AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs NVIDIA Quadro GV100 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a single direct comparison between the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 and the AMD Radeon HD 7970, and the result is emphatic. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the Quadro GV100 scores 144,393, while the Radeon HD 7970 scores 34,541. This gives the Quadro GV100 a 318% advantage — a lead that is not merely incremental but transformative, indicating a fundamentally different performance class between the two cards.

To contextualize that 318% delta, look at the average benchmark scores for each card. The Quadro GV100 holds an average benchmark score of 34,677, while the Radeon HD 7970 sits at 34,541. The difference between these averages is just 0.4% in favor of the Quadro GV100. This is the crucial tension in the data: in the one head-to-head test available, the Quadro GV100 is vastly superior, yet their overall average scores are nearly identical. This occurs because the Radeon HD 7970's average is derived solely from that single Geekbench OpenCL score of 34,541, while the Quadro GV100's average pulls from a wider benchmark suite, including lower DirectX results.

The Quadro GV100's other benchmark results tell a more varied story. It scores 137,547 in Geekbench Vulkan, 19,650 in Passmark G3D, and 9,069 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its Passmark DirectX scores are notably lower: 207 in DirectX 9, 168 in DirectX 11, 140 in DirectX 10, and 84 in DirectX 12. The card also posts a Passmark G2D score of 836. These figures show that while the Quadro GV100 is a compute powerhouse, its legacy DirectX performance is less impressive relative to its compute throughput — a pattern consistent with a professional workstation focus rather than gaming optimization.

The nearest rivals data for each card reinforces the closeness of their average scores. The Quadro GV100's closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 9070, with an average score of 34,780 and a delta of -0.3% (meaning the RX 9070 is 0.3% ahead). The Radeon HD 7970's closest rival is the AMD Radeon PRO W6400, with an average score of 34,511 and a delta of 0.1% (the HD 7970 is 0.1% ahead). Both cards sit in the 78th percentile of all GPUs, placing them in the same overall tier by this metric, despite the massive gap in raw compute capability demonstrated by the OpenCL head-to-head.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 has an average benchmark score of 34,677, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 has an average of 34,541. The Quadro GV100 is ahead by 0.4%.

Q: How much faster is the Quadro GV100 in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The Quadro GV100 scores 144,393 compared to the Radeon HD 7970's 34,541, a 318% advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: Do both cards occupy the same performance percentile?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 are in the 78th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the closest rival to the Radeon HD 7970 by average score?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is the closest, with an average score of 34,511, placing it 0.1% behind the HD 7970's 34,541.

Q: Does the Quadro GV100 have more shading units than the HD 7970?

A: Yes, the Quadro GV100 has 5,120 shading units, while the Radeon HD 7970 has 2,048 shading units.

Q: Which card has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The Quadro GV100 has a memory bandwidth of 868.4 GB/s, whereas the Radeon HD 7970 has 264.0 GB/s.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent drastically different eras of GPU design. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 is built on the Volta architecture, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 21,100 million transistors onto a die size of 815 mm², yielding a transistor density of 25.9 million per mm². The AMD Radeon HD 7970 uses the GCN 1.0 architecture, also fabricated at TSMC but on a 28 nm process. It contains 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, for a transistor density of 12.3 million per mm². This means the Quadro GV100 has nearly five times the transistor count, more than double the die area, and over twice the transistor density of the HD 7970.

The memory subsystems are fundamentally different. The Quadro GV100 uses 32 GB of HBM2 memory on a 4096-bit bus, delivering 868.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon HD 7970 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, offering 264.0 GB/s. The Quadro GV100 also features 640 tensor cores, which the HD 7970 lacks entirely. The HD 7970 has no tensor cores and no listed fp16 support, while the Quadro GV100 delivers 33.32 TFLOPS of fp16 performance (at a 2:1 ratio relative to fp32).

Compute throughput diverges sharply. The Quadro GV100's fp32 performance is 16.66 TFLOPS, compared to 3.789 TFLOPS for the HD 7970. Pixel rate and texture rate follow suit: the Quadro GV100 achieves 208.3 GPixel/s and 520.6 GTexel/s, while the HD 7970 manages 29.60 GPixel/s and 118.4 GTexel/s. Both cards support DirectX 12, but the Quadro GV100 supports version 12 (12_1) while the HD 7970 supports 12 (11_1). OpenGL support is identical at 4.6, but Vulkan support differs: the Quadro GV100 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7970 supports 1.2.170.

The release dates place these cards six years apart, with the HD 7970 launching on 2012-01-08 and the Quadro GV100 on 2018-03-26. Both are now end-of-life products, but they come from different lineage: the Quadro GV100's predecessor is Quadro Pascal and its successor is Quadro Turing, while the HD 7970's predecessor is Northern Islands and its successor is Sea Islands.

Specification Differences

The physical and power specifications differ in several ways. Both cards are dual-slot and have a TDP of 250 W, with a suggested PSU of 600 W. However, the power connectors differ: the Quadro GV100 uses a single 8-pin connector, while the HD 7970 requires one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. The Quadro GV100 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long and 111 mm (4.4 inches) high. The HD 7970 is 275 mm (10.8 inches) long, 111 mm (4.4 inches) high, and 38 mm (1.5 inches) wide; the Quadro GV100's width is not listed.

Display outputs are another point of difference. The Quadro GV100 offers four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the HD 7970 has one DVI, one HDMI 1.4a, and two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs. The bus interface is the same for both — PCIe 3.0 x16. Clock speeds differ substantially: the Quadro GV100 has a base clock of 1132 MHz and a boost clock of 1627 MHz, while the HD 7970's base and boost clocks are not listed. The memory clock also differs, with the Quadro GV100 running at 848 MHz (1696 Mbps effective) and the HD 7970 at 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective).

The launch MSRP for the Quadro GV100 is 8,999 USD, while the HD 7970 launched at 549 USD. The memory configuration is starkly different: 32 GB of HBM2 versus 3 GB of GDDR5. The Quadro GV100 has 320 texture mapping units and 128 ROPs, while the HD 7970 has 128 TMUs and 32 ROPs. The Quadro GV100's shading unit count is 5,120 versus 2,048 for the HD 7970.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear but nuanced conclusion. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 is overwhelmingly faster in the only head-to-head benchmark available, delivering a 318% higher Geekbench OpenCL score. Its compute capabilities — 16.66 TFLOPS fp32, 33.32 TFLOPS fp16, 640 tensor cores, and 868.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth — place it in a different league from the HD 7970's 3.789 TFLOPS and 264.0 GB/s. For any workload that leverages OpenCL compute, the choice is unambiguous: the Quadro GV100 is the superior hardware.

However, the average benchmark scores tell a more balanced story. The Quadro GV100's average of 34,677 is only 0.4% higher than the HD 7970's 34,541, and both sit at the 78th percentile of all GPUs. This suggests that in broader, mixed workloads — particularly those involving legacy DirectX titles — the HD 7970 is not as far behind as the OpenCL result implies. The HD 7970's single benchmark score of 34,541 in Geekbench OpenCL is itself the basis for its average, meaning it has no other measured data points to drag that number down. The Quadro GV100, by contrast, has lower DirectX scores (ranging from 84 to 207 in Passmark) that pull its average toward parity.

The verdict depends on workload. For compute-heavy professional tasks, the Quadro GV100 is the definitive choice, with its 32 GB of HBM2 memory and tensor cores providing capabilities the HD 7970 cannot match. For users prioritizing legacy DirectX performance or working within the HD 7970's 3 GB memory footprint, the older card holds its own in the average score metric. The Quadro GV100's 8,999 USD launch MSRP versus the HD 7970's 549 USD launch MSRP reflects the massive performance and feature gap, but the average benchmark parity indicates that the HD 7970 still occupies a viable niche for certain workloads.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 wins decisively in compute-oriented scenarios. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 144,393 versus 34,541 is the single largest margin in the data, making it the clear pick for OpenCL-accelerated applications. The card's 32 GB of HBM2 memory with 868.4 GB/s bandwidth supports large datasets and memory-intensive compute tasks. The presence of 640 tensor cores and fp16 performance of 33.32 TFLOPS indicates a design aimed at AI and deep learning workloads, where the HD 7970 has no corresponding feature. The Quadro GV100's higher pixel rate (208.3 GPixel/s) and texture rate (520.6 GTexel/s) also give it an edge in rendering tasks that rely on these throughput metrics.

The AMD Radeon HD 7970 wins in the context of its average benchmark score parity. Its average of 34,541 is within 0.4% of the Quadro GV100's 34,677, meaning that in a mixed benchmark suite, the HD 7970 is not embarrassed. Its Passmark DirectX performance is not directly measured, but the Quadro GV100's low DirectX scores (84 in DirectX 12, 140 in DirectX 10, 168 in DirectX 11, 207 in DirectX 9) suggest that the HD 7970 could match or exceed the Quadro GV100 in those specific legacy tests, given that the Quadro GV100's average is dragged down by them. The HD 7970's smaller 3 GB memory footprint and lower 250 W TDP with a 6-pin plus 8-pin connector setup may be more compatible with older systems, and its 275 mm length is only slightly longer than the Quadro GV100's 267 mm.

For users with workloads that stress compute throughput, memory bandwidth, or tensor operations, the Quadro GV100 is the only rational choice. For users with older software stacks that rely on DirectX 9 through 12, or those who need to balance performance against the constraints of a 2012-era platform, the HD 7970 remains a defensible option based on the average score data. The 78th percentile ranking for both cards confirms that neither is a top-tier performer by modern standards, but the Quadro GV100's compute headroom and memory capacity make it the more future-proof investment for professional workloads, despite its end-of-life status.