AMD Radeon RX 470 vs NVIDIA TITAN V Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive victory for the NVIDIA TITAN V across every shared benchmark. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the TITAN V scores 3565 against the Radeon RX 470's 842, a delta of 323.4%. This is not a marginal lead; it is a multi-generational gap in raw rasterization throughput. The Geekbench OpenCL result is even more lopsided: 157265 versus 33568, a 368.5% advantage. Compute workloads, which scale with shading units and memory bandwidth, strongly favor the Volta card.

The Vulkan API test tells a similar story. The TITAN V posts 152117, while the RX 470 manages 39884, a 281.4% difference. Interestingly, the RX 470's Vulkan score is only slightly higher than its OpenCL score (39884 vs 33568), suggesting that the GCN architecture does not gain as much from the lower-level API in this particular test. The TITAN V, by contrast, shows a smaller relative drop from OpenCL to Vulkan (157265 to 152117), indicating more consistent performance across different compute interfaces.

Out of three head-to-head benchmarks, the TITAN V wins all three. The RX 470 has no recorded victories. The smallest margin is in Vulkan, but even that is nearly four times the RX 470's output. For context, the TITAN V's average benchmark score sits at 34355, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. The RX 470's average is 28996, which is the 74th percentile. On the surface, a five-percentile gap seems modest, but the head-to-head deltas reveal the true scale of the performance difference: the average scores are pulled up by different test sets, while the shared tests show a dominant pattern.

The nearest rivals for each card reinforce this picture. The TITAN V's closest competitor is the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB at 0.6% behind, followed by the T1000 8 GB at -0.6% and the RTX A1000 at +0.4%. The RX 470 sits near the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0.4% ahead), the Intel Arc A370M (-0.6%), and the RX Vega M GH (-0.7%). These are different performance tiers entirely. The TITAN V is competing with professional and workstation cards; the RX 470 is jockeying with mobile and integrated-class solutions. The head-to-head data simply confirms what the percentile ranks already imply: these are not peer products.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is stark. The TITAN V uses the GV100 chip on TSMC's 12 nm process, while the RX 470 uses the Ellesmere die on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm node. The transistor counts tell the story: 21,100 million for the TITAN V versus 5,700 million for the RX 470, a difference of roughly 3.7x. Die size follows suit at 815 mm² versus 232 mm². Interestingly, the transistor density is similar (25.9M per mm² for Volta, 24.6M per mm² for GCN 4.0), meaning the TITAN V's advantage comes from sheer scale, not packing efficiency.

Memory subsystems diverge completely. The TITAN V has 12 GB of HBM2 on a 3072-bit bus, delivering 651.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 211.2 GB/s. That is a 3.1x bandwidth advantage for the Volta card. The memory clock rates are not directly comparable (848 MHz with 1696 Mbps effective for HBM2 versus 1650 MHz with 6.6 Gbps effective for GDDR5), but the bus width difference is the dominant factor. The RX 470's memory is faster per pin, but the TITAN V has twelve times the pins.

Compute resources are equally unbalanced. The TITAN V has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 470 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The TITAN V also adds 640 tensor cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 470. Pixel rate is 139.7 GPixel/s versus 38.59 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 465.6 GTexel/s versus 154.4 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is 14.90 TFLOPS against 4.940 TFLOPS. The FP16 numbers are telling: the TITAN V reaches 29.80 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the RX 470 stays at 4.940 TFLOPS (1:1). The RX 470 has no tensor cores, no RT cores, and no FP16 acceleration path beyond its standard shader hardware.

Clock speeds partially offset the gap. The RX 470 has a base clock of 926 MHz and a boost of 1206 MHz. The TITAN V runs at 1200 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. The RX 470's lower clock is compensated by its modest power draw of 120 W, while the TITAN V demands 250 W. The RX 470 uses a single 6-pin power connector; the TITAN V needs a 6-pin and an 8-pin. Suggested PSU ratings are 300 W versus 600 W. Both cards are dual-slot, but the TITAN V is physically larger: 267 mm long, 112 mm tall, 40 mm thick, versus 240 mm, 95 mm, and 35 mm for the RX 470.

API support differs slightly. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, but the TITAN V hits DirectX 12_1 while the RX 470 is limited to 12_0. Vulkan versions also differ: 1.4 for Volta, 1.3 for GCN. The RX 470 has a Metal benchmark (41690 in Geekbench Metal), which the TITAN V lacks in the database. The TITAN V's display outputs are identical in count (1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), but the RX 470 uses HDMI 2.0b.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN V has 651.3 GB/s from 12 GB of HBM2 on a 3072-bit bus. The AMD Radeon RX 470 has 211.2 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Can the RX 470 match the TITAN V in any compute workload?

A: No. In the three shared benchmarks (3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, Geekbench Vulkan), the TITAN V wins all with deltas between 281.4% and 368.5%. The RX 470's FP16 throughput is identical to its FP32 (1:1), providing no advantage.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The TITAN V has 25.9 million transistors per mm², while the RX 470 has 24.6 million per mm². The TITAN V's density is slightly higher, but its overall transistor count (21,100 million vs 5,700 million) is the decisive factor.

Q: Do these cards support the same DirectX features?

A: No. The TITAN V supports DirectX 12_1, while the RX 470 is limited to DirectX 12_0. Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan, but with different versions (1.4 for Volta, 1.3 for GCN).

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The TITAN V has 5120 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The RX 470 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Q: What is the power connector requirement?

A: The TITAN V needs one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector with a 600 W suggested PSU. The RX 470 needs a single 6-pin with a 300 W suggested PSU.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA TITAN V outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 470 by margins that range from 281.4% to 368.5% in shared benchmarks. The TITAN V's 79th percentile rank versus the RX 470's 74th percentile understates the gap because the average scores are computed over different test suites. When the same workloads are run, the TITAN V is three to four times faster.

Who should pick which? If the requirement is maximum compute throughput, high-bandwidth memory, or tensor core acceleration, the TITAN V is the only choice from this pair. Its 12 GB HBM2 capacity and 640 tensor cores make it suitable for large datasets and AI workloads. The RX 470, with its 4 GB GDDR5 and 120 W power draw, is a far lighter option. It consumes half the power, needs only a 300 W PSU, and is physically smaller. For applications where the workload fits within 4 GB and does not require tensor operations, the RX 470 offers a functional, lower-power path. But for any performance metric in the shared tests, the TITAN V wins by a wide margin.

The production status of both cards is end-of-life, and the release dates are roughly 16 months apart (December 2017 for the TITAN V, August 2016 for the RX 470). The TITAN V's successor is the GeForce 20 series, while the RX 470's successor is Polaris. Neither card has a future in new builds, but the TITAN V remains a relevant data point for high-end compute benchmarks, while the RX 470 serves as a baseline for mid-range performance from the Polaris era.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA TITAN V | AMD Radeon RX 470 |

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

| Process Node | 12 nm | 14 nm |

| Transistors | 21,100 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 815 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1200 MHz | 926 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1455 MHz | 1206 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | HBM2 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 3072 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 651.3 GB/s | 211.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 5120 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 320 | 128 |

| ROPs | 96 | 32 |

| Tensor Cores | 640 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 139.7 GPixel/s | 38.59 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 465.6 GTexel/s | 154.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 14.90 TFLOPS | 4.940 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 29.80 TFLOPS (2:1) | 4.940 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 120 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 600 W | 300 W |

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

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Dimensions (LxHxW) | 267x112x40 mm | 240x95x35 mm |

Where Each One Wins

The TITAN V wins every shared benchmark, so the question is not whether it wins, but by how much. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it is 323.4% ahead. In OpenCL, 368.5%. In Vulkan, 281.4%. These are not close contests. The TITAN V's strengths are compute-heavy workloads, high-resolution texture streaming (due to 12 GB HBM2), and any task that leverages FP16 or tensor cores. Its 29.80 TFLOPS FP16 throughput is a hallmark of the Volta architecture, and the 640 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for matrix operations. The RX 470 cannot compete in these areas; its FP16 is identical to FP32, and it has no tensor hardware.

The RX 470 wins on efficiency and physical footprint. It draws 120 W versus 250 W, needs only a 300 W PSU, and uses a single 6-pin connector. Its dimensions are smaller in every axis. For a system with limited power delivery or a compact case, the RX 470 is the more practical option. It also has a Geekbench Metal score of 41690, which the TITAN V does not have in the database, suggesting the RX 470 has been tested in macOS or Metal environments. The RX 470's 4 GB memory may be sufficient for older games or lighter compute tasks, and its 74th percentile rank shows it is not a weak card in absolute terms. It simply sits in a different performance class.

The use-case split is clear: the TITAN V is for compute density, large memory footprints, and tensor workloads. The RX 470 is for low-power, space-constrained builds where the workload is modest. The recorded data offers no scenario where the RX 470 outperforms the TITAN V in a shared test. The RX 470's only advantages are power, size, and the presence of a Metal benchmark result. For anyone measuring raw performance, the TITAN V is the definitive choice. For anyone measuring efficiency per watt, the RX 470's 120 W draw versus the TITAN V's 250 W is a meaningful metric, though the TITAN V delivers roughly three to four times the performance for only twice the power.