AMD Radeon R9 370X vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and the AMD Radeon R9 370X represent two distinct eras of GPU design, separated by five years of architectural evolution. The RTX 3070 is an end-of-life Ampere-generation part built on a Samsung 8 nm process, while the R9 370X is an end-of-life GCN 1.0 part from AMD’s Pirate Islands generation on a TSMC 28 nm node. The data shows a decisive performance gap, with the RTX 3070 leading in both shared benchmark tests, but the comparison still offers useful insights into how far GPU technology has progressed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains two direct comparisons: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both tests, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the clear winner. The most dramatic result comes from Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 3070 scores 112,821 points against the R9 370X’s 25,893 points. This translates to a deltaPct of 335.7%, meaning the RTX 3070 is more than four times faster in this compute-oriented workload. That is not an incremental improvement; it is a generational leap in raw processing capability.

The second shared test, Geekbench Vulkan, shows a smaller but still substantial gap. The RTX 3070 scores 21,022 points, while the R9 370X manages 9,018 points. The deltaPct here is 133.1%, meaning the RTX 3070 more than doubles the R9 370X’s Vulkan performance. While this is less extreme than the OpenCL result, it still represents a dominant victory. The R9 370X wins zero of the two head-to-head tests, while the RTX 3070 wins both.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the RTX 3070’s average benchmark score is 17,208, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. The R9 370X has an average score of 15,862, sitting in the 58th percentile. The difference in average scores is 1,346 points, which is roughly 8.5% higher for the RTX 3070. However, the head-to-head tests show a much wider gap, suggesting that the two cards are not directly comparable in modern workloads. The RTX 3070’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT at 17,083 (0.7% behind) and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c at 17,468 (1.5% ahead), while the R9 370X’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7700 at 15,852 (0.1% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16,129 (1.7% ahead).

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3070 wins in every measured category where both cards have data. In Geekbench OpenCL, it leads by 335.7%, and in Geekbench Vulkan, it leads by 133.1%. Beyond the head-to-head tests, the RTX 3070 has a full suite of DirectX benchmarks, including Passmark scores for DirectX 9 (247), DirectX 10 (150), DirectX 11 (182), and DirectX 12 (85). It also posts a Passmark G3D score of 22,214 and a GPU compute score of 11,195. The R9 370X has no DirectX Passmark scores listed, so direct comparisons in those APIs are not possible from the data.

The R9 370X’s only unique benchmark is Geekbench Metal, where it scores 12,676. The RTX 3070 has no Metal score listed, so this is the one area where the older AMD card has a data point the newer NVIDIA card lacks. However, this does not indicate a win; it simply reflects that the R9 370X supports Apple’s Metal API while the RTX 3070’s benchmark list does not include it. In terms of practical use cases, the RTX 3070 is the superior choice for OpenCL compute and Vulkan rendering. The R9 370X, with its 2 GB memory and older architecture, is positioned for legacy DirectX 11-era workloads, but even there, the RTX 3070’s Passmark DirectX 11 score of 182 suggests it handles those APIs competently.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It packs 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². In contrast, the R9 370X uses the Trinidad chip on AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture, built on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, with a density of 13.2 million per mm². The RTX 3070 has over six times the transistor count and more than three times the density.

The RTX 3070 features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 96 raster output units, 46 ray tracing cores, and 184 tensor cores. The R9 370X has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing or tensor cores. This means the RTX 3070 supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven tensor operations, while the R9 370X lacks both entirely. The FP32 compute performance reflects this: the RTX 3070 delivers 20.31 TFLOPS, while the R9 370X delivers 2.637 TFLOPS. The RTX 3070 also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with 20.31 TFLOPS, while the R9 370X has no listed FP16 performance.

The memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RTX 3070 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 370X uses 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 179.2 GB/s. The RTX 3070 has four times the memory capacity and 2.5 times the bandwidth. The process node difference also affects power characteristics, though the RTX 3070 has a higher TDP of 220 W versus the R9 370X’s 180 W. The RTX 3070 also supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the R9 370X is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The RTX 3070 has a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, while the R9 370X has a base clock of 980 MHz and a boost clock of 1030 MHz. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RTX 3070 versus 1400 MHz (5.6 Gbps effective) for the R9 370X. The RTX 3070’s pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s, compared to the R9 370X’s 32.96 GPixel/s and 82.40 GTexel/s.

The power connectors differ: the RTX 3070 uses a single 12-pin connector, while the R9 370X uses two 6-pin connectors. The suggested PSU is 550 W for the RTX 3070 and 450 W for the R9 370X. Display outputs also vary: the RTX 3070 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the R9 370X offers 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the R9 370X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Physical dimensions are similar in height (112 mm for the RTX 3070, 111 mm for the R9 370X), but the RTX 3070 is longer at 242 mm versus 221 mm. Both are dual-slot cards. The release dates are far apart: the R9 370X launched on 2015-08-26, and the RTX 3070 launched on 2020-08-31. The R9 370X’s predecessor is Volcanic Islands and its successor is Arctic Islands, while the RTX 3070’s predecessor is GeForce 20 and its successor is GeForce 40.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17,208, compared to the AMD Radeon R9 370X’s 15,862. The RTX 3070 also sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 370X sits in the 58th percentile.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 3070 scores 112,821 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the R9 370X scores 25,893. This gives the RTX 3070 a deltaPct of 335.7%, meaning it is more than four times faster in this test.

Q: Does the R9 370X win any benchmark against the RTX 3070?

A: No. In the two head-to-head benchmarks available (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan), the RTX 3070 wins both. The R9 370X wins zero tests, with its only unique benchmark being Geekbench Metal at 12,676, which the RTX 3070 does not have a score for.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The R9 370X has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 179.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX 3070 has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, while the R9 370X has no ray tracing or tensor cores listed. The RTX 3070 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the R9 370X is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1).

Q: Which card is more power-hungry?

A: The RTX 3070 has a TDP of 220 W and suggests a 550 W PSU, while the R9 370X has a TDP of 180 W and suggests a 450 W PSU. The RTX 3070 uses a single 12-pin power connector, while the R9 370X uses two 6-pin connectors.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the superior GPU by every measurable metric in this comparison. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks decisively, with a 335.7% lead in OpenCL and a 133.1% lead in Vulkan. Its average benchmark score of 17,208 is 1,346 points higher than the R9 370X’s 15,862, and its percentile ranking is 3 points higher. The RTX 3070 also offers modern features like ray tracing cores, tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support, none of which exist on the R9 370X.

Buyers should choose the RTX 3070 if they need current-generation gaming, compute workloads, or any application that leverages Vulkan or OpenCL performance. Its 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for modern textures and resolutions. The R9 370X, with its 2 GB GDDR5 memory and 179.2 GB/s bandwidth, is suited only for legacy applications or very lightweight tasks. Its only advantage is a lower TDP of 180 W and a smaller physical footprint at 221 mm length. The RTX 3070 launched at 499 USD, while the R9 370X launched at 199 USD, but the performance gap far exceeds the price difference. For any user with a choice between these two, the RTX 3070 is the clear recommendation based on benchmark results alone.