AMD Radeon RX 6400 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clear overall winner, but the nature of the wins reveals a fascinating split between legacy APIs, modern workloads, and raw compute. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 takes 8 of the 10 head-to-head benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 6400 manages only 2 wins. The magnitude of the GTX 970's victories, however, is not uniform, and the RX 6400's successes hint at architectural strengths that the older card simply cannot match.

The most lopsided result in the entire comparison comes from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The GTX 970 scores 369 against the RX 6400's 176, a delta of 109.7%. That is more than double the frame throughput in this specific workload, a staggering gap that suggests the GTX 970's wider memory bus and higher raw shading throughput are still highly relevant even in a modern DirectX 12 title. The GTX 970 also dominates in the legacy DirectX 9 test, scoring 143 versus 93, a 53.8% advantage. This indicates that the older Maxwell architecture retains exceptionally strong compatibility and efficiency with older API paths, likely due to its driver maturity and dedicated hardware scheduling.

The compute-oriented tests further solidify the GTX 970's lead. In PassMark GPU Compute, it scores 4073 against 2812, a 44.8% gap. Similarly, in PassMark G3D, the GTX 970 posts 9638 versus 7673, a 25.6% advantage. These are not marginal differences; they represent a substantial performance tier separation. The DirectX 12 PassMark test also favors the GTX 970, with a score of 41 versus 30, a 36.7% lead. Even in the closer DirectX 11 test, the GTX 970 edges out a win at 71 versus 70, a narrow 1.4% margin, showing that the older card holds its own even in the most common gaming API.

The RX 6400's two wins are notable for their context. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6400 scores 32011 against the GTX 970's 29982, a 6.3% advantage. This is a significant win for the newer card, as OpenCL is a general-purpose compute language, and the RX 6400's RDNA 2 architecture with its dedicated compute units shows clear efficiency. The other win is in PassMark DirectX 10, where the RX 6400 scores 54 versus 46, a 14.8% lead. This is an interesting anomaly, as the RX 6400 loses in DirectX 9 and DirectX 11, but wins in DirectX 10, possibly reflecting a specific driver optimization or hardware path for that API version.

The Vulkan test adds another layer of nuance. The GTX 970 wins with 20005 against 16372, a 22.2% advantage. While the RX 6400 is built on a modern architecture with explicit Vulkan support, the GTX 970's sheer shader count and memory bandwidth overcome the architectural recency. The 2D test, PassMark G2D, is a narrow GTX 970 win at 764 versus 722, a 5.8% difference, suggesting that desktop composition and 2D acceleration are largely a wash, though the GTX 970 holds a slight edge.

When looking at the aggregate, the GTX 970's average benchmark score is 7157, while the RX 6400 sits at 6001. The GTX 970 also holds a higher percentile rank at 39 versus the RX 6400's 35. This positions the GTX 970 closer to peers like the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 (7170, -0.2%) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE (7171, -0.2%), while the RX 6400's closest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M (6000, 0%) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server (5996, 0.1%). The data clearly indicates that despite being over seven years older, the GTX 970 remains the stronger performer in most measurable scenarios.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is stark, representing two very different design philosophies separated by nearly a decade of silicon evolution. The GTX 970 is built on the GM204 chip using the Maxwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The die is substantial at 398 mm², housing 5,200 million transistors, which yields a transistor density of 13.1 million per square millimeter. The RX 6400, by contrast, uses the Navi 24 chip with the RDNA 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a much more advanced 6 nm process, also at TSMC. Its die is tiny at just 107 mm², yet it packs 5,400 million transistors, resulting in an extraordinary density of 50.5 million per square millimeter.

This difference in density is the single most telling metric. The RX 6400 crams more transistors into a quarter of the silicon area, which explains its drastically lower power draw and thermal footprint. The GTX 970 has a TDP of 148 W, requires a dual-slot cooler, and needs 2x 6-pin power connectors with a suggested 300 W PSU. The RX 6400 sips power at just 53 W, fits in a single-slot form factor, requires no power connectors, and runs off a suggested 250 W PSU. This is a fundamental shift in efficiency, not just a minor improvement.

The memory subsystems also diverge sharply. The GTX 970 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 6400 also has 4 GB, but it is GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, yielding only 128.0 GB/s. The GTX 970's bandwidth is 75% higher, which directly explains its dominance in memory-intensive workloads like the Steel Nomad DX12 test. The RX 6400 compensates with a much higher memory clock, running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) versus the GTX 970's 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective), but the narrow bus is a hard limit.

Core configuration tells another story. The GTX 970 fields 1664 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, and 56 ROPs. The RX 6400 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, roughly half of each. Despite this, the RX 6400 hits a pixel rate of 74.27 GPixel/s versus the GTX 970's 65.97 GPixel/s, due to its much higher clocks: 2321 MHz boost versus 1178 MHz boost. The texture rates are closer, 111.4 GTexel/s for the RX 6400 versus 122.5 GTexel/s for the GTX 970, but the FP32 compute is nearly identical, 3.565 TFLOPS for the RX 6400 and 3.920 TFLOPS for the GTX 970. The RX 6400 also supports FP16 at 7.130 TFLOPS (2:1), which the GTX 970 lacks entirely, and it includes 12 ray tracing cores, a feature absent from the Maxwell design.

The API feature sets reflect their eras. The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 6400 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which brings hardware ray tracing and mesh shaders, along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4. Both are end-of-life products, but the RX 6400's newer feature set is designed for future-proofing, while the GTX 970 relies on raw throughput.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 has an average benchmark score of 7157, while the AMD Radeon RX 6400 scores 6001. The GTX 970 also holds a higher percentile rank at 39 versus 35.

Q: How does the GTX 970 perform in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The GTX 970 scores 369, which is 109.7% higher than the RX 6400's 176. This is the largest performance gap recorded between the two cards in any test.

Q: In which benchmark does the RX 6400 achieve its biggest win?

A: The RX 6400 wins in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 32011 against the GTX 970's 29982, a 6.3% advantage. It also wins in PassMark DirectX 10, scoring 54 versus 46, a 14.8% lead.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The GTX 970 has a 256-bit bus delivering 224.4 GB/s of bandwidth, while the RX 6400 uses a 64-bit bus providing 128.0 GB/s. The GTX 970's bandwidth is significantly higher, which contributes to its stronger performance in memory-heavy tests.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 6400 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). The RX 6400's version includes additional features like hardware ray tracing.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 6400 has a boost clock of 2321 MHz, while the GTX 970 boosts to 1178 MHz. The RX 6400's clock is nearly double, but the GTX 970 compensates with more shading units and a wider memory bus.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 6400 |

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

| Architecture | Maxwell 2.0 | RDNA 2.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 6 nm |

| Transistors | 5,200 million | 5,400 million |

| Die Size | 398 mm² | 107 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.1M / mm² | 50.5M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1050 MHz | 1923 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1178 MHz | 2321 MHz |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.4 GB/s | 128.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1664 | 768 |

| TMUs | 104 | 48 |

| ROPs | 56 | 32 |

| RT Cores | None | 12 |

| Pixel Rate | 65.97 GPixel/s | 74.27 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 122.5 GTexel/s | 111.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 3.920 TFLOPS | 3.565 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | None listed | 7.130 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 148 W | 53 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 970 is the clear winner for legacy gaming and high-throughput workloads. Its 8 wins include every major gaming API except DirectX 10, and its dominance in DirectX 9 (53.8% lead) and DirectX 11 (1.4% but still a win) makes it the better choice for older game libraries. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result, with a 109.7% advantage, shows that even modern DX12 titles can favor the GTX 970 when they demand high memory bandwidth and raw shader throughput. For users running a large backlog of games spanning the late 2000s and 2010s, the GTX 970's driver maturity and wide bus deliver consistent performance.

The RX 6400 wins in OpenCL compute and DirectX 10. The OpenCL win, at 6.3% ahead, indicates that general-purpose compute workloads that leverage its RDNA 2 architecture will run faster. This makes the RX 6400 a viable option for tasks like OpenCL-based rendering or physics simulations that are not tied to a specific gaming API. The DirectX 10 win, a 14.8% lead, is narrower but suggests that specific titles from that era may run better on the newer architecture, possibly due to newer driver optimizations for that legacy path.

For power-constrained systems, the RX 6400 is the only rational choice. Its 53 W TDP, single-slot design, and lack of power connectors mean it can be installed in compact or low-power builds where the GTX 970's 148 W TDP and dual-slot cooler would be impractical. The RX 6400's PCIe 4.0 x4 interface also supports modern motherboards natively, whereas the GTX 970 relies on PCIe 3.0 x16.

The Verdict

The data presents a paradox: the older card is faster, but the newer card is more efficient. The GTX 970 wins 8 of 10 benchmarks, including the most demanding modern test, and its average score of 7157 places it in a higher performance tier than the RX 6400's 6001. If the priority is raw performance across a broad range of workloads, especially gaming, the GTX 970 is the superior choice according to the measurements. Its 109.7% lead in Steel Nomad and 44.8% lead in GPU compute cannot be ignored.

However, the RX 6400's wins in OpenCL and DirectX 10, combined with its drastically lower power draw and physical footprint, make it the better option for specific use cases. A system builder prioritizing energy efficiency, silent operation, or a minimal chassis should select the RX 6400. Its 53 W TDP and single-slot profile are unmatched by the GTX 970's 148 W dual-slot requirement.

The FAQ and specification tables clarify that the RX 6400 is not a generational upgrade in raw performance; it is an efficiency and feature upgrade. The GTX 970, despite being from 2014, remains a more powerful GPU in most measurable scenarios. The verdict for most users is straightforward: choose the GTX 970 for maximum frame rates and compute throughput, choose the RX 6400 for compact, low-power builds where the GTX 970 cannot physically fit or would strain the power supply. The recorded data does not indicate a single winner for all contexts, but for pure benchmark dominance, the GTX 970 is the definitive choice.