AMD Radeon HD 7790 vs NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Comparison

NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 and AMD Radeon HD 7790 represent two very different eras of GPU design, yet their aggregate benchmark scores place them in the same competitive tier. The Quadro RTX 4000 posts an average benchmark score of 17,789, while the Radeon HD 7790 trails by a razor-thin 0.7% with an average of 17,666. This statistical dead heat, however, masks a dramatic divergence in how each card achieves its performance, as the data reveals stark differences in workload-specific strengths.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking disparity appears in raw compute throughput. The Quadro RTX 4000 delivers 7.119 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, a figure that is roughly 4x higher than the Radeon HD 7790’s 1.792 TFLOPS. This gap is reflected in the Passmark GPU Compute test, where the Quadro scores 6,176 points. The Radeon HD 7790 has no direct Passmark Compute score in the data, but its overall compute capability is constrained by its 896 shading units versus the Quadro’s 2,304.

DirectX feature-level performance tells a more nuanced story. The Quadro RTX 4000 achieves a Passmark DirectX 12 score of 52, while the Radeon HD 7790 does not have a listed DirectX 12 score. However, the Radeon does hold a notable edge in legacy DirectX workloads. The data shows the Radeon HD 7790 scoring 205 in Passmark DirectX 9, a figure that is not directly available for the Quadro. The Quadro’s Passmark DirectX 11 score of 128 and DirectX 10 score of 108 indicate strong performance in those APIs, but the Radeon’s older architecture was optimized for the DirectX 9 era.

In memory bandwidth, the Quadro RTX 4000 is in a different league entirely. Its 416.0 GB/s of bandwidth, delivered over a 256-bit bus with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, dwarfs the Radeon HD 7790’s 96.00 GB/s over a 128-bit bus with 1 GB of GDDR5. This 4.3x bandwidth advantage translates directly into texture and pixel throughput: the Quadro achieves 222.5 GTexel/s and 98.88 GPixel/s, compared to the Radeon’s 56.00 GTexel/s and 16.00 GPixel/s.

The Geekbench scores provide another comparison point, though they come from different APIs. The Quadro RTX 4000 scores 74,540 in Geekbench OpenCL and 78,844 in Geekbench Vulkan. The Radeon HD 7790’s only listed benchmark is Geekbench Metal, where it scores 17,666. This single score is the basis for its entire average, meaning the Radeon’s competitive aggregate position rests on a single Metal test, while the Quadro’s average is derived from ten different benchmarks spanning multiple APIs and DirectX versions.

The rasterization-focused Passmark G3D score favors the Quadro at 15,117, though the Radeon’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is not listed. The Quadro’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 1,873 points demonstrates modern API efficiency, while the Radeon’s absence from that test suggests it cannot handle the workload.

FAQ

Q: How close are these two cards in overall performance?

A: The aggregate benchmark averages are nearly identical. The Quadro RTX 4000 averages 17,789 points, and the Radeon HD 7790 averages 17,666 points, a difference of just 0.7%. Both cards occupy the 61st percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Which card has better compute performance?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 is vastly superior in compute. Its FP32 throughput of 7.119 TFLOPS is nearly 4x the Radeon’s 1.792 TFLOPS, and its Passmark GPU Compute score of 6,176 dwarfs the Radeon’s capabilities.

Q: What memory configuration does each card use?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 416.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon HD 7790 uses 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Are these cards comparable in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The data is incomplete. The Quadro RTX 4000 scores 52 in Passmark DirectX 12 and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The Radeon HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) but has no listed DirectX 12 benchmark score.

Q: Which card has higher transistor density?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 achieves 25.0M transistors per mm² on a 545 mm² die, while the Radeon HD 7790 has 13.0M transistors per mm² on a 160 mm² die.

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The Quadro RTX 4000 has a 160 W TDP and requires a 450 W suggested PSU with a single 8-pin connector. The Radeon HD 7790 has an 85 W TDP and needs a 250 W suggested PSU with a single 6-pin connector.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architecture gap defines the performance profile of these two cards. The Quadro RTX 4000 is built on NVIDIA’s Turing architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 13,600 million transistors into a 545 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 25.0M per mm². The Radeon HD 7790 uses AMD’s GCN 2.0 architecture on a 28 nm process, also from TSMC. Its die contains 2,080 million transistors across 160 mm², for a density of 13.0M per mm².

Turing introduces hardware features that GCN 2.0 cannot match. The Quadro RTX 4000 includes 36 dedicated ray tracing cores and 288 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI workloads. The Radeon HD 7790 has no such dedicated units, with null values for both RT and tensor cores in the data. The Quadro also supports FP16 compute at 14.24 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the Radeon lists no FP16 capability whatsoever.

The render output pipeline differs substantially. The Quadro RTX 4000 has 64 ROPs and 144 texture mapping units, while the Radeon HD 7790 has just 16 ROPs and 56 TMUs. This 4x ROP advantage explains the Quadro’s 6.2x higher pixel rate and 3.97x higher texture rate. The shading core count follows a similar pattern: 2,304 shading units on the Quadro versus 896 on the Radeon.

API support reveals another generational divide. The Quadro RTX 4000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The Radeon HD 7790 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The Quadro’s newer DirectX feature level and more recent Vulkan version indicate broader compatibility with modern titles and compute workloads.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 | AMD Radeon HD 7790 |

|---|---|---|

| Process Node | 12 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 13,600 million | 2,080 million |

| Die Size | 545 mm² | 160 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 25.0M / mm² | 13.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1005 MHz | Not listed |

| Boost Clock | 1545 MHz | Not listed |

| Memory Clock | 1625 MHz (13 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 1 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 416.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2304 | 896 |

| TMUs | 144 | 56 |

| ROPs | 64 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 36 | Not listed |

| Tensor Cores | 288 | Not listed |

| Pixel Rate | 98.88 GPixel/s | 16.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 222.5 GTexel/s | 56.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 7.119 TFLOPS | 1.792 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 14.24 TFLOPS (2:1) | Not listed |

| TDP | 160 W | 85 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | 250 W |

| Display Outputs | 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Release Date | 2018-11-12 | 2013-03-21 |

| Launch MSRP | 899 USD | 149 USD |

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro RTX 4000 wins decisively in every modern workload category. Its 4x advantage in FP32 compute makes it the clear choice for GPU-accelerated rendering, scientific simulation, and machine learning inference. The 36 RT cores enable hardware ray tracing, a feature completely absent from the Radeon HD 7790. The 288 tensor cores further accelerate AI workloads, and the 14.24 TFLOPS FP16 throughput doubles down on that capability. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 416.0 GB/s bandwidth supports large datasets and high-resolution textures, while the 222.5 GTexel/s texture rate and 98.88 GPixel/s pixel rate handle demanding 3D rendering.

The Radeon HD 7790 wins in power efficiency and legacy compatibility. Its 85 W TDP is nearly half the Quadro’s 160 W, and it requires a 250 W PSU versus 450 W. The dual-slot design with older display outputs (DVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2) makes it easier to integrate into older systems. Its DirectX 9 and DirectX 11 capabilities, built on the GCN 2.0 architecture, provide solid performance for older game libraries. The 1 GB GDDR5 memory, while limiting, is sufficient for the era of games it was designed to run.

The single Geekbench Metal score of 17,666 that anchors the Radeon’s entire average suggests it retains some utility in Apple ecosystem workloads, though the Quadro’s OpenCL score of 74,540 indicates far greater compute throughput in that context. For users prioritizing modern API support, ray tracing, or professional compute, the Quadro RTX 4000 is the only viable option. For those needing a low-power, legacy-focused card for older software, the Radeon HD 7790 remains functional. The data shows that despite their similar aggregate scores, these cards are optimized for entirely different eras of computing.