AMD Radeon RX 480 vs NVIDIA TITAN RTX Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 480 and NVIDIA TITAN RTX occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, and the benchmark data reflects a complete mismatch in class. The TITAN RTX wins every head-to-head test by a wide margin, yet the RX 480 holds a slightly higher overall percentile ranking, a quirk driven by the differing benchmark suites each card was subjected to. This analysis breaks down where each card genuinely competes, what separates their architectures, and what the raw scores mean for practical use.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the head-to-head benchmark results, the NVIDIA TITAN RTX wins in every single category where both cards were tested. It takes the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. There are no benchmark wins for the AMD Radeon RX 480 in this direct comparison. The TITAN RTX’s margin of victory is enormous, ranging from roughly two-thirds to three-quarters ahead of the RX 480 depending on the test.

The RX 480’s only "win" is contextual, not performance-based. Its average benchmark score of 33997 across its test suite places it in the 78th percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN RTX’s average score of 31676 lands it in the 76th percentile. This inversion occurs because the RX 480 was tested on Geekbench Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan, while the TITAN RTX was also tested on a broader set of Passmark DX9 through DX12 tests, which pull its average down. In practical terms, the TITAN RTX is the clear performance winner; the RX 480 merely benefits from a narrower, more favorable test selection.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different manufacturing generations and design philosophies. The RX 480 uses the Ellesmere chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, yielding a density of 24.6M transistors per mm². The TITAN RTX uses the TU102 chip on Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm TSMC process. It holds 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die, with a nearly identical density of 24.7M per mm².

Memory technology differs sharply. The RX 480 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The TITAN RTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s. That is 2.6 times the memory capacity and bandwidth. Clock speeds also favor the TITAN RTX: it runs at 1350 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost, versus 1120 MHz base and 1266 MHz boost for the RX 480. The TITAN RTX also includes dedicated hardware the RX 480 lacks entirely: 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores. The RX 480 relies on 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the TITAN RTX nearly doubles those figures with 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.

Compute throughput tells the same story. The RX 480 offers 5.834 TFLOPS FP32 and the same 5.834 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The TITAN RTX delivers 16.31 TFLOPS FP32 and 32.62 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). Pixel and texture rates follow suit: 40.51 GPixel/s and 182.3 GTexel/s for the RX 480, versus 169.9 GPixel/s and 509.8 GTexel/s for the TITAN RTX. API support also differs, with the RX 480 at DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

FAQ

Q: Is the TITAN RTX faster than the RX 480 in every benchmark?

A: Yes. In the three head-to-head tests, the TITAN RTX wins 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench OpenCL, and Geekbench Vulkan. The RX 480 has zero wins in this comparison.

Q: Why does the RX 480 have a higher percentile rank if it loses every head-to-head test?

A: The RX 480 scores 33997 on average across its test suite, placing it in the 78th percentile. The TITAN RTX averages 31676, placing it in the 76th percentile. The discrepancy stems from the TITAN RTX being tested on additional Passmark DX9, DX10, DX11, DX12, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute tests, which lower its average compared to the RX 480’s narrower selection of Geekbench tests.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card have?

A: The RX 480 has 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth from 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The TITAN RTX has 672.0 GB/s from 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: Does the RX 480 support ray tracing or tensor cores?

A: No. The RX 480 has no RT cores and no tensor cores. The TITAN RTX has 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores.

Q: What is the DirectX feature level of each card?

A: The RX 480 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). The TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), a newer feature level.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The TITAN RTX boosts to 1770 MHz, while the RX 480 boosts to 1266 MHz.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ on nearly every specification field. The chip and architecture are completely different: Ellesmere with GCN 4.0 versus TU102 with Turing. Process nodes differ: 14 nm GlobalFoundries versus 12 nm TSMC. Transistor count is 5,700 million versus 18,600 million, and die size is 232 mm² versus 754 mm². Transistor density is nearly identical at 24.6M versus 24.7M per mm².

Clocks: base 1120 MHz versus 1350 MHz, boost 1266 MHz versus 1770 MHz. Memory: 8 GB GDDR5 versus 24 GB GDDR6, 256-bit versus 384-bit bus, 256.0 GB/s versus 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. Shading units: 2304 versus 4608. TMUs: 144 versus 288. ROPs: 32 versus 96. The TITAN RTX adds 72 RT cores and 576 tensor cores. Pixel rate: 40.51 versus 169.9 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 182.3 versus 509.8 GTexel/s. FP32: 5.834 versus 16.31 TFLOPS. FP16: 5.834 versus 32.62 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs also diverge. TDP is 150 W for the RX 480 versus 280 W for the TITAN RTX. Power connectors: 1x 6-pin versus 2x 8-pin. Suggested PSU: 450 W versus 600 W. Dimensions: 240 mm / 9.4 inches length and 95 mm / 3.7 inches height for the RX 480, versus 267 mm / 10.5 inches and 116 mm / 4.6 inches for the TITAN RTX. Both are dual-slot and 35 mm / 1.4 inches wide. Display outputs differ: the RX 480 has 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the TITAN RTX has 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. The TITAN RTX also has a newer DirectX version (12 Ultimate vs 12_0) and a newer Vulkan version (1.4 vs 1.3). The RX 480 has no launch MSRP listed in the data; the TITAN RTX has a launch MSRP of 2,499 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single win for the TITAN RTX comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The TITAN RTX scores 3794 against the RX 480’s 966, a delta of -74.5% from the TITAN RTX’s perspective. That means the RX 480 delivers roughly a quarter of the performance. This is a modern DX12 test, and the gap reflects the TITAN RTX’s newer architecture, higher compute throughput, and much larger memory subsystem.

Geekbench OpenCL shows a similar pattern. The TITAN RTX scores 144858, while the RX 480 scores 37998, a delta of -73.8%. This test exercises general compute workloads, and the TITAN RTX’s 16.31 TFLOPS FP32 versus 5.834 TFLOPS gives it a nearly 3x theoretical advantage, which the score roughly confirms.

Geekbench Vulkan is the closest of the three, though still a landslide. The TITAN RTX scores 136073 against the RX 480’s 45968, a delta of -66.2%. Vulkan is a lower-level API, and the RX 480’s GCN architecture handles it relatively better than DX12, but the raw hardware gap is too large to overcome. The TITAN RTX wins all three tests, with deltas ranging from -66.2% to -74.5%.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA TITAN RTX outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 480 in every head-to-head benchmark, with margins between 66% and 75%. It offers more than double the shading units, triple the memory bandwidth, quadruple the FP32 throughput, and the only ray tracing and tensor core support. It also carries a larger die, newer process node, and higher boost clock. The RX 480’s only statistical advantage is its higher average benchmark score and percentile rank, both artifacts of test selection rather than genuine performance superiority.

Who should pick the RX 480? A user constrained by the 150 W TDP, a single 6-pin connector, and a 450 W suggested PSU. It is also the only option for those needing Geekbench Metal scores, as the TITAN RTX has no Metal benchmark listed. Its 240 mm length makes it easier to fit in compact cases. The RX 480’s 78th percentile rank and average score of 33997 show it remains competitive against its own generation of rivals, sitting within 0.5% of cards like the RX 7700S and RTX A2000 12 GB.

Who should pick the TITAN RTX? Anyone who needs the 24 GB GDDR6 memory, the 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, or the RT and tensor cores for ray tracing or AI workloads. Its 76th percentile rank is misleading given its head-to-head dominance; the Passmark DX9 through DX12 scores drag the average down, but those tests also confirm broad API support. The TITAN RTX wins 3-0 in direct comparison, and that is the number that matters for performance. The RX 480 is a capable legacy card, but the TITAN RTX is in a different performance class entirely.