AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 represent two distinct eras of AMD graphics architecture, separated by nearly six years of design evolution. The benchmark data shows a decisive overall victory for the newer card, with the RX 9070 winning 9 out of 10 head-to-head tests, yet the single loss reveals a fascinating quirk in API-level performance that prevents this from being a complete shutout. This analysis walks through the numbers, architecture, and practical implications of each card's performance profile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most dramatic disparity appears in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where the RX 9070 scores 6290 against the RX 5700's 1862, a staggering 237.8% advantage. This is the single largest delta in the entire comparison and sets the tone for modern DirectX 12 workloads, where the newer architecture's hardware capabilities are fully utilized. The margin here is not incremental; it represents a generational leap in raw throughput that dwarfs every other benchmark gap on the list.

Compute-oriented workloads tell a similar story. In PassMark GPU Compute, the RX 9070 posts 14737 points versus 6517 for the RX 5700, a 126.1% difference. Geekbench OpenCL shows an 89% lead for the RX 9070 (131539 vs 69603), reinforcing that the newer card's parallel processing resources are fundamentally more capable. Even in legacy DirectX tests, the RX 9070 maintains commanding leads: PassMark DirectX 11 shows a 178.2% advantage (281 vs 101), while DirectX 9 yields a 64.1% gap (343 vs 209).

The one exception to this pattern is Geekbench Vulkan, where the RX 5700 actually wins with 64166 points against the RX 9070's 58705, a -8.5% delta for the newer card. This is an anomalous result given the rest of the data, and it suggests that either the RX 5700's driver stack is exceptionally well-tuned for this specific Vulkan workload, or the RX 9070's RDNA 4.0 implementation has a peculiar inefficiency in this particular test scenario. The RX 5700 also holds a Narrower victory in PassMark DirectX 12, where it scores 74 points versus the RX 9070's 54, a 37% lead for the older card. Wait — that is incorrect; the head-to-head data shows the RX 9070 winning DirectX 12 with a 37% delta. The RX 5700's only win is Geekbench Vulkan.

The remaining tests all favor the RX 9070 with substantial margins: PassMark G3D shows a 77.3% lead (25381 vs 14314), DirectX 10 a 62.1% advantage (141 vs 87), G2D a 46% gap (1280 vs 877), and DirectX 9 a 64.1% difference. Across the ten benchmarks, the average score for the RX 9070 is 23877, while the RX 5700 averages 22170, though this aggregate figure understates the true performance gap because the RX 9070's wins are far larger in magnitude than its single loss.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two cards begins with their process nodes. The RX 9070 is built on TSMC's 4 nm process, while the RX 5700 uses a 7 nm node. This translates directly to transistor density: the RX 9070 packs 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die, yielding a density of 151.0 million transistors per square millimeter. The RX 5700 contains just 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, for a density of 41.0 million per square millimeter. That is a 3.7x density advantage for the newer card, explaining how it fits vastly more compute hardware into a only 42% larger die area.

The compute resources reflect this density advantage. The RX 9070 features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs, compared to the RX 5700's 2304 shaders, 144 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 9070 also introduces 56 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the RX 5700, which has no RT cores listed. The FP32 throughput tells the story numerically: the RX 9070 delivers 36.13 TFLOPS, while the RX 5700 manages only 7.949 TFLOPS — a 4.5x difference. The RX 9070's FP16 performance matches its FP32 at a 1:1 ratio (36.13 TFLOPS), while the RX 5700's FP16 runs at a 2:1 ratio for 15.90 TFLOPS, indicating a fundamentally different approach to mixed-precision computing.

Memory subsystems also diverge sharply. The RX 9070 carries 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 5700 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on the same 256-bit bus width but only reaches 448.0 GB/s. The clock speeds reflect the process node advantage: the RX 9070 boosts to 2520 MHz with a base of 1330 MHz, while the RX 5700 boosts to 1725 MHz with a base of 1465 MHz. The RX 9070's memory runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), compared to the RX 5700's 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective).

Where Each One Wins

The RX 9070 wins in almost every measurable category. Its 237.8% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad indicates it is vastly better suited for modern DirectX 12 gaming workloads, particularly those that stress geometry and compute simultaneously. The 126.1% advantage in PassMark GPU Compute positions it as a far more capable card for GPU-accelerated productivity tasks, machine learning inference, and physics simulations. The 89% lead in Geekbench OpenCL reinforces this compute-oriented strength.

For gaming specifically, the 77.3% PassMark G3D advantage shows that the RX 9070 delivers significantly higher frame rates in contemporary titles, while the 178.2% DirectX 11 lead suggests it also handles older API games with substantial headroom. The 64.1% DirectX 9 advantage and 62.1% DirectX 10 lead indicate backward compatibility does not come at a performance cost — the newer card simply outruns the older one across every DirectX generation.

The RX 5700's only victory comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 64166 versus 58705. This 8.5% margin, while notable, appears isolated given the RX 9070's dominance in all other tests. It may indicate that the RX 5700's RDNA 1.0 architecture has a particularly efficient Vulkan driver implementation, or that the specific workload in Geekbench's Vulkan test does not leverage the RX 9070's additional compute units effectively. In practical terms, a user focused exclusively on Vulkan-based games might see competitive performance from the RX 5700, but this is a narrow exception to the overall trend.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. The RX 9070 uses the Navi 48 chip on RDNA 4.0 architecture, while the RX 5700 uses Navi 10 on RDNA 1.0. The process node drops from 7 nm to 4 nm. Transistor count jumps from 10,300 million to 53,900 million, and die size from 251 mm² to 357 mm². The RX 9070 has 3584 shading units versus 2304, 224 TMUs versus 144, and 128 ROPs versus 64. The RX 9070 adds 56 RT cores; the RX 5700 has none.

Memory capacity doubles from 8 GB to 16 GB, and bandwidth rises from 448.0 GB/s to 644.6 GB/s. Clock speeds shift significantly: base clock drops from 1465 MHz to 1330 MHz, but boost clock rises from 1725 MHz to 2520 MHz. The power draw increases from 180 W to 220 W, with the RX 9070 requiring a 550 W suggested PSU versus 450 W for the RX 5700. The RX 9070 uses two 8-pin power connectors, while the RX 5700 uses one 6-pin and one 8-pin. The bus interface advances from PCIe 4.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs improve from HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.4a to HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1a. The RX 9070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 5700 only reaches DirectX 12 (12_1). The RX 5700 has physical dimensions of 268 mm length, 111 mm height, and 36 mm width; the RX 9070 has no listed dimensions.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 boosts to 2520 MHz, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 boosts to 1725 MHz. The RX 9070's boost clock is 795 MHz higher.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card provide?

A: The RX 9070 delivers 644.6 GB/s across a 256-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6. The RX 5700 provides 448.0 GB/s on the same 256-bit bus width but with only 8 GB of GDDR6.

Q: Does the RX 5700 support ray tracing?

A: No. The RX 5700 has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RX 9070 includes 56 dedicated RT cores.

Q: What is the transistor density difference between the two cards?

A: The RX 9070 has a transistor density of 151.0 million per square millimeter on a 4 nm process, while the RX 5700 has 41.0 million per square millimeter on a 7 nm process.

Q: Which card wins in Geekbench Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 64166, beating the RX 9070's 58705 by 8.5%. This is the only benchmark in the head-to-head set where the RX 5700 comes out ahead.

Q: What is the FP32 throughput for each card?

A: The RX 9070 delivers 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the RX 5700 delivers 7.949 TFLOPS. The RX 9070 is approximately 4.5 times faster in this metric.

The Verdict

The data presents an unambiguous picture: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the superior card in nearly every measurable way. Its 9-1 win record in head-to-head benchmarks, combined with a 237.8% advantage in the most demanding DirectX 12 test and a 126.1% lead in compute throughput, makes it the clear choice for anyone seeking maximum performance in modern workloads. The 4 nm process node, 16 GB of memory, and 56 ray tracing cores position it for current-generation gaming and productivity tasks that the RX 5700 simply cannot handle at competitive speeds.

The RX 5700's single Vulkan victory is a statistical curiosity rather than a practical reason for selection. It suggests that in one specific API workload, the older card's driver optimization holds an edge, but this does not translate to broader gaming or compute superiority. The RX 5700's lower power draw of 180 W versus 220 W and its smaller physical footprint may appeal to users with tight chassis or power constraints, but these advantages come with a 77.3% penalty in 3D performance and a 64.1% penalty in DirectX 9 compatibility.

For a user building a system today, the RX 9070 is the only rational choice from this comparison. Its higher launch MSRP of 549 USD versus the RX 5700's 349 USD reflects the massive performance differential, and the newer card's active production status ensures ongoing driver support. The RX 5700, now end-of-life, remains a historical artifact whose only benchmark win appears to be an anomaly. The verdict is clear: the RX 9070 is a generational leap forward, and the RX 5700 belongs to a previous era of GPU design.