AMD Radeon HD 7950 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark database contains a single recorded score for the AMD Radeon HD 7950, a Geekbench Metal result of 33951. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, by contrast, has a rich set of ten recorded benchmark results across DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan workloads. A direct head-to-head comparison is therefore limited, but the aggregate data reveals an enormous performance gulf.

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 43223 dwarfs the HD 7950’s 33951 average. That represents a 27.3% advantage for the NVIDIA card in overall recorded performance, a margin that becomes far starker when considering the specific workloads each card was tested under.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 SUPER records 172795 points. The HD 7950 has no OpenCL test in the database, but its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 480, scores 33997. That rival is itself just 0.1% ahead of the HD 7950 in overall average score, meaning the HD 7950 sits in a performance class roughly 40,000 points below the RTX 4070 SUPER’s OpenCL output. The gap is more than fourfold.

The RTX 4070 SUPER also posts a Geekbench Vulkan score of 205624. The HD 7950’s nearest rivals, including the RX 480 at 33997, all cluster within 1% of the HD 7950’s average. The Vulkan result for the RTX 4070 SUPER is over six times higher than that entire rival cluster. Even the RTX 4070 SUPER’s weakest recorded result, a Passmark DirectX 12 score of 110, reflects a modern API workload that the HD 7950 cannot meaningfully contest, as its DirectX 12 support is limited to the 11_1 feature level.

In Passmark 3D graphics, the RTX 4070 SUPER scores 29995. The HD 7950’s entire recorded performance, as captured by its single Geekbench Metal score, is 33951. That means the RTX 4070 SUPER’s dedicated 3D graphics benchmark nearly matches the HD 7950’s total compute result from a different test suite. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s Passmark GPU compute score of 17108 is roughly half of the HD 7950’s Metal score, but the RTX 4070 SUPER achieves that in a compute-specific test while also delivering the far higher 3D graphics result.

The percentile data reinforces the separation. The RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the HD 7950 sits in the 78th. Though both are above the median, the RTX 4070 SUPER’s nearest rivals include the Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, just 0.1% behind), the RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, 0.1% behind), the Quadro M6000 (43301, 0.2% behind), and the RTX 4090 Mobile (43667, 1% ahead). Every one of those rivals scores above 43000. The HD 7950’s nearest rivals, by contrast, all score below 34200, with the RX 480 at 33997, the RX 7700S at 33849, the RX 560 XT at 34133, and the RTX A2000 12 GB at 34154.

The database records zero head-to-head benchmark entries where both cards were tested in the same workload, and zero wins for either card in a paired comparison. The available data nevertheless shows a clear hierarchy: the RTX 4070 SUPER outperforms the HD 7950 by roughly 27% in average benchmark score, with individual test deltas that range from fourfold to sixfold in compute and graphics workloads.

The Verdict

The data points to an unambiguous conclusion for modern GPU workloads. The RTX 4070 SUPER is the superior card by every measured metric in the database. Its 83rd percentile ranking, average score of 43223, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 place it firmly in the upper tier of current-generation hardware. The HD 7950, with its 78th percentile ranking and single recorded Metal score of 33951, belongs to a much older performance class.

Pick the RTX 4070 SUPER if you need contemporary API support, high compute throughput, or competitive 3D rendering performance. Its recorded results show strong DirectX 11 and 12 scores (273 and 110 respectively in Passmark), a substantial OpenCL compute result of 172795, and a Vulkan score of 205624 that places it far above any of its nearest rivals. The card also carries 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which the data shows is adequate for its performance tier.

Pick the HD 7950 only if your workload specifically requires its legacy feature set or if you are constrained to software that relies on its particular API profile. The database records only a Metal benchmark for this card, and its DirectX support stops at 12 (11_1), lacking the full 12_2 feature level that the RTX 4070 SUPER supports. Its Vulkan support is 1.2.170, older than the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 1.4. The HD 7950 does carry a 384-bit memory bus with 3 GB of GDDR5, but the 240.0 GB/s bandwidth is less than half of the RTX 4070 SUPER’s.

For any mixed workload involving OpenCL, Vulkan, or modern DirectX titles, the RTX 4070 SUPER wins decisively. The HD 7950’s sole recorded advantage is its Metal score, a benchmark the RTX 4070 SUPER does not participate in, so the database cannot confirm a cross-card comparison there. In every comparable metric, the RTX 4070 SUPER leads by margins ranging from 27% in aggregate to over 500% in individual compute tests.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from radically different design eras. The RTX 4070 SUPER uses the AD104 chip built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, packing 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die. The HD 7950 uses the Tahiti chip on TSMC’s 28 nm process, with 4,313 million transistors on a larger 352 mm² die. The transistor density tells the story: the RTX 4070 SUPER achieves 121.8 million transistors per square millimeter, while the HD 7950 manages just 12.3 million.

The RTX 4070 SUPER implements the Ada Lovelace architecture with dedicated hardware for ray tracing (56 RT cores) and tensor operations (224 tensor cores). The HD 7950, based on GCN 1.0, has no RT cores and no tensor cores. This is a fundamental functional difference: the NVIDIA card can accelerate ray-traced workloads and AI inference directly in hardware, while the AMD card relies entirely on its shading units for all computation.

Shader resources also differ sharply. The RTX 4070 SUPER carries 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs. The HD 7950 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s pixel rate is 198.0 GPixel/s versus 25.60 GPixel/s for the HD 7950, and its texture rate is 554.4 GTexel/s versus 89.60 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 35.48 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA card versus 2.867 TFLOPS for the AMD card, a 12.4-fold difference.

Memory architecture differs as well. The RTX 4070 SUPER uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, while the HD 7950 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 384-bit bus. The newer memory type and higher clock speed give the RTX 4070 SUPER a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, more than double the HD 7950’s 240.0 GB/s despite the narrower bus.

API support reflects the generational gap. The RTX 4070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (feature level 12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 at the lower 11_1 feature level, Vulkan 1.2.170, and OpenGL 4.6. The RTX 4070 SUPER also offers FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, while the HD 7950 has no recorded FP16 capability.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field in the database.

Process and die: The RTX 4070 SUPER is built on a 5 nm process with a 294 mm² die and 35,800 million transistors. The HD 7950 uses a 28 nm process with a 352 mm² die and 4,313 million transistors.

Memory: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The HD 7950 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 240.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute units: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores. The HD 7950 has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor cores.

Clock speeds: The RTX 4070 SUPER has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The HD 7950 has no base or boost clock recorded. Memory clocks are 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) for the NVIDIA card versus 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the AMD card.

Rates: The RTX 4070 SUPER achieves 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate, 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate, and 35.48 TFLOPS FP32. The HD 7950 achieves 25.60 GPixel/s, 89.60 GTexel/s, and 2.867 TFLOPS FP32.

Power and cooling: Both cards are dual-slot, but the RTX 4070 SUPER has a 220 W TDP with a single 16-pin connector, while the HD 7950 has a 200 W TDP with dual 6-pin connectors. Both list a 550 W suggested PSU.

Bus interface: The RTX 4070 SUPER uses PCIe 4.0 x16; the HD 7950 uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Display outputs: The RTX 4070 SUPER offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The HD 7950 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2.

Dimensions: The RTX 4070 SUPER is 267 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 42 mm wide. The HD 7950 is 278 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 38 mm wide.

Release timeline: The RTX 4070 SUPER launched on 2024-01-16 with a launch MSRP of 599 USD. The HD 7950 launched on 2012-01-30 with a launch MSRP of 449 USD. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4070 SUPER than the HD 7950 in overall benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43223, while the HD 7950 averages 33951. That is a 27.3% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Does the HD 7950 support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7950 has no RT cores listed in the database, while the RTX 4070 SUPER has 56 dedicated ray tracing cores.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 504.2 GB/s bandwidth from 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus. The HD 7950 has 240.0 GB/s from 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: What DirectX feature level does each card support?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2. The HD 7950 supports DirectX 12 at the lower 11_1 feature level.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. The database lists both as end-of-life products. The RTX 4070 SUPER was released on 2024-01-16, and the HD 7950 was released on 2012-01-30.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 7168 shading units. The HD 7950 has 1792 shading units, which is exactly one quarter of the NVIDIA card’s count.