AMD Radeon RX 480 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 480 occupy vastly different positions in the graphics landscape, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution and a massive gap in mobile versus desktop design intent. The data from the benchmark database shows a clear, though not entirely unsurprising, hierarchy: the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile outperforms the RX 480 in every directly comparable test, but the RX 480's legacy as a desktop workhorse is still visible in its average score and percentile ranking.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the primary differentiator is the intended use case and the form factor. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is a modern, power-efficient mobile processor designed for high-end laptops. Its performance profile is defined by raw compute throughput in modern APIs, with scores of 143,870 in Geekbench OpenCL and 139,213 in Geekbench Vulkan. These are its clear strengths, and it wins both direct head-to-head comparisons against the RX 480 by substantial margins of 278.6% and 202.8%, respectively.

The AMD Radeon RX 480, in contrast, is a desktop GPU from 2016, classified as End-of-life. Its wins are not in direct performance against the newer card, but in its historical role as a capable 1080p desktop GPU. It has a higher base clock speed, at 1120 MHz, and its memory configuration, while offering less bandwidth, uses a wider 256-bit bus. The RX 480 also supports a broader set of display outputs, including 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, whereas the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent." Therefore, the RX 480 "wins" in the context of a stationary desktop build with multiple external monitors, while the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile wins in every performance metric and in mobile deployment.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is stark. The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs a staggering 31,100 million transistors onto a 263 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 118.3M / mm². In contrast, the RX 480 uses the much older GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It contains only 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a density of 24.6M / mm². This represents a nearly 5.5x increase in transistor count for the newer NVIDIA chip.

The compute configurations are equally divergent. The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile features 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It also includes dedicated hardware that the RX 480 lacks entirely: 46 RT cores for ray tracing and 184 tensor cores for AI acceleration. The RX 480 has 2,304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT or tensor core support whatsoever. This fundamental hardware difference is reflected in their API support; the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the AMD card is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3.

Memory technology also separates the two generations. The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile uses 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The RX 480 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s. The clock speeds tell a different story, as the RX 480 runs at a higher 1120 MHz base and 1266 MHz boost, compared to the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's 847 MHz base and 1447 MHz boost. However, the NVIDIA card's architectural efficiency and memory bandwidth more than compensate for its lower base clock.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison data is limited but conclusive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 143,870, while the RX 480 scores 37,998. This results in a delta of 278.6% in favor of the NVIDIA card. This massive lead is indicative of the sheer compute throughput advantage, as the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's FP32 performance is rated at 17.04 TFLOPS versus the RX 480's 5.834 TFLOPS.

In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the results are similarly one-sided. The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 139,213, against the RX 480's 45,968. The delta here is 202.8% in favor of NVIDIA. While lower than the OpenCL margin, this still demonstrates a commanding lead in modern graphics API performance. The data shows that in these two scenarios, which represent general compute and modern gaming workloads, the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is in a different performance class entirely.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the average benchmark score for the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is 35,435, placing it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro GV100, which scores 35,520, a delta of -0.2%. The RX 480, with an average score of 33,997, sits in the 78th percentile. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7950, which scores 33,951, a delta of 0.1%. This shows that while the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is faster, the RX 480 is not far behind in the overall average score distribution, despite its age.

The Verdict

From the data, the choice is clear for almost any modern workload. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is the superior performer, offering over double the performance in Geekbench Vulkan and nearly four times the performance in Geekbench OpenCL. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory, 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate make it the only viable option for modern, high-fidelity gaming and GPU-accelerated compute tasks. Its 60 W TDP, integrated into a laptop, also makes it a highly efficient solution. The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is the pick for anyone requiring the highest level of mobile graphics performance.

The AMD Radeon RX 480, despite being End-of-life, still holds relevance for legacy systems or budget-conscious desktop builds where its 8 GB of VRAM and 256-bit bus are sufficient for older titles. Its higher base clock and desktop form factor with multiple display outputs are its only practical advantages, but these are irrelevant when compared to the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's sheer compute power. The data suggests that the RX 480 is a product of its era, and that era has passed. For any new purchase or upgrade, the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is the definitive choice, with the RX 480 offering no performance-based reason for selection outside of its historical context.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile than the AMD Radeon RX 480 in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 143,870, while the RX 480 scores 37,998. This gives the NVIDIA card a 278.6% performance advantage in that test.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 480 support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 480 has no RT cores listed in its specifications, while the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile includes 46 RT cores for dedicated ray tracing hardware.

Q: What are the memory bandwidth figures for each GPU?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile has a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s using 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus. The RX 480 has a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s using 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has a higher base clock speed?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 480 has a base clock of 1120 MHz, which is higher than the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's 847 MHz base clock. However, the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's boost clock reaches 1447 MHz, exceeding the RX 480's 1266 MHz boost.

Q: How does the average benchmark score of the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile has an average benchmark score of 35,435. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 with a score of 35,520, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the Quadro GV100 is slightly faster on average.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the RX 480 is built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This process difference is a major factor in the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile's transistor density of 118.3M / mm², compared to the RX 480's 24.6M / mm².