AMD Radeon RX 470 vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and the AMD Radeon RX 470. Across the three shared benchmark tests, the RX 7900 GRE wins all of them, with deltas ranging from 150.4% to 471.7%. The largest margin appears in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the RX 7900 GRE scores 4814 against 842 for the RX 470. That is a 471.7% advantage, meaning the newer card delivers roughly 5.7 times the raw graphics workload throughput in this particular DirectX 12 test.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7900 GRE posts 175758 points, while the RX 470 manages 33568. The delta is 423.6%, a slightly smaller but still enormous gap. OpenCL results tend to reflect compute-oriented workloads rather than pure rasterization, so this margin indicates that the RX 7900 GRE is not just faster at rendering frames, it also has a massive lead in general-purpose GPU compute. The Vulkan result narrows the gap somewhat: 99850 for the RX 7900 GRE versus 39884 for the RX 470, a 150.4% delta. Vulkan is a lower-level API that can sometimes reduce driver overhead, but even with that efficiency, the RX 470 cannot close the gulf.

The average benchmark score in the database tells a similar story. The RX 7900 GRE has an average benchmark score of 32456, while the RX 470 sits at 28996. That is a difference of roughly 11.9%, which is far smaller than the head-to-head deltas because the average includes different test suites for each card. The RX 7900 GRE was measured across Passmark DX9, DX10, DX11, DX12, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute tests, while the RX 470 only has Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, Vulkan, and 3DMark Steel Nomad results. Different test sets make the averages less directly comparable, but the head-to-head data is unambiguous.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each card reinforces the positioning. The RX 7900 GRE sits at the 77th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals like the AMD FirePro S10000 (average score 32388, delta 0.2%), the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (32540, delta -0.3%), and the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (32601, delta -0.4%). These are all within a single percentage point, meaning the RX 7900 GRE is clustered tightly with those cards in aggregate database scoring. The RX 470, at the 74th percentile, has nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28874, delta 0.4%), Intel Arc A370M (29175, delta -0.6%), and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29197, delta -0.7%). Both cards are mid-pack in their respective percentile neighborhoods, but the RX 7900 GRE occupies a higher tier overall.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is generational. The RX 7900 GRE is built on RDNA 3.0, with the Navi 31 chip, codenamed Plum Bonito. It belongs to the Navi III (RX 7000) generation. The RX 470 uses GCN 4.0, with the Ellesmere chip, and belongs to the Arctic Islands (RX 400) generation. The process node differences are stark: the RX 7900 GRE is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 470 uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. Transistor counts reflect this: 57,700 million for the RX 7900 GRE versus 5,700 million for the RX 470, a 10.1x difference. The die sizes are 529 mm² for the RX 7900 GRE and 232 mm² for the RX 470, and transistor density is 109.1M per mm² versus 24.6M per mm².

The RX 7900 GRE has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 160 ROPs, and 80 ray tracing cores. The RX 470 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores listed. The RX 7900 GRE also carries explicit support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 470 is listed as DirectX 12 (12_0), a lower feature level. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan, but the RX 7900 GRE reports Vulkan 1.4 while the RX 470 reports Vulkan 1.3. The RX 7900 GRE has no tensor cores listed, matching the RX 470, but the ray tracing hardware is a major distinction.

Memory architecture also differs. The RX 7900 GRE uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256 bit bus, yielding 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 470 uses 4 GB of GDDR5, also on a 256 bit bus, but only reaches 211.2 GB/s. Memory clock is 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) for the RX 7900 GRE versus 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective) for the RX 470. The RX 7900 GRE supports PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RX 470 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ as well: the RX 7900 GRE has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the RX 470 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Power requirements scale with performance. The RX 7900 GRE has a TDP of 260 W and requires a 600 W suggested PSU, using 2x 8-pin power connectors. The RX 470 has a TDP of 120 W, a 300 W suggested PSU, and a single 6-pin connector. The RX 7900 GRE is a dual-slot card measuring 276 mm long, 110 mm tall, and 51 mm wide. The RX 470 is also dual-slot but smaller: 240 mm long, 95 mm tall, and 35 mm wide. The RX 7900 GRE remains in active production, while the RX 470 is listed as end-of-life. Release dates are 2023-07-26 for the RX 7900 GRE and 2016-08-03 for the RX 470.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE than the RX 470 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12?

A: The RX 7900 GRE scores 4814 versus 842 for the RX 470, a delta of 471.7%.

Q: Does the RX 7900 GRE support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the RX 7900 GRE has 80 ray tracing cores. The RX 470 has no ray tracing cores listed.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference between the two cards?

A: The RX 7900 GRE has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 with 211.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RX 7900 GRE is at the 77th percentile, while the RX 470 is at the 74th percentile.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The RX 7900 GRE has an average benchmark score of 32456, and the RX 470 has an average benchmark score of 28996.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No, the RX 7900 GRE is listed as active, while the RX 470 is listed as end-of-life.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification field. The RX 7900 GRE uses RDNA 3.0 on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the RX 470 uses GCN 4.0 on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process. Transistor count is 57,700 million versus 5,700 million, and die size is 529 mm² versus 232 mm². Transistor density is 109.1M per mm² versus 24.6M per mm².

Clock speeds are higher on the RX 7900 GRE: base 1287 MHz versus 926 MHz, boost 2245 MHz versus 1206 MHz. The RX 7900 GRE also lists a game clock of 1880 MHz, which the RX 470 does not report. Memory clocks are 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) versus 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective). Memory size is 16 GB GDDR6 versus 4 GB GDDR5, with bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s versus 211.2 GB/s. The bus width is 256 bit for both.

Compute resources differ sharply: 5120 shading units versus 2048, 320 TMUs versus 128, 160 ROPs versus 32. The RX 7900 GRE has 80 ray tracing cores; the RX 470 has none. Pixel rate is 359.2 GPixel/s versus 38.59 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 718.4 GTexel/s versus 154.4 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 45.98 TFLOPS versus 4.940 TFLOPS. FP16 is 91.96 TFLOPS (2:1) for the RX 7900 GRE versus 4.940 TFLOPS (1:1) for the RX 470.

Power and physical specs also differ. TDP is 260 W versus 120 W, suggested PSU is 600 W versus 300 W, and power connectors are 2x 8-pin versus 1x 6-pin. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs: 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C versus 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. Dimensions are 276 mm x 110 mm x 51 mm versus 240 mm x 95 mm x 35 mm. DirectX support is 12 Ultimate (12_2) versus 12 (12_0). Vulkan support is 1.4 versus 1.3. Production status is active versus end-of-life. Release dates are 2023-07-26 versus 2016-08-03.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear choice for anyone comparing these two cards directly. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE outperforms the RX 470 in every shared benchmark, with deltas from 150.4% to 471.7%. It is also the only one of the two with ray tracing support, a larger memory pool, a newer architecture, and a higher percentile ranking at 77 versus 74. The RX 7900 GRE is the card to pick for modern, demanding workloads where compute, memory bandwidth, and API feature support matter.

The RX 470, however, still has a role in the database. It sits at the 74th percentile, which is only three points below the RX 7900 GRE, and its nearest rivals are all within a single percentage point of its average score. For legacy applications, older DirectX 12 workloads, or systems with a 300 W PSU, the RX 470 remains a viable entry point. Its 120 W TDP and single 6-pin connector make it far easier to integrate into older or lower-power builds.

The verdict from the recorded data is straightforward: if the workload requires maximum performance, modern API features, or ray tracing, the RX 7900 GRE is the only option. If the workload is light, legacy-focused, or constrained by power delivery, the RX 470 can still handle it, but it offers less than a quarter of the RX 7900 GRE's compute throughput in the tests where they overlap. The RX 7900 GRE is the dominant card in this comparison, and the RX 470's only advantages are lower power draw, smaller physical footprint, and the fact that it remains functional for basic tasks.