AMD Radeon R9 370X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits decisively in favor of the AMD Radeon R9 370X. In the only head-to-head test recorded, Geekbench OpenCL, the R9 370X scores 25,893 against the GeForce GTX 570's 13,515. That is a 91.6% advantage, a near doubling of compute throughput. The GTX 570 has no recorded wins in any comparable test, as the database shows only its OpenCL result, with no Metal or Vulkan entries.

The R9 370X also demonstrates broader API coverage. It has three recorded benchmark results: Geekbench Metal at 12,676, Geekbench OpenCL at 25,893, and Geekbench Vulkan at 9,018. The GTX 570 has exactly one, Geekbench OpenCL. For any workload that leverages Metal or Vulkan, the R9 370X is the only card in this pairing that can even be measured. Its average benchmark score of 15,862 sits well above the GTX 570's 13,515, a gap of roughly 17.4% in aggregate performance.

The percentile ranking reinforces this. The R9 370X places in the 58th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the GTX 570 sits in the 54th. Neither card is a modern powerhouse, but the R9 370X holds a clear tier advantage. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (average score 15,852, delta 0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16,014, delta -1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16,129, delta -1.7%). The GTX 570, by contrast, sits near the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13,536, delta -0.2%) and the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470, delta 0.3%). The R9 370X competes in the company of modern midrange cards; the GTX 570 competes with older low-end mobile and mining-class parts.

For compute-heavy tasks such as OpenCL workloads, the R9 370X is the clear pick. For any legacy DirectX 11-era gaming, the GTX 570 remains functional, but the recorded data offers no scenario where it outruns its rival.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15,862 on average, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13,515. The R9 370X also ranks in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, versus the 54th percentile for the GTX 570.

Q: How much faster is the R9 370X in OpenCL?

A: In the head-to-head Geekbench OpenCL test, the R9 370X scores 25,893 against 13,515 for the GTX 570, a 91.6% advantage.

Q: Does the GTX 570 support Vulkan or Metal?

A: The database records no Vulkan support for the GTX 570, and its OpenGL version is 4.6. It has no Metal or Vulkan benchmark entries. The R9 370X has recorded scores in both Vulkan (9,018) and Metal (12,676).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The R9 370X has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 570 has 1280 MB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 152.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has the higher power draw?

A: The GTX 570 has a TDP of 219 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W. The R9 370X has a TDP of 180 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W.

Q: What are the launch MSRPs?

A: The R9 370X launched at 199 USD, and the GTX 570 launched at 349 USD.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different technological eras. The AMD Radeon R9 370X uses the Trinidad chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 uses the GF110 chip on Fermi 2.0 architecture, built on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is significant: 28 nm versus 40 nm, which explains part of the efficiency gap.

Transistor counts tell an interesting story. The GTX 570 packs 3,000 million transistors on a 520 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 5.8M per mm². The R9 370X has 2,800 million transistors on a much smaller 212 mm² die, yielding 13.2M per mm². The R9 370X crams more than double the transistor density into less than half the die area, a direct consequence of the newer fabrication process.

Compute resources differ sharply. The R9 370X has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 570 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 40 ROPs. The R9 370X leads in shader count and texture units, while the GTX 570 has more ROPs, which helps pixel fill. Pixel rate for the R9 370X is 32.96 GPixel/s versus 21.96 GPixel/s for the GTX 570. Texture rate is 82.40 GTexel/s versus 43.92 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 2.637 TFLOPS for the R9 370X versus 1,405.4 GFLOPS for the GTX 570.

Memory architecture also diverges. The R9 370X uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus at 1400 MHz, with 5.6 Gbps effective speed and 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 570 uses 1280 MB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus at 950 MHz, with 3.8 Gbps effective speed and 152.0 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 370X has more capacity and higher bandwidth despite a narrower bus.

API support differs in one key area: the R9 370X lists DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 570 lists DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but no Vulkan support. The R9 370X also supports PCIe 3.0 x16, while the GTX 570 is limited to PCIe 2.0 x16.

Physical dimensions differ as well. The R9 370X measures 221 mm (8.7 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height. The GTX 570 is longer at 267 mm (10.5 inches), with no height recorded. Both are dual-slot cards with 2x 6-pin power connectors. The GTX 570 draws more power: 219 W TDP versus 180 W, with a suggested PSU of 550 W versus 450 W.

Display outputs also differ. The R9 370X offers 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The GTX 570 offers 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a, with no DisplayPort.

The Verdict

The data points to one conclusion: the AMD Radeon R9 370X is the stronger card in every measured metric. Its OpenCL score nearly doubles the GTX 570's, its average benchmark score is 17.4% higher, and its percentile rank is four points higher. It also supports Vulkan and Metal, which the GTX 570 does not.

The GTX 570 does have one structural advantage: 40 ROPs versus 32, which can help in certain rasterization-bound scenarios. But the recorded benchmarks show no test where that translates into a win. The GTX 570's only benchmark entry is its OpenCL score, which trails badly.

Who should pick the R9 370X? Anyone running OpenCL compute workloads, anyone who wants Vulkan or Metal support, and anyone who values higher memory capacity (2 GB versus 1280 MB) and higher bandwidth (179.2 GB/s versus 152.0 GB/s). The R9 370X is also more power-efficient: 180 W versus 219 W, and it fits in a shorter chassis at 221 mm versus 267 mm.

Who should pick the GTX 570? The data offers no scenario where it wins. It has fewer shading units, lower texture rate, lower FP32 throughput, less memory, and no Vulkan support. Its only advantages are more ROPs and a wider memory bus (320-bit versus 256-bit), but the R9 370X still achieves higher bandwidth. Even its launch MSRP was higher: 349 USD versus 199 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single recorded head-to-head test is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is not close. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 25,893, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13,515. The delta is 91.6%, meaning the R9 370X delivers nearly double the OpenCL compute performance. This is consistent with the raw specs: the R9 370X has 1,280 shading units and 2.637 TFLOPS FP32, versus 480 shading units and 1,405.4 GFLOPS for the GTX 570.

The R9 370X also has three additional benchmark results that the GTX 570 cannot match. Its Geekbench Metal score is 12,676, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 9,018. These are not head-to-head comparisons because the GTX 570 has no entries for those APIs, but they demonstrate the R9 370X's broader software ecosystem. The GTX 570's only recorded result is the OpenCL score, which places it in the 54th percentile. The R9 370X's average across all tests, 15,862, puts it in the 58th percentile.

Looking at the rival context, the R9 370X's average score of 15,862 places it within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15,852, delta 0.1%) and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16,014, delta -1%). The GTX 570's average of 13,515 places it within 1% of the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13,536, delta -0.2%) and the NVIDIA P106-090 (13,470, delta 0.3%). The R9 370X is effectively a modern midrange card by average score; the GTX 570 is a legacy part.

The largest single win for the R9 370X is the OpenCL test itself, where the 91.6% margin exceeds any other comparison in the database for these two cards. The GTX 570 has no recorded win in any category.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification. The R9 370X uses a 28 nm process; the GTX 570 uses 40 nm. The R9 370X die is 212 mm² with 2,800 million transistors; the GTX 570 die is 520 mm² with 3,000 million transistors. Transistor density is 13.2M per mm² versus 5.8M per mm².

Clock speeds: the R9 370X has a base clock of 980 MHz and a boost clock of 1030 MHz. The GTX 570 has no recorded base or boost clocks, only a memory clock of 950 MHz (3.8 Gbps effective). The R9 370X memory runs at 1400 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective).

Memory: the R9 370X has 2 GB GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 179.2 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 570 has 1280 MB GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 152.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Compute units: the R9 370X has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The GTX 570 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 40 ROPs. Pixel rate is 32.96 GPixel/s versus 21.96 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 82.40 GTexel/s versus 43.92 GTexel/s. FP32 is 2.637 TFLOPS versus 1,405.4 GFLOPS.

Power: the R9 370X has a 180 W TDP and a 450 W suggested PSU. The GTX 570 has a 219 W TDP and a 550 W suggested PSU. Both use 2x 6-pin connectors and dual-slot coolers.

Interface and outputs: the R9 370X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 with 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The GTX 570 uses PCIe 2.0 x16 with 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

API support: the R9 370X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 570 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan listed.

Physical size: the R9 370X is 221 mm (8.7 inches) long and 111 mm (4.4 inches) tall. The GTX 570 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long with no height recorded.

Release timing: the R9 370X launched on 2015-08-26, the GTX 570 on 2010-12-06. The R9 370X succeeded the Volcanic Islands generation and was succeeded by Arctic Islands. The GTX 570 succeeded GeForce 400 and was succeeded by GeForce 600. Both are end-of-life products.