AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive overall win for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, which takes 9 of the 10 head-to-head benchmark comparisons. The only test where the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 comes out ahead is Geekbench Metal, where it scores 21018 against the GTX 970's 13595, a 35.3% margin in AMD's favor. That single result, however, stands in stark contrast to the rest of the field.

The GTX 970's largest victories come in the Passmark suite. In DirectX 11, the NVIDIA card scores 71 versus 24 for the WX 4100, a 195.8% advantage. DirectX 10 shows a similar pattern: 46 versus 16, a 187.5% lead. DirectX 9 sees the GTX 970 at 143 against 56, a 155.4% gap. Even in DirectX 12, where the margin narrows, the GTX 970 still holds an 86.4% edge with 41 points to the AMD card's 22.

The Passmark G3D test is particularly lopsided. The GTX 970 records 9638 points, while the Radeon Pro WX 4100 manages only 3699, a 160.6% difference. GPU compute tells a similar story: 4073 versus 1475, a 176.1% lead for NVIDIA. The 2D test is closer, with the GTX 970 at 764 and the WX 4100 at 646, an 18.3% gap, but it is still a win for the GeForce card.

In the Geekbench suite, the results are mixed. OpenCL heavily favors the GTX 970: 29982 versus 17642, a 69.9% advantage. Vulkan is much tighter, with the GTX 970 scoring 20005 against the WX 4100's 18703, a 7% lead. The Metal result is the exception, as noted, where AMD's card leads by 35.3%.

Looking at aggregate scores, the GTX 970 posts an average benchmark score of 7157, placing it in the 39th percentile of all GPUs. The WX 4100 averages 6330, sitting in the 37th percentile. The GTX 970's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 at 7170 (0.2% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE at 7171 (0.2% behind), and the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile at 7203 (0.6% behind). The WX 4100's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon R7 M350 at 6327, which trails by 0.1%, while the NVIDIA Quadro K620 sits at 6282, 0.8% behind.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different process generations. The GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip built on TSMC's 28 nm process, while the WX 4100 uses the Baffin chip fabricated by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm node. This gives AMD a density advantage: the Baffin die packs 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter across a 123 mm² die, for a total of 3,000 million transistors. The GM204 has 5,200 million transistors on a much larger 398 mm² die, yielding a density of 13.1 million per square millimeter.

The GTX 970 is built on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 900 generation. The WX 4100 uses GCN 4.0, belonging to the Radeon Pro Polaris (WX x100) generation. These are different design philosophies. Maxwell 2.0 emphasizes raw throughput with 1664 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, and 56 ROPs. GCN 4.0 uses fewer resources: 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. The impact shows in pixel and texture rates. The GTX 970 reaches 65.97 GPixel/s and 122.5 GTexel/s, while the WX 4100 manages 19.22 GPixel/s and 76.86 GTexel/s.

Memory configurations differ in width rather than capacity. Both cards have 4 GB of GDDR5, but the GTX 970 uses a 256-bit bus delivering 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The WX 4100 uses a 128-bit bus, halving the interface and dropping bandwidth to 96.00 GB/s. Memory clocks also differ: the GTX 970 runs at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective), while the WX 4100 runs at 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

Compute output follows the same pattern. The GTX 970 delivers 3.920 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The WX 4100 delivers 2.460 TFLOPS of FP32, and notably, its FP16 rate is identical at 2.460 TFLOPS (1:1). The GTX 970 has no listed FP16 capability in the database.

Power and physical design diverge sharply. The GTX 970 has a 148 W TDP, requires a dual-slot cooler, and needs two 6-pin power connectors, with a 300 W suggested PSU. The WX 4100 has a 50 W TDP, fits in a single slot, requires no power connectors, and asks for a 250 W suggested PSU. The GTX 970 is 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The WX 4100 is 168 mm long and 69 mm tall, with no width listed. The GTX 970 uses PCIe 3.0 x16; the WX 4100 uses PCIe 3.0 x8.

Display outputs also differ. The GTX 970 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.2. The WX 4100 offers 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a. API support is close: both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 970 lists Vulkan 1.4 and DirectX 12 (12_1), while the WX 4100 lists Vulkan 1.3 and DirectX 12 (12_0).

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the majority of benchmark comparisons?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 wins 9 of the 10 head-to-head tests. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 wins only Geekbench Metal.

Q: How large is the GTX 970's advantage in DirectX 11?

A: The GTX 970 scores 71 in Passmark DirectX 11, while the WX 4100 scores 24, giving NVIDIA a 195.8% lead.

Q: Is there any test where the WX 4100 performs better?

A: Yes, in Geekbench Metal the WX 4100 scores 21018 versus 13595 for the GTX 970, a 35.3% advantage for AMD.

Q: How do the memory bandwidth figures compare?

A: The GTX 970 has a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s bandwidth. The WX 4100 has a 128-bit bus with 96.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the TDP requirements for each card?

A: The GTX 970 has a 148 W TDP and needs two 6-pin power connectors. The WX 4100 has a 50 W TDP and requires no power connectors.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The WX 4100's Baffin chip has a density of 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter on a 123 mm² die. The GTX 970's GM204 has 13.1 million per square millimeter on a 398 mm² die.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split by use case. For raw graphics and compute performance, the GTX 970 is the stronger card. Its wins in OpenCL, Vulkan, and every Passmark test except the 2D and Metal categories show a consistent advantage across API generations. The 160.6% lead in G3D and 176.1% lead in GPU compute are substantial enough that any workload relying on those metrics will favor NVIDIA.

The WX 4100 has one clear strength: Metal performance. Its 35.3% lead in Geekbench Metal suggests that applications optimized for Apple's Metal API will run better on the AMD card. Beyond that, the WX 4100's advantages are physical rather than performance-based. It draws only 50 W, requires no power connectors, fits in a single slot, and is significantly smaller at 168 mm versus 267 mm. The GTX 970 needs 148 W, two 6-pin connectors, and a dual-slot cooler.

The GTX 970 also has a higher average benchmark score: 7157 versus 6330, a difference that places the two cards in adjacent percentiles (39th versus 37th). Its nearest rivals in the database are the Iris Pro Graphics P580, GTX 560 SE, and Radeon Vega 8 Mobile, all within 0.9%. The WX 4100 sits near the Radeon R7 M350, Quadro K620, GTX 460 SE, and GTX 580M, all within 0.9% as well.

Neither card is current; both are listed as end-of-life. The GTX 970 released on 2014-09-18, and the WX 4100 on 2016-11-09. The GTX 970's predecessor is the GeForce 700 series and its successor is the GeForce 10 series. The WX 4100's predecessor is the Radeon Pro GCN line and its successor is Radeon Pro Vega.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 |

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

| Chip | GM204 | Baffin |

| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | GCN 4.0 |

| Generation | GeForce 900 | Radeon Pro Polaris (WX x100) |

| Process node | 28 nm (TSMC) | 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) |

| Transistors | 5,200 million | 3,000 million |

| Die size | 398 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor density | 13.1M / mm² | 24.4M / mm² |

| Base clock | 1050 MHz | 1125 MHz |

| Boost clock | 1178 MHz | 1201 MHz |

| Memory clock | 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory bus width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 224.4 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading units | 1664 | 1024 |

| TMUs | 104 | 64 |

| ROPs | 56 | 16 |

| Pixel rate | 65.97 GPixel/s | 19.22 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 122.5 GTexel/s | 76.86 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.920 TFLOPS | 2.460 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 2.460 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 148 W | 50 W |

| Slot width | Dual-slot | Single-slot |

| Power connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 250 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| Display outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 4x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Length | 267 mm | 168 mm |

| Height | 111 mm | 69 mm |

| Width | 40 mm | Not listed |

| Release date | 2014-09-18 | 2016-11-09 |

| Launch MSRP | 329 USD | 399 USD |

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 970 wins in every benchmark category that stresses traditional graphics throughput. Its DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 results are all higher, with margins ranging from 86.4% to 195.8%. It also leads in OpenCL by 69.9% and in Vulkan by 7%, though the Vulkan margin is narrow enough that the two cards are nearly comparable in that API. For gaming workloads, legacy DirectX titles, or general GPU compute via OpenCL, the GTX 970 is the clear choice from the data.

The WX 4100 wins in Metal, where its 21018 score outpaces the GTX 970's 13595 by 35.3%. For any application that runs through Apple's Metal API, the AMD card delivers measurably better performance. The WX 4100 also wins on efficiency and physical integration. Its 50 W TDP, single-slot design, and lack of power connectors make it suitable for compact systems where the GTX 970's 148 W draw and dual-slot footprint would not fit. The WX 4100's PCIe 3.0 x8 interface and smaller dimensions reinforce this positioning.

The G2D test is a narrower win for the GTX 970 at 18.3%, suggesting that for purely 2D workloads the two cards are closer, but the GeForce still leads. The FP16 capability of the WX 4100, listed at 2.460 TFLOPS (1:1), is a feature the GTX 970 does not document, which could matter for workloads that leverage half-precision compute. Overall, the GTX 970 is the performance leader in the majority of recorded benchmarks, while the WX 4100 is the low-power, compact alternative with a specific strength in Metal.