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, while the L4 has 35,800 million on a 294 mm² die. Transistor density follows: 151.0M per mm² for the AMD card versus 121.8M per mm² for the NVIDIA card.

Clocks differ substantially. The R9700S has a base clock of 1660 MHz, a boost clock of 2920 MHz, and a game clock of 2350 MHz. The L4 has a base clock of 795 MHz and a boost clock of 2040 MHz, with no game clock listed. Memory clocks also diverge: the R9700S runs at 2518 MHz for 20.1 Gbps effective, the L4 at 1563 MHz for 12.5 Gbps effective.

Core counts favor different manufacturers. The R9700S has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, 128 ROPs, and 64 RT cores. The L4 has 7424 shading units, 240 TMUs, 80 ROPs, and 60 RT cores. The L4 adds 240 tensor cores, a field the R9700S leaves null. Memory capacity, bus width, and bandwidth all favor the R9700S: 32 GB versus 24 GB, 256-bit versus 192-bit, and 644.6 GB/s versus 300.1 GB/s.

Physical and power characteristics favor the L4. The L4 is single-slot, 169 mm long and 56 mm high, with no power connector and a 72 W TDP. The R9700S is dual-slot, 267 mm long, 109 mm high, and 39 mm wide, using a single 16-pin connector with a 300 W TDP. Suggested PSU is 700 W for the AMD card versus 250 W for the NVIDIA card.

Interface and outputs also differ. The R9700S uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and provides 4x DisplayPort 2.1a. The L4 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has no display outputs. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Release dates are far apart: the L4 launched on 2023-03-20, the R9700S on 2025-12-10. The L4's predecessor is Server Ampere and its successor is Server Hopper; the R9700S's predecessor is Radeon Pro Vega with no successor listed.

Architecture Differences

The R9700S uses RDNA 4.0 architecture on the Navi 48 chip, part of the Radeon Pro Navi (Navi IV Series) generation. The L4 uses Ada Lovelace architecture on the AD104 chip, part of the Server Ada (Lxx) generation. Both are built by TSMC, but on different nodes: 4 nm for the AMD part, 5 nm for the NVIDIA part. The AMD chip is larger in both transistor count and die size, with 53,900 million transistors on 357 mm² versus 35,800 million on 294 mm².

The RDNA 4.0 architecture pairs the higher transistor budget with a wider memory interface and higher clock speeds. The R9700S reaches a boost clock of 2920 MHz, well above the L4's 2040 MHz. The FP32 and FP16 rates are both 47.84 TFLOPS at 1:1 ratio, indicating no rate-limited FP16 path. The L4 also runs FP32 and FP16 at 1:1, both at 30.29 TFLOPS. The R9700S has 64 RT cores and no listed tensor cores. The L4 has 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, which gives it a hardware path for tensor operations that the R9700S does not document.

Architectural positioning differs sharply. The R9700S is a Radeon Pro workstation part with display outputs and a large memory pool, intended for graphics and compute workloads that benefit from high bandwidth and high fill rates. The L4 is a server part with no display outputs, a low 72 W envelope, and tensor core hardware, intended for datacenter inference and similar workloads. The R9700S's 4 nm node and newer release date (2025-12-10 versus 2023-03-20) reflect a later design generation, but the L4's architecture was built specifically for density and efficiency in server environments.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split based on workload type. The AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700S is the choice for tasks that need maximum FP32 throughput, large memory capacity, high memory bandwidth, and display output. Its 47.84 TFLOPS FP32, 32 GB GDDR6, and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth give it decisive advantages in every compute and memory metric recorded. The 300 W TDP and dual-slot footprint are the trade-offs for that performance.

The NVIDIA L4 is the choice for power-constrained, density-focused server deployments. Its 72 W TDP, single-slot size, 169 mm length, and lack of power connectors make it far easier to integrate into dense systems. Its 240 tensor cores provide tensor acceleration that the R9700S does not list. Its measured Geekbench scores of 140,838 OpenCL and 121,306 Vulkan place it in the 95th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival deltas show it within 0.7% of the RTX 3090 Ti and 3.2% of the Radeon PRO W6800.

The R9700S has no recorded benchmarks, so the database cannot quantify its real-world performance against the L4. The specification comparison, however, is unambiguous: the AMD card wins every throughput metric, while the NVIDIA card wins efficiency, tensor capability, and physical density. The choice comes down to which of those priorities the workload demands.