AMD Radeon RX 560 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 560 XT and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti are not competitors in any conventional sense; the data shows a generational and performance chasm between them. The RTX 3070 Ti dominates every recorded benchmark, leaving the RX 560 XT to serve a fundamentally different purpose. The database records the RX 560 XT with an average benchmark score of 34133, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 3070 Ti, despite a lower average score of 29945 due to a broader test suite, sits in the 75th percentile. This article analyzes where each card wins based strictly on recorded measurements and architectural facts.

Where Each One Wins

The use-case split is stark and defined by the benchmark suite. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti wins every single head-to-head test recorded against the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT. In the two shared benchmarks, Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 3070 Ti is decisively ahead. The RX 560 XT records no benchmark wins in any comparison, making its role clear: it is a legacy, end-of-life product from the Polaris generation, suited only for older or less demanding workloads where its 4 GB memory pool and GCN architecture remain functional.

The RTX 3070 Ti, by contrast, shows its strength across a wide range of modern tests. Its Passmark suite results are substantial: 23356 in G3D, 11601 in GPU Compute, 1055 in G2D, and 261 in DirectX 9. It also scores 3478 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a modern API test. These numbers indicate a card built for contemporary gaming and compute tasks. The RX 560 XT's only recorded benchmarks are the two Geekbench tests, with scores of 31387 in OpenCL and 36879 in Vulkan. While these are respectable for its class, they are dwarfed by the RTX 3070 Ti's corresponding scores of 119718 and 139541.

The percentile data reinforces this split. The RX 560 XT sits in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, which is surprisingly high given its age, but this is likely a reflection of its narrow benchmark representation. The RTX 3070 Ti sits in the 75th percentile, a lower rank that reflects its inclusion in a much wider and more demanding set of tests, including DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 legacy benchmarks where its scores are relatively low (155 in DirectX 10, 192 in DirectX 11, 91 in DirectX 12). The RTX 3070 Ti wins where it matters for modern use, while the RX 560 XT only appears competitive in a limited, older context.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent completely different architectural eras. The AMD Radeon RX 560 XT uses the Ellesmere chip based on GCN 4.0, built on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It packs 5,700 million transistors into a 232 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.6 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti uses the GA104 chip based on Ampere, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a transistor density of 44.4 million per mm². The RTX 3070 Ti has roughly three times the transistors on a die that is only about 69% larger, showing a much denser and more modern design.

The core configurations are equally divergent. The RX 560 XT has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output pipelines. It has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 3070 Ti has 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. It also features 48 dedicated ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS-style tensor workloads. The RTX 3070 Ti's pixel rate is 169.9 GPixel/s versus 39.23 GPixel/s for the RX 560 XT, and its texture rate is 339.8 GTexel/s versus 137.3 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture differs as well. The RX 560 XT uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3070 Ti uses 8 GB of GDDR6X on the same 256-bit bus, but delivers 608.3 GB/s, nearly three times the bandwidth. The RX 560 XT has a base clock of 1074 MHz and a boost of 1226 MHz, with memory at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The RTX 3070 Ti runs at a base of 1575 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, with memory at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The API support also marks the generation gap: the RX 560 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the RTX 3070 Ti supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data is limited to two tests, but both show overwhelming NVIDIA dominance. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 560 XT scores 31387 against the RTX 3070 Ti's 119718. This is a delta of -73.8%, meaning the RX 560 XT trails by nearly three-quarters of the NVIDIA card's score. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 560 XT scores 36879 against the RTX 3070 Ti's 139541, a delta of -73.6%. These are not close contests; the RTX 3070 Ti is roughly 3.8 times faster in OpenCL and 3.8 times faster in Vulkan.

The broader Passmark suite for the RTX 3070 Ti provides additional context, though no direct RX 560 XT comparisons exist for those tests. The RTX 3070 Ti scores 23356 in Passmark G3D, 11601 in GPU Compute, and 1055 in G2D. Its legacy DirectX scores are lower: 261 in DirectX 9, 192 in DirectX 11, 155 in DirectX 10, and 91 in DirectX 12. These numbers suggest that the RTX 3070 Ti is optimized for modern workloads, with its DirectX 12 score notably lower than its DirectX 9 score, a pattern common in cards that prioritize newer APIs. The RX 560 XT, with its single-generation GCN architecture, simply cannot match the compute throughput of the Ampere design.

Rival comparisons from the database further contextualize each card. The RX 560 XT's nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A2000 12 GB, with a delta of -0.1%, meaning the RX 560 XT is essentially tied with that card. It is also within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 480. The RTX 3070 Ti's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile, with a delta of 0.1%, and it is 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti. This shows the RX 560 XT is competing with cards from a similar era, while the RTX 3070 Ti is trading blows with much newer and more powerful hardware.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti has 6144 shading units, while the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT has 1792. This is a 3.4x difference in raw shader count.

Q: Does the RX 560 XT support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 560 XT has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. The RTX 3070 Ti has 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti delivers 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth from 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus. The RX 560 XT delivers 224.0 GB/s from 4 GB of GDDR5 on the same bus width.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RX 560 XT has an average benchmark score of 34133, placing it in the 79th percentile. The RTX 3070 Ti has an average score of 29945, placing it in the 75th percentile. The lower average for the RTX 3070 Ti reflects its inclusion in a wider, more demanding test suite.

Q: Which card is newer?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti was released on May 30, 2021, while the RX 560 XT was released on March 12, 2019. Both are now end-of-life products.

Q: What is the transistor count for each?

A: The RX 560 XT has 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. The RTX 3070 Ti has 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the superior card by every measurable metric in the database. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks with deltas of -73.8% and -73.6%, meaning the RX 560 XT is less than a third as fast in those tests. The RTX 3070 Ti offers 8 GB of GDDR6X memory versus 4 GB of GDDR5, 6144 shading units versus 1792, and dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores that the RX 560 XT lacks entirely.

Who should pick the RX 560 XT? Only a user constrained to legacy systems, specifically those requiring a dual-slot, 150 W card with a single 6-pin connector and PCIe 3.0 support. Its 79th percentile ranking is respectable, but it is tied with the RTX A2000 12 GB and within 0.5% of the HD 7950, both older or lower-tier cards. It is a card for basic 1080p-era workloads, not modern gaming or compute.

Who should pick the RTX 3070 Ti? Anyone needing modern performance. Its Passmark G3D score of 23356, its 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, and its 608.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth make it a far more capable tool for contemporary games and GPU-accelerated tasks. Its 290 W TDP and 12-pin connector require a 600 W power supply, but the performance justifies the infrastructure. The launch MSRP was 599 USD, and the data shows it competes closely with the RTX 5070 Mobile and RTX 2080 Ti. The verdict is simple: the RTX 3070 Ti is the only choice for modern workloads, while the RX 560 XT remains a historical artifact.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The RX 560 XT uses a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries, while the RTX 3070 Ti uses an 8 nm process at Samsung. Transistor counts are 5,700 million versus 17,400 million, and die sizes are 232 mm² versus 392 mm². Transistor density is 24.6M per mm² versus 44.4M per mm². Base clocks are 1074 MHz versus 1575 MHz, and boost clocks are 1226 MHz versus 1770 MHz. Memory clocks are 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

Memory size is 4 GB versus 8 GB, with GDDR5 versus GDDR6X. Both use a 256-bit bus, but bandwidth is 224.0 GB/s versus 608.3 GB/s. Shading units are 1792 versus 6144, TMUs are 112 versus 192, and ROPs are 32 versus 96. The RTX 3070 Ti adds 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, which the RX 560 XT lacks entirely. Pixel rate is 39.23 GPixel/s versus 169.9 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 137.3 GTexel/s versus 339.8 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 4.394 TFLOPS versus 21.75 TFLOPS, with both offering 1:1 FP16.

TDP is 150 W versus 290 W. Power connectors are 1x 6-pin versus 1x 12-pin, and suggested PSU is 450 W versus 600 W. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RX 560 XT, versus 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the RTX 3070 Ti. DirectX support is 12 (12_0) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2), and Vulkan support is 1.3 versus 1.4. The RX 560 XT is 241 mm long, while the RTX 3070 Ti is 267 mm long and 112 mm tall. Both are dual-slot cards.