GPU Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the AMD Radeon HD 7970 and NVIDIA RTX A1000 compare in overall benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970 has an average benchmark score of 34,541, while the NVIDIA RTX A1000 scores 34,207. The RTX A1000 trails by a marginal 1% deltaPct, making them statistically equivalent in aggregate performance.

Q: Which GPU wins the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A1000 wins decisively, scoring 52,078 versus the HD 7970’s 34,541. This represents a 33.7% advantage for the RTX A1000 in that specific workload.

Q: What is the process node and transistor density difference?

A: The HD 7970 uses a 28 nm TSMC process with 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die, yielding 12.3M transistors per mm². The RTX A1000 uses an 8 nm Samsung process with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding 43.5M per mm².

Q: How do memory configurations differ?

A: The HD 7970 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 264.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A1000 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The HD 7970 offers higher bandwidth, but the RTX A1000 has more capacity.

Q: What are the TDP and power connector requirements?

A: The HD 7970 has a 250 W TDP and requires 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin power connectors, with a suggested 600 W PSU. The RTX A1000 has a 50 W TDP, needs no power connectors, and suggests a 250 W PSU.

Q: Which GPU supports newer graphics APIs?

A: The RTX A1000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7970 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split between legacy raster performance and modern compute efficiency. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 and NVIDIA RTX A1000 land in the same aggregate percentile (79th among all GPUs), with the HD 7970’s 34,541 average score edging out the RTX A1000’s 34,207 by just 1% deltaPct. However, this near-tie in average score masks a dramatic divergence in the only head-to-head test available.

For users prioritizing raw OpenCL compute throughput, the RTX A1000 is the definitive choice. Its 52,078 Geekbench OpenCL score is 33.7% higher than the HD 7970’s 34,541. This gap is substantial and reflects the RTX A1000’s modern Ampere architecture, which delivers 6.737 TFLOPS FP32 and 6.737 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1), nearly double the HD 7970’s 3.789 TFLOPS FP32.

For users constrained by power or physical space, the RTX A1000 is equally compelling. Its 50 W TDP is one-fifth the HD 7970’s 250 W, it requires no external power connectors, and it fits in a single slot at 163 mm length versus the HD 7970’s dual-slot, 275 mm footprint. The RTX A1000 also offers 8 GB VRAM versus 3 GB, plus 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores, features entirely absent from the HD 7970.

The HD 7970’s strengths are narrower but real. Its 264.0 GB/s memory bandwidth exceeds the RTX A1000’s 192.0 GB/s, and its 384-bit bus versus 128-bit suggests better performance in bandwidth-bound legacy workloads. The 1% aggregate score advantage is within noise, but the HD 7970 remains competitive in raw average scores despite being end-of-life since its 2012 release.

Verdict: Choose the RTX A1000 for modern compute, efficiency, and API support. Choose the HD 7970 only if you specifically need higher memory bandwidth on legacy software and can tolerate 250 W power draw.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs spans a decade of design philosophy. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 uses the GCN 1.0 architecture on the Tahiti chip, part of the Southern Islands generation (HD 7900). It is built on TSMC’s 28 nm process with 4,313 million transistors across a 352 mm² die. The transistor density is 12.3M per mm².

The NVIDIA RTX A1000 uses the Ampere architecture on the GA107 chip, part of the Workstation Ampere (Ax000) generation. It is built on Samsung’s 8 nm process with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, achieving 43.5M transistors per mm², a 3.5x density improvement.

Core counts differ significantly. The HD 7970 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX A1000 has 2,304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX A1000 adds 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores; the HD 7970 has none.

Feature support diverges sharply. The RTX A1000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7970 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Memory architecture is another differentiator. The HD 7970 uses 3 GB GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus. The RTX A1000 uses 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus. The HD 7970’s memory clock is 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective), while the RTX A1000 runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

Power delivery reflects the generational shift. The HD 7970 pulls 250 W TDP with dual-slot cooling and 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors. The RTX A1000 draws 50 W TDP, uses single-slot cooling, and requires no power connectors. The suggested PSU drops from 600 W to 250 W.

Bus interface and display outputs also differ. The HD 7970 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 with 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX A1000 uses PCIe 4.0 x8 with 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is not close. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 scores 52,078, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 scores 34,541. The deltaPct is -33.7% from the HD 7970’s perspective, meaning the RTX A1000 outperforms by over a third.

This 33.7% margin in OpenCL is consistent with the compute specifications. The RTX A1000 delivers 6.737 TFLOPS FP32, which is 77.8% higher than the HD 7970’s 3.789 TFLOPS. The RTX A1000 also matches its FP32 throughput in FP16 at 6.737 TFLOPS (1:1), a capability the HD 7970 lacks entirely.

The RTX A1000’s pixel rate of 46.78 GPixel/s is 58% higher than the HD 7970’s 29.60 GPixel/s, despite the HD 7970 having the same 32 ROPs. This reflects the RTX A1000’s higher boost clock of 1462 MHz versus the HD 7970’s unspecified base/boost clocks.

The texture rate tells a different story. The HD 7970 achieves 118.4 GTexel/s with its 128 TMUs, while the RTX A1000 manages 105.3 GTexel/s with 72 TMUs. The HD 7970 leads by 12.4% in texture throughput, which could benefit older games and applications that rely heavily on texture sampling.

Memory bandwidth also favors the HD 7970. Its 264.0 GB/s is 37.5% higher than the RTX A1000’s 192.0 GB/s. In bandwidth-bound scenarios, such as high-resolution textures or certain compute kernels, the HD 7970’s wider 384-bit bus may compensate for its older architecture.

The RTX A1000 has additional benchmark data: 969 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 49,574 in Geekbench Vulkan. These scores are not directly comparable to the HD 7970, which has no equivalent test results in the data. The Vulkan score of 49,574 is close to its OpenCL score, suggesting consistent performance across APIs.

Overall, the head-to-head record is 1 win for the RTX A1000 and 0 for the HD 7970. The aggregate average scores are nearly identical (34,541 vs 34,207, a 1% deltaPct), but the single comparable workload shows a decisive modern advantage.

Specification Differences

The following specifications differ between the AMD Radeon HD 7970 and NVIDIA RTX A1000:

• Chip: Tahiti (AMD) vs GA107 (NVIDIA)
• Architecture: GCN 1.0 vs Ampere
• Generation: Southern Islands (HD 7900) vs Workstation Ampere (Ax000)
• Process node: 28 nm TSMC vs 8 nm Samsung
• Transistors: 4,313 million vs 8,700 million
• Die size: 352 mm² vs 200 mm²
• Transistor density: 12.3M / mm² vs 43.5M / mm²
• Base clock: Not specified vs 727 MHz
• Boost clock: Not specified vs 1462 MHz
• Memory clock: 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective) vs 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective)
• Memory size: 3 GB vs 8 GB
• Memory type: GDDR5 vs GDDR6
• Memory bus width: 384 bit vs 128 bit
• Memory bandwidth: 264.0 GB/s vs 192.0 GB/s
• Shading units: 2048 vs 2304
• TMUs: 128 vs 72
• RT cores: None vs 18
• Tensor cores: None vs 72
• Pixel rate: 29.60 GPixel/s vs 46.78 GPixel/s
• Texture rate: 118.4 GTexel/s vs 105.3 GTexel/s
• FP32: 3.789 TFLOPS vs 6.737 TFLOPS
• FP16: Not specified vs 6.737 TFLOPS (1:1)
• TDP: 250 W vs 50 W
• Slot width: Dual-slot vs Single-slot
• Power connectors: 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin vs None
• Suggested PSU: 600 W vs 250 W
• Bus interface: PCIe 3.0 x16 vs PCIe 4.0 x8
• Display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 vs 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a
• DirectX support: 12 (11_1) vs 12 Ultimate (12_2)
• Vulkan support: 1.2.170 vs 1.4
• Dimensions (length): 275 mm (10.8 inches) vs 163 mm (6.4 inches)
• Dimensions (height): 111 mm (4.4 inches) vs 69 mm (2.7 inches)
• Dimensions (width): 38 mm (1.5 inches) vs Not specified
• Production status: End-of-life vs Active
• Release date: 2012-01-08 vs 2024-04-15
• Predecessor: Northern Islands vs Quadro Turing
• Successor: Sea Islands vs Workstation Ada
• Launch MSRP: 549 USD (HD 7970 only; RTX A1000 has no listed launch MSRP)