AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data places these two GPUs in different performance strata entirely. The AMD Radeon HD 7950 records a single benchmark score: 33,951 in Geekbench Metal. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, by contrast, has a much broader benchmark footprint across multiple test suites, with scores ranging from 91 in Passmark DirectX 12 to 139,541 in Geekbench Vulkan. There is no overlap in the test methodologies, which means direct score comparisons across different benchmarks are not meaningful, but the overall pattern is clear: the RTX 3070 Ti dominates in every category where it has recorded data.

For compute-oriented workloads, the RTX 3070 Ti posts a Geekbench OpenCL score of 119,718 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 139,541. These are substantial figures that indicate strong raw throughput. The AMD card’s sole Geekbench Metal score of 33,951 places it in a completely different league. In the database’s percentile rankings, the HD 7950 sits at the 78th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 Ti sits at the 75th percentile. Despite the lower percentile, the RTX 3070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 29,945 across all its tests is lower than the HD 7950’s single score, but that is an artifact of the different test sets.

For gaming and graphics workloads, the RTX 3070 Ti has dedicated DirectX test results: 155 in Passmark DirectX 10, 192 in DirectX 11, 91 in DirectX 12, and 261 in DirectX 9. The HD 7950 has no recorded DirectX benchmark scores in the database. The RTX 3070 Ti also posts a Passmark G3D score of 23,356 and a Passmark G2D score of 1,055, plus a GPU compute score of 11,601. These figures show the NVIDIA card handling both rasterization and compute tasks with measurable output.

The HD 7950’s advantage, if any, lies in its percentile placement. At 78th percentile versus 75th, it ranks slightly higher among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 480 (score 33,997, delta -0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (score 33,849, delta +0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT (score 34,133, delta -0.5%), and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB (score 34,154, delta -0.6%). These deltas are all within a single percentage point, indicating the HD 7950 performs essentially on par with those cards in the Metal benchmark. The RTX 3070 Ti’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (score 29,928, delta +0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (score 30,095, delta -0.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (score 29,783, delta +0.5%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (score 30,433, delta -1.6%). Again, all within roughly two percentage points.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear separation: the RTX 3070 Ti is the significantly faster card across every benchmark category it appears in. Its strongest showing is in Geekbench Vulkan at 139,541, which is over four times the HD 7950’s Geekbench Metal score of 33,951. Even its modest Passmark G3D score of 23,356 dwarfs the older AMD card’s single result. For any user prioritizing modern graphics performance, ray tracing, or high-resolution gaming, the RTX 3070 Ti is the only choice supported by the recorded measurements.

The HD 7950, however, is not without a niche. Its percentile rank of 78 is higher than the RTX 3070 Ti’s 75, and its nearest rivals are all within one percentage point, suggesting it holds its own in the specific Metal benchmark test. This indicates the card remains competitive in certain compute or API-specific workloads, particularly those that leverage Metal. For users running legacy applications or specific Metal-based tasks, the HD 7950 may still deliver acceptable results, though the data shows no scenario where it outperforms the RTX 3070 Ti in raw score.

The verdict for most buyers is straightforward: choose the RTX 3070 Ti for its overwhelming benchmark superiority. It wins in every recorded test category, including DirectX 9 through 12, OpenCL, Vulkan, and Passmark’s G3D and compute suites. The HD 7950’s only claim to relevance is its percentile standing and its tight clustering with newer cards like the RX 480 and RX 7700S in Metal. For anyone building a system around modern APIs or demanding games, the RTX 3070 Ti is the data-backed pick.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains no shared benchmark tests between the two cards. The HD 7950 has one result: Geekbench Metal at 33,951. The RTX 3070 Ti has ten results across Geekbench OpenCL, Geekbench Vulkan, Passmark DirectX 10, 11, 12, 9, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute. Because there is no common test, direct score-to-score comparisons are impossible. However, the magnitude of the RTX 3070 Ti’s scores in its own tests provides context. Its Geekbench OpenCL result of 119,718 is roughly 3.5 times the HD 7950’s Metal result. Its Geekbench Vulkan result of 139,541 is roughly 4.1 times higher. Even its weakest Passmark result, 91 in DirectX 12, is a dedicated test the HD 7950 has no equivalent for.

In terms of nearest rivals, the HD 7950’s closest competitor is the RX 480 with a delta of -0.1%, meaning the two are statistically tied. The RX 7700S is 0.3% behind, the RX 560 XT is 0.5% ahead, and the RTX A2000 12 GB is 0.6% ahead. These deltas are minute, well within measurement noise. The RTX 3070 Ti’s nearest rival is the RTX 5070 Mobile at +0.1%, followed by the RX 6800 at -0.5%, the RTX 2080 Ti at +0.5%, and the RX 6700 at -1.6%. The tight grouping around both cards suggests their respective performance tiers are well established, with no outlier results skewing the averages.

The biggest win for the RTX 3070 Ti is in Vulkan, where its score of 139,541 represents the highest single measurement for either card. The HD 7950’s Metal score of 33,951 is its only data point and, by comparison, modest. There is no benchmark in which the HD 7950 beats the RTX 3070 Ti, because no shared test exists. The data therefore supports only one direction: the RTX 3070 Ti is the stronger performer across all measured dimensions.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29,945 across all its recorded tests. The HD 7950 has an average score of 33,951, but that is based on a single Geekbench Metal result.

Q: How do the two cards compare in percentile rankings?

A: The HD 7950 sits at the 78th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 Ti sits at the 75th percentile. The HD 7950 ranks slightly higher despite being much older.

Q: What is the closest rival to each card?

A: The HD 7950’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 480 with a score of 33,997 and a delta of -0.1%. The RTX 3070 Ti’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile with a score of 29,928 and a delta of +0.1%.

Q: Does the HD 7950 win any benchmark against the RTX 3070 Ti?

A: The database records no shared benchmark tests between the two cards. The HD 7950 has only a Geekbench Metal score, while the RTX 3070 Ti has results in OpenCL, Vulkan, and multiple Passmark tests. No direct head-to-head win is recorded for either card.

Q: What is the RTX 3070 Ti’s best single benchmark result?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti’s highest score is 139,541 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its next highest is 119,718 in Geekbench OpenCL.

Q: How does the HD 7950 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The HD 7950 is within 0.6% of all four nearest rivals. It is 0.1% behind the RX 480, 0.3% ahead of the RX 7700S, 0.5% behind the RX 560 XT, and 0.6% behind the RTX A2000 12 GB.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural eras. The HD 7950 uses the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, part of the Southern Islands generation (HD 7900 series). It is manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². The RTX 3070 Ti uses the GA104 chip based on Ampere architecture, part of the GeForce 30 series. It is manufactured on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The RTX 3070 Ti packs over four times the transistors into a slightly larger die.

The shading resources differ enormously. The HD 7950 has 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 3070 Ti has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also includes 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, neither of which exists on the AMD card. These features enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based workloads, which the HD 7950 cannot perform. The pixel rate for the RTX 3070 Ti is 169.9 GPixel/s versus 25.60 GPixel/s for the HD 7950, and the texture rate is 339.8 GTexel/s versus 89.60 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 21.75 TFLOPS for the RTX 3070 Ti versus 2.867 TFLOPS for the HD 7950, a roughly 7.6-fold difference.

API support also differs. The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 3070 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer card’s DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set includes ray tracing and mesh shaders, which the older card lacks. The memory subsystem is also generations apart: the HD 7950 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 3070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus with 608.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Specification Differences

The recorded specifications show clear differences in nearly every relevant field. The HD 7950 has no base or boost clock listed, while the RTX 3070 Ti has a base clock of 1575 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. Memory clocks differ: the HD 7950 runs at 1250 MHz with 5 Gbps effective, while the RTX 3070 Ti runs at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective. Memory size is 3 GB versus 8 GB, with the newer card using GDDR6X instead of GDDR5. Bus width is narrower on the RTX 3070 Ti at 256-bit versus 384-bit, but bandwidth is far higher at 608.3 GB/s versus 240.0 GB/s.

Power requirements differ substantially. The HD 7950 has a TDP of 200 W with two 6-pin power connectors and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The RTX 3070 Ti has a TDP of 290 W with one 12-pin power connector and a suggested PSU of 600 W. Both are dual-slot cards. Dimensions vary slightly: the HD 7950 is 278 mm long, 111 mm high, and 38 mm wide; the RTX 3070 Ti is 267 mm long and 112 mm high, with no width recorded. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 for the AMD card and PCIe 4.0 x16 for the NVIDIA card. Display outputs differ: the HD 7950 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2; the RTX 3070 Ti has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The HD 7950’s launch MSRP was 449 USD, while the RTX 3070 Ti’s launch MSRP was 599 USD.