AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER and AMD Radeon HD 7970 represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by more than a decade of architectural evolution. The RTX 4070 SUPER, built on TSMC’s 5 nm process with Ada Lovelace architecture, delivers modern features like dedicated ray tracing cores and Tensor cores, while the HD 7970, a 28 nm GCN 1.0 part from the Southern Islands generation, was a flagship in its day. Benchmark data in the database shows a single head-to-head result, with the RTX 4070 SUPER winning decisively, but the two cards occupy vastly different performance tiers and feature sets. This analysis breaks down where each card wins, the architectural gaps, and what the recorded numbers actually mean for users.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 SUPER wins the only shared benchmark in the database, the Geekbench OpenCL test. Its score of 172,795 dwarfs the HD 7970’s 34,541, a difference of 400.3%. This is not a close contest; the modern card is roughly five times faster in raw compute-oriented workloads. The RTX 4070 SUPER also holds a strong position in the broader database, with an average benchmark score of 43,223 and a percentile ranking of 83 among all GPUs. That places it above the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (average score 43,262, a 0.1% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, also 0.1% away), while sitting 1% behind the RTX 4090 Mobile at 43,667. These are tight margins, indicating the RTX 4070 SUPER is a consistent mid-to-high performer across multiple test suites.

The HD 7970, by contrast, has a single recorded benchmark in the database, the same Geekbench OpenCL test, and its average score is 34,541. Its percentile ranking is 79, which is surprisingly close to the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 83, but this is likely due to the limited benchmark data available for the older card. The HD 7970’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (average score 34,561, a 0.1% difference), the NVIDIA A2 (34,690, 0.4% ahead), and the NVIDIA TITAN V (34,355, 0.5% behind). These are all modern or recent professional cards, which suggests the HD 7970 still holds up in some compute scenarios, but the gap to the RTX 4070 SUPER is massive. The HD 7970 wins no shared benchmarks, and its strengths, if any, lie outside the recorded tests.

For use-case splits, the RTX 4070 SUPER is the clear choice for any workload leveraging OpenCL compute, modern APIs, or ray tracing. The HD 7970, with its older GCN architecture and lack of dedicated ray tracing or Tensor hardware, would struggle in contemporary games that rely on DirectX 12 Ultimate features. The HD 7970 does support DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, so it can run some modern titles, but the performance ceiling is far lower. In legacy DirectX 9 or 10 workloads, the HD 7970 might still be functional, but the RTX 4070 SUPER’s Passmark scores (DirectX 9: 344, DirectX 10: 167, DirectX 11: 273, DirectX 12: 110) show it handles older APIs without issue. The HD 7970’s only advantage is historical relevance, not practical performance.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is enormous. The RTX 4070 SUPER uses the AD104 chip on TSMC’s 5 nm process, packing 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, which yields a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The HD 7970 uses Tahiti on a 28 nm process, with only 4,313 million transistors on a larger 352 mm² die, giving a density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. That is a tenfold difference in density, explaining why the RTX 4070 SUPER can fit far more compute units into a smaller physical area.

In terms of core configuration, the RTX 4070 SUPER has 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. It also includes 56 ray tracing cores and 224 Tensor cores, which are absent from the HD 7970. The HD 7970 offers 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s pixel rate is 198.0 GPixel/s versus 29.60 GPixel/s for the HD 7970, and its texture rate is 554.4 GTexel/s versus 118.4 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 35.48 TFLOPS for the RTX 4070 SUPER, while the HD 7970 manages 3.789 TFLOPS. These are not incremental differences; they represent a generational leap in every compute metric.

Memory subsystems also differ sharply. The RTX 4070 SUPER uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7970 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, which sounds wider but yields only 264.0 GB/s due to older memory technology. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s memory clock is 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective), while the HD 7970 runs at 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). Despite the narrower bus, the modern card has nearly double the bandwidth. Both cards are dual-slot designs, but the RTX 4070 SUPER uses a single 16-pin power connector and has a 220 W TDP, while the HD 7970 requires a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector and draws 250 W. The suggested PSU for the RTX 4070 SUPER is 550 W, versus 600 W for the HD 7970, despite the older card being slower and less efficient.

API support is another differentiator. The RTX 4070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 7970 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The newer card also features display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the HD 7970 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX 4070 SUPER uses PCIe 4.0 x16, whereas the HD 7970 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. These differences matter for modern system integration and high-refresh-rate displays.

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in compute workloads?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER dominates the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 172,795 versus 34,541 for the HD 7970, a 400.3% advantage. The RTX 4070 SUPER also has far higher FP32 compute at 35.48 TFLOPS compared to 3.789 TFLOPS.

Q: Does the HD 7970 support modern APIs like Vulkan?

A: Yes, the HD 7970 supports Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (11_1), but the RTX 4070 SUPER goes further with DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, which enable features like ray tracing and mesh shaders that the older card cannot handle.

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER offers 504.2 GB/s from 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus. The HD 7970 has 264.0 GB/s from 3 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 384-bit bus. Despite the narrower bus, the newer memory technology gives the RTX 4070 SUPER nearly double the bandwidth.

Q: Is the HD 7970 still competitive in any benchmark?

A: In the database, the HD 7970 has only one recorded score, Geekbench OpenCL at 34,541, which places it near the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB and NVIDIA A2. It wins no shared benchmarks against the RTX 4070 SUPER.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has a 220 W TDP and requires a single 16-pin power connector, with a suggested PSU of 550 W. The HD 7970 has a 250 W TDP, uses a 6-pin plus an 8-pin connector, and needs a 600 W PSU.

Q: Which card has better ray tracing performance?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER includes 56 dedicated ray tracing cores, which the HD 7970 lacks entirely. This is a fundamental architectural advantage for real-time ray tracing in modern games.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every specification line. The RTX 4070 SUPER is built on a 5 nm process, while the HD 7970 uses 28 nm. Transistor count is 35,800 million versus 4,313 million, and die size is 294 mm² versus 352 mm². The RTX 4070 SUPER has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz; the HD 7970 has no recorded base or boost clocks. Memory configuration is 12 GB GDDR6X versus 3 GB GDDR5, with bus widths of 192 bit versus 384 bit. Bandwidth is 504.2 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s. Shading units are 7,168 versus 2,048, TMUs are 224 versus 128, and ROPs are 80 versus 32. The RTX 4070 SUPER adds 56 RT cores and 224 Tensor cores, which are absent on the HD 7970. Pixel rate is 198.0 GPixel/s versus 29.60 GPixel/s, texture rate is 554.4 GTexel/s versus 118.4 GTexel/s, and FP32 is 35.48 TFLOPS versus 3.789 TFLOPS. TDP is 220 W versus 250 W, power connectors are 1x 16-pin versus 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin, and suggested PSU is 550 W versus 600 W. Bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the RTX 4070 SUPER has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the HD 7970 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. API support is DirectX 12 Ultimate versus DirectX 12 (11_1), and Vulkan 1.4 versus 1.2.170. Dimensions are 267 mm length, 112 mm height, 42 mm width for the RTX 4070 SUPER, versus 275 mm length, 111 mm height, 38 mm width for the HD 7970. Release dates are 2024-01-16 versus 2012-01-08.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only one head-to-head benchmark between these two cards, which is Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX 4070 SUPER scores 172,795, and the HD 7970 scores 34,541. The winner is the RTX 4070 SUPER with a delta of 400.3%. This is the largest single-test margin in the comparison, and it reflects the architectural gulf between a 2024 GPU and a 2012 flagship. To put that score in context, the RTX 4070 SUPER’s nearest rivals in the database, the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and the RTX 5050 Mobile, sit within 0.1% of its average score of 43,223. The HD 7970’s nearest rivals, the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB and the NVIDIA A2, are within 0.4% of its 34,541 average. So while the HD 7970 is still comparable to some modern entry-level cards, it is nowhere near the RTX 4070 SUPER’s performance tier.

The RTX 4070 SUPER also shows strength in other benchmark categories, even without direct comparisons. Its Passmark G3D score is 29,995, and its Passmark GPU compute score is 17,108. It scores 344 in Passmark DirectX 9, 167 in DirectX 10, 273 in DirectX 11, and 110 in DirectX 12. These numbers are not comparable to the HD 7970 because that card lacks such entries, but they indicate the RTX 4070 SUPER handles both legacy and modern workloads with ease. The HD 7970’s single score is its only recorded data point, so any broader performance analysis is limited. However, the 400.3% delta in the shared test is conclusive: the RTX 4070 SUPER is the superior card by a wide margin. The HD 7970’s historical significance is clear, but in practical terms, the RTX 4070 SUPER is the only viable choice for modern compute or gaming.