AMD Radeon R9 M275X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Comparison

The AMD Radeon R9 M275X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 occupy very different tiers of the GPU landscape, separated by two years of architecture development and a significant shift in market positioning. The data shows a decisive victory for the GTX 1070 in every shared benchmark, but the R9 M275X’s role as a legacy mobile part in the 49th percentile of all GPUs makes it a distinct comparison point rather than a direct competitor. This analysis quantifies the performance gap, contextualizes each card’s standing among its nearest rivals, and outlines where each part retains relevance.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are unambiguous, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 winning both shared tests by wide margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1070 scores 44,700 against the R9 M275X’s 11,200, a delta of -74.9% for the AMD part. This means the GTX 1070 delivers roughly four times the raw compute throughput in this workload, a gap that dwarfs any architectural refinement seen between the two generations. The Vulkan test narrows the relative gap but still favors NVIDIA heavily: the GTX 1070 posts 22,121 versus 9,964, a 55% deficit for the R9 M275X. While Vulkan’s lower overhead helps the older AMD architecture close some distance, the absolute scores remain in entirely different performance classes.

The win tally reflects this dominance — the GTX 1070 takes 2 wins to 0 for the R9 M275X. However, the benchmark averages tell a more nuanced story. The R9 M275X has an average benchmark score of 10,582 across its available tests, while the GTX 1070 averages 9,780 across a much broader suite that includes DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 tests plus compute workloads. This inversion occurs because the GTX 1070’s average includes lower-scoring legacy DirectX tests — for instance, its Passmark DirectX 12 score is just 48, and DirectX 10 is 82 — while the R9 M275X’s limited benchmark set (only OpenCL and Vulkan) skews toward compute-heavy results. In percentile terms, the R9 M275X sits at the 49th percentile of all GPUs, slightly ahead of the GTX 1070’s 47th percentile, despite the latter’s overwhelming head-to-head superiority. This underscores that percentile rankings depend heavily on the test mix, not just peak performance.

Looking at each card’s nearest rivals clarifies their competitive positioning. The R9 M275X’s average score of 10,582 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6600S (10,629, delta -0.4%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (10,690, delta -1%), while trailing the NVIDIA Quadro K2200 by 1.7%. It also edges the AMD Radeon RX 550X by 1%. This places the R9 M275X in a cluster of mid-range parts from 2011-2022, suggesting its compute performance remains competitive with much newer entry-level hardware. The GTX 1070, despite its higher peak scores, averages 9,780, which lands it within 0.2% of the AMD FirePro W5000 (9,803) and 0.5% of the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9,832). It leads the NVIDIA Tesla M10 by 0.6% and the Tesla C2070 by 0.7%. The GTX 1070’s nearest rivals are all professional or workstation cards, reflecting its dual role as a high-end consumer part and a capable compute device.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher peak compute score in the shared benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins both shared tests. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 44,700 is 74.9% higher than the R9 M275X’s 11,200, and its Geekbench Vulkan score of 22,121 is 55% higher than the AMD part’s 9,964.

Q: How do the two cards rank among all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M275X sits at the 49th percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 sits at the 47th percentile. Despite the GTX 1070 winning all head-to-head tests, its broader benchmark suite pulls its average score down to 9,780, below the R9 M275X’s 10,582 average.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each card based on average benchmark scores?

A: The R9 M275X’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6600S with an average score of 10,629 (delta -0.4%), followed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti at 10,690 (delta -1%). The GTX 1070’s nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9,803 (delta -0.2%), with the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M close behind at 9,832 (delta -0.5%).

Q: Which card supports a newer DirectX version?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the AMD Radeon R9 M275X supports DirectX 12 (11_1). The GTX 1070’s higher feature level enables more advanced DirectX 12 features.

Q: How does memory bandwidth compare between the two?

A: The GTX 1070 has a 256-bit memory bus with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory delivering 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M275X has a 128-bit bus with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory providing 72.00 GB/s, a fraction of the NVIDIA card’s throughput.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: Both the AMD Radeon R9 M275X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 are listed as end-of-life products. The R9 M275X was released on January 27, 2014, and the GTX 1070 on June 9, 2016.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins decisively in raw compute and modern API performance. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 44,700 indicates strong suitability for GPGPU workloads, scientific computing, and any task that leverages OpenCL acceleration. The Vulkan score of 22,121 further cements its position for modern game engines that use Vulkan for rendering, where it maintains a 55% advantage over the AMD part. The GTX 1070 also supports DirectX 12 (12_1), making it compatible with the latest DirectX 12 titles and features like explicit multi-adapter and enhanced barriers. Its 8 GB of memory and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for high-resolution textures and large datasets, while the 150 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a desktop-oriented card that can sustain demanding workloads.

The AMD Radeon R9 M275X wins in niche scenarios where its smaller footprint and legacy status matter. Its 49th percentile ranking and average score of 10,582, which is higher than the GTX 1070’s 9,780, suggest that in compute-only benchmarks (OpenCL and Vulkan), it holds its own relative to a broader field. The R9 M275X’s 28 nm process and 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die make it a compact part, though its 2 GB memory and 72.00 GB/s bandwidth limit it to lighter workloads. It supports Vulkan 1.2.170 and DirectX 12 (11_1), which allows it to run modern APIs at reduced feature levels. For legacy systems that already have this mobile GPU, it remains functional for older DirectX 11 games and basic OpenCL compute, but it cannot match the GTX 1070 in any shared benchmark.

Specification Differences

The specification gap between these two GPUs is vast, starting with the shading units: the GTX 1070 has 1,920 shading units against the R9 M275X’s 640, a 3x difference. Texture mapping units follow suit at 120 versus 40, and the render output units stand at 64 versus 16. This translates directly into pixel and texture rates — the GTX 1070 achieves 107.7 GPixel/s and 202.0 GTexel/s, while the R9 M275X manages 14.80 GPixel/s and 37.00 GTexel/s. The GTX 1070’s FP32 compute of 6.463 TFLOPS dwarfs the R9 M275X’s 1,184.0 GFLOPS, and the NVIDIA card even lists an FP16 rate of 101.0 GFLOPS (1:64), a feature absent from the AMD part.

Memory configurations differ significantly. The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, while the R9 M275X has 2 GB on a 128-bit bus for 72.00 GB/s. Clock speeds also favor NVIDIA: base 1506 MHz versus 900 MHz, and boost 1683 MHz versus 925 MHz. The GTX 1070’s memory runs at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) compared to the R9 M275X’s 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective). Power and physical specifications are only provided for the GTX 1070: 150 W TDP, dual-slot width, 1x 8-pin power connector, 450 W suggested PSU, and dimensions of 267 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm. The R9 M275X lacks these data points. Display outputs differ as well, with the GTX 1070 offering 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the R9 M275X has no listed outputs. The GTX 1070’s launch MSRP is 379 USD; the R9 M275X has no listed launch MSRP.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide is generational. The AMD Radeon R9 M275X uses the Venus chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This older design has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2M per mm². It belongs to the Gem System (R9 M200) generation and supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The GTX 1070 uses the GP104 chip on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm TSMC process. It packs 7,200 million transistors into a 314 mm² die, achieving a density of 22.9M per mm². Pascal’s modern design enables DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with the higher Vulkan version offering improved driver overhead and feature support.

The R9 M275X’s GCN 1.0 architecture is compute-oriented but lacks the efficiency gains of later designs. Its 28 nm process and lower clock speeds (900 MHz base) limit its performance per watt, though no TDP is listed for this part. The GTX 1070’s Pascal architecture benefits from the 16 nm node, allowing higher clocks (1506 MHz base, 1683 MHz boost) and better power efficiency, reflected in its 150 W TDP. The transistor density difference — 22.9M/mm² versus 12.2M/mm² — highlights how much more compact the NVIDIA design is per unit area. The GTX 1070 also includes FP16 support at a 1:64 ratio, which the R9 M275X lacks entirely. Both cards use GDDR5 memory, but the GTX 1070’s wider bus and higher effective speed (8 Gbps versus 4.5 Gbps) give it a 3.5x bandwidth advantage. In terms of product lineage, the R9 M275X’s predecessor is Solar System and its successor is Polaris Mobile, while the GTX 1070’s predecessor is GeForce 900 and its successor is GeForce 20.