AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs NVIDIA TITAN V Comparison

The NVIDIA TITAN V and AMD Radeon HD 7970 are both end-of-life graphics cards, but they represent vastly different eras of GPU design. The TITAN V, built on Volta architecture, carries a 12 nm process and a 21,100 million transistor count, while the HD 7970 uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm node with 4,313 million transistors. The only direct benchmark comparison available in the data is Geekbench OpenCL, where the TITAN V scores 157265 against the HD 7970's 34541, a 355.3% advantage. This single result sets the tone for the rest of the analysis, though the two cards also differ in nearly every specification that defines their performance envelope.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head dataset contains exactly one test: Geekbench OpenCL. In this compute-oriented workload, the NVIDIA TITAN V delivers 157265 points, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 manages 34541 points. The delta percentage of 355.3% means the TITAN V is more than three and a half times faster in this specific benchmark. This is a decisive win for the TITAN V, and it aligns with the raw compute specifications: the TITAN V's FP32 throughput is 14.90 TFLOPS compared to 3.789 TFLOPS for the HD 7970, and its FP16 capability of 29.80 TFLOPS is entirely absent on the older card.

Beyond this single comparison, the TITAN V has a broader benchmark profile in the data. Its other scores include 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 3565, Passmark G3D at 19805, and Passmark GPU Compute at 9263. The HD 7970 has no other benchmark entries, so any direct comparison is limited to the Geekbench OpenCL result. The average benchmark score for the TITAN V is 34355, while the HD 7970's average is 34541—but these averages are misleading because they are drawn from different test suites. The TITAN V's average is pulled down by low scores in legacy DirectX tests (e.g., Passmark DirectX 9 at 213, DirectX 10 at 153), while the HD 7970's single score is its only data point. The head-to-head benchmark is the only apples-to-apples measurement, and it strongly favors the TITAN V.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The TITAN V uses the GV100 chip on a 12 nm TSMC process, with a die size of 815 mm² and a transistor density of 25.9M / mm². The HD 7970 uses the Tahiti chip on a 28 nm TSMC process, with a die size of 352 mm² and a transistor density of 12.3M / mm². The TITAN V packs 21,100 million transistors, nearly five times the HD 7970's 4,313 million. This density and scale translate directly into compute resources.

Memory is another major divergence. The TITAN V features 12 GB of HBM2 on a 3072-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 651.3 GB/s. The HD 7970 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 264.0 GB/s. The effective memory clock also differs: the TITAN V runs at 1696 Mbps effective, while the HD 7970 runs at 5.5 Gbps effective. Despite the HD 7970's higher effective memory clock, its narrower bus and smaller capacity result in far lower overall bandwidth.

Compute units differ sharply. The TITAN V has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, while the HD 7970 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The TITAN V also includes 640 tensor cores, a feature the HD 7970 lacks entirely (tensorCores is null). Pixel rate and texture rate follow suit: the TITAN V achieves 139.7 GPixel/s and 465.6 GTexel/s, compared to 29.60 GPixel/s and 118.4 GTexel/s for the HD 7970. The FP32 output is 14.90 TFLOPS versus 3.789 TFLOPS, and the TITAN V adds FP16 at 29.80 TFLOPS (2:1), which the HD 7970 does not support.

API support also differs. The TITAN V supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7970 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6. Display outputs are different as well: the TITAN V offers 1x HDMI 2.0 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the HD 7970 provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2. The TITAN V is slightly shorter (267 mm vs 275 mm) and slightly wider (40 mm vs 38 mm), but both are dual-slot cards with identical power connectors (1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin) and a suggested PSU of 600 W. TDP is also the same at 250 W.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the available data, the NVIDIA TITAN V wins the only direct benchmark comparison. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 355.3% higher than the HD 7970's. No benchmark in the dataset shows an HD 7970 advantage. The TITAN V also leads in every measured specification that affects performance: memory bandwidth, shading units, texture rate, pixel rate, FP32 and FP16 throughput, and API version. The HD 7970 has no wins in any head-to-head test.

That said, the HD 7970 does have a lower launch MSRP (549 USD) compared to the TITAN V's 2,999 USD, but the data does not include any price-to-performance analysis. In terms of raw capability, the TITAN V is the clear choice for any workload represented by the benchmarks. The HD 7970 might be more suitable for legacy software that expects older display outputs (DVI or HDMI 1.4a) or for systems that cannot accommodate the TITAN V's longer length, but the benchmark data provides no evidence of a performance win for the HD 7970.

FAQ

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN V has a memory bandwidth of 651.3 GB/s, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 has 264.0 GB/s. The TITAN V's HBM2 memory on a 3072-bit bus provides more than double the bandwidth.

Q: How many shading units does each card have?

A: The TITAN V has 5120 shading units, whereas the HD 7970 has 2048. This is a 2.5x difference in raw shading capacity.

Q: Does the HD 7970 support tensor cores?

A: No. The TITAN V includes 640 tensor cores, but the HD 7970's tensorCores field is null, indicating no such hardware.

Q: What are the process node and transistor counts?

A: The TITAN V is built on a 12 nm process with 21,100 million transistors, while the HD 7970 uses a 28 nm process with 4,313 million transistors. The TITAN V's die size is 815 mm² compared to 352 mm² for the HD 7970.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The HD 7970's average benchmark score is 34541, slightly above the TITAN V's 34355. However, this is misleading because the TITAN V's average includes many legacy DirectX tests with low scores, while the HD 7970 has only a single Geekbench OpenCL score. In the only direct head-to-head test, the TITAN V wins by 355.3%.

Q: What are the DirectX and Vulkan version differences?

A: The TITAN V supports DirectX 12 (12_1) 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 is unambiguous: the NVIDIA TITAN V is the superior performer. In the only direct benchmark comparison, it leads by 355.3%, and its specifications are higher across every measurable category—memory bandwidth, shading units, texture rate, pixel rate, FP32/FP16 throughput, and API support. The HD 7970 has no wins in any head-to-head test. For any workload that relies on compute performance or modern graphics features, the TITAN V is the card to choose. The HD 7970, with its lower launch MSRP of 549 USD, may have been more accessible at launch, but the benchmark data shows no performance advantage. Both cards are end-of-life, so availability and driver support are not differentiating factors in this comparison.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two cards:

| Field | NVIDIA TITAN V | AMD Radeon HD 7970 |

|-------|---------------|---------------------|

| Process node | 12 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 21,100 million | 4,313 million |

| Die size | 815 mm² | 352 mm² |

| Transistor density | 25.9M / mm² | 12.3M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1200 MHz | null |

| Boost clock | 1455 MHz | null |

| Memory clock (effective) | 1696 Mbps | 5.5 Gbps |

| Memory size | 12 GB | 3 GB |

| Memory type | HBM2 | GDDR5 |

| Memory bus width | 3072 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 651.3 GB/s | 264.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 5120 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 320 | 128 |

| ROPs | 96 | 32 |

| Tensor cores | 640 | null |

| Pixel rate | 139.7 GPixel/s | 29.60 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 465.6 GTexel/s | 118.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 14.90 TFLOPS | 3.789 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 29.80 TFLOPS (2:1) | null |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Display outputs | 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| Length | 267 mm (10.5 inches) | 275 mm (10.8 inches) |

| Width | 40 mm (1.6 inches) | 38 mm (1.5 inches) |

| Release date | 2017-12-06 | 2012-01-08 |

| Launch MSRP | 2,999 USD | 549 USD |

Both cards share a TDP of 250 W, dual-slot width, 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin power connectors, a 600 W suggested PSU, PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, and OpenGL 4.6 support. The HD 7970 has no base or boost clock listed, and its FP16 support is null.