AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the AMD Radeon HD 7970 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in the database's compute benchmark?

A: The only head-to-head benchmark recorded is Geekbench OpenCL. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER scores 199,267, which is 82.7% higher than the HD 7970's 34,541. The database records one win for the NVIDIA card and zero for the AMD card.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score across all recorded tests?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has an average benchmark score of 31,087, while the HD 7970 has an average of 34,541. However, note that the HD 7970 has only one recorded benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL), whereas the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has ten recorded tests across multiple suites.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of each GPU in the database?

A: The HD 7970 sits at the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER sits at the 76th percentile. Despite the RTX card's much higher raw scores, the percentile reflects relative standing among all recorded GPUs, and the older AMD card ranks slightly higher in this metric.

Q: Which GPUs are the closest rivals to the HD 7970 in the database?

A: The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB (average score 34,561, 0.1% ahead), NVIDIA A2 (34,690, 0.4% ahead), NVIDIA TITAN V (34,355, 0.5% behind), and NVIDIA RTX A1000 (34,207, 1% behind). The HD 7970's score is within a 1% band of these cards.

Q: What are the closest competitors to the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in the database?

A: The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (average score 31,206, 0.4% ahead), NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q (31,220, 0.4% ahead), NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (31,532, 1.4% ahead), and NVIDIA TITAN RTX (31,676, 1.9% ahead). The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER trails each of these by less than 2%.

Q: What are the launch MSRP values for these two cards?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970 had a launch MSRP of 549 USD. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER had a launch MSRP of 799 USD.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different eras of graphics architecture. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 uses the Tahiti chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, part of the Southern Islands generation (HD 7900). It is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER uses the AD103 chip built on Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 generation, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC.

The transistor counts reflect the generational gap. The HD 7970 packs 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER packs 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, yielding a density of 121.1 million per mm². That is nearly a 10x increase in density, enabled by the much smaller process node.

Memory architecture differs substantially. The HD 7970 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, providing 264.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER uses 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, delivering 672.3 GB/s. The newer card has over 5x more memory capacity and 2.5x the bandwidth, despite a narrower bus.

Shader resources show the scale of advancement. The HD 7970 has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has 8,448 shading units, 264 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The NVIDIA card also adds 66 ray tracing cores and 264 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the AMD card. Pixel rate jumps from 29.60 GPixel/s to 250.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 118.4 GTexel/s to 689.0 GTexel/s. FP32 compute rises from 3.789 TFLOPS to 44.10 TFLOPS, with the RTX card also capable of FP16 at 44.10 TFLOPS (1:1).

API support differs as well. The HD 7970 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The newer card's DirectX 12 Ultimate designation reflects modern feature support including ray tracing.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head comparison: Geekbench OpenCL. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 scores 34,541, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER scores 199,267. The delta is 82.7% in favor of the NVIDIA card. This is not a close contest; the RTX card outperforms the HD 7970 by a factor of roughly 5.8x in raw OpenCL compute throughput.

The HD 7970's score of 34,541 places it in a tight cluster with modern entry-level and midrange professional cards. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB, scores 34,561, a difference of only 0.1%. The NVIDIA A2 scores 34,690, 0.4% ahead. The NVIDIA TITAN V scores 34,355, 0.5% behind, and the NVIDIA RTX A1000 scores 34,207, 1% behind. The HD 7970 is effectively on par with these cards in OpenCL, which is remarkable for a 2012 GPU.

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's average benchmark score of 31,087 is misleading when compared to its OpenCL result, because the average includes several lower-scoring tests. Its PassMark scores show a spread: DirectX 9 at 360, DirectX 10 at 181, DirectX 11 at 278, DirectX 12 at 119, G2D at 1,225, G3D at 31,811, and GPU compute at 18,372. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5,569, and Geekbench Vulkan is 53,683. The OpenCL score of 199,267 is by far the highest single result.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, based on average score, are all within 2%: the Quadro M5000 at 31,206 (0.4% ahead), GRID M60-1Q at 31,220 (0.4% ahead), RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell at 31,532 (1.4% ahead), and TITAN RTX at 31,676 (1.9% ahead). This indicates that while the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is a strong performer, its average score places it in a competitive field.

The Verdict

The data makes the outcome clear. In the only direct comparison available, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER dominates the AMD Radeon HD 7970 by 82.7% in OpenCL compute. The RTX card offers 16 GB of GDDR6X memory versus 3 GB of GDDR5, a 256-bit bus versus 384-bit, and over 4x the shading units. It also brings ray tracing and tensor cores that the HD 7970 simply does not have.

The HD 7970 is a relic of a different era. Its single benchmark score places it on par with modern entry-level professional cards like the NVIDIA T1000 8 GB and A2, which confirms its original design. But against the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, there is no contest in raw compute.

For a builder choosing between these two today, the decision hinges on use case. The HD 7970 might be interesting for retro builds or legacy software compatibility, particularly given its DirectX 12 (11_1) support and 3 GB of VRAM. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the clear choice for any modern workload, from gaming to compute, with its DirectX 12 Ultimate support, Vulkan 1.4, and massive memory bandwidth.

The launch MSRP difference is notable: 549 USD for the HD 7970 versus 799 USD for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. But given the performance differential, the newer card justifies its higher launch price on a capability-per-dollar basis, though the database does not track current market pricing.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. Process node: 28 nm for the HD 7970 versus 5 nm for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. Transistors: 4,313 million versus 45,900 million. Die size: 352 mm² versus 379 mm². Transistor density: 12.3M per mm² versus 121.1M per mm².

Memory: 3 GB GDDR5 versus 16 GB GDDR6X. Bus width: 384-bit versus 256-bit. Bandwidth: 264.0 GB/s versus 672.3 GB/s. Memory clock: 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) versus 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective).

Compute resources: 2,048 shading units versus 8,448. TMUs: 128 versus 264. ROPs: 32 versus 96. RT cores: none versus 66. Tensor cores: none versus 264. Pixel rate: 29.60 GPixel/s versus 250.6 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 118.4 GTexel/s versus 689.0 GTexel/s. FP32: 3.789 TFLOPS versus 44.10 TFLOPS. FP16: not available versus 44.10 TFLOPS.

Clocks: the HD 7970 has no base or boost clock listed, only memory clock. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has a base clock of 2340 MHz and boost of 2610 MHz. TDP: 250 W versus 285 W. Slot width: dual-slot versus triple-slot. Power connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin versus 1x 16-pin. Suggested PSU: 600 W for both.

Bus interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 versus 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Dimensions: 275 mm length, 111 mm height, 38 mm width versus 310 mm, 140 mm, 61 mm. DirectX: 12 (11_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2). Vulkan: 1.2.170 versus 1.4. Release dates: January 2012 versus January 2024.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER wins in every recorded category. OpenCL compute, DirectX 12, DirectX 11, Vulkan, and all PassMark tests show the NVIDIA card ahead. Its memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s versus 264.0 GB/s makes it superior for high-resolution textures and large datasets. The 16 GB frame buffer versus 3 GB means modern games and professional workloads with large working sets will not run out of memory. Ray tracing and tensor cores open entire feature sets that the HD 7970 cannot access.

The HD 7970 wins in a few narrow respects. It is physically smaller at 275 mm versus 310 mm, which could matter in compact cases. It uses a dual-slot cooler versus triple-slot, again aiding compatibility. It draws less power at 250 W versus 285 W. Its 384-bit bus, while paired with slower memory, gives it a wider memory path. And its pixel rate of 29.60 GPixel/s, while far lower than the RTX card's 250.6 GPixel/s, was respectable for its time.

The HD 7970 also holds a slight percentile advantage at 79 versus 76, meaning it ranks higher relative to its contemporaries than the RTX card does. This is a measure of historical performance, not absolute capability.

For a modern builder, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the only sensible choice for gaming, 3D rendering, or GPU compute. The HD 7970 might appeal to collectors or those building period-correct systems from the early 2010s. Its OpenCL score on par with modern entry-level cards shows it has aged gracefully, but it cannot compete with a current-generation flagship-tier GPU. The data speaks clearly: one card is a museum piece, the other is a working tool.