AMD Radeon RX 7800M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile represent two distinct philosophies for high-performance mobile graphics, and the benchmark data reveals a surprisingly close contest. Across nine head-to-head tests, the AMD Radeon RX 7800M takes five wins while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile secures four, with the average benchmark scores landing at 27,883 for AMD and 27,435 for NVIDIA. Both GPUs occupy the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, placing them in the same competitive tier despite their divergent internal designs and power targets.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M establishes its dominance in compute-oriented and low-level API workloads. In Geekbench Vulkan, AMD posts a score of 126,668 against NVIDIA’s 108,367, a decisive 16.9% advantage that signals superior performance in modern graphics APIs. The Geekbench OpenCL result follows the same pattern, with AMD’s 120,778 outpacing NVIDIA’s 109,197 by 10.6%. PassMark’s GPU Compute test also favors AMD, showing 9,342 versus 8,399, an 11.2% lead. These results indicate that the RX 7800M is the stronger choice for applications that leverage raw throughput and cross-platform compute, including content creation and productivity tasks that offload work to the GPU. The AMD card also wins PassMark’s DirectX 12 test, scoring 89 against NVIDIA’s 85, a 4.7% margin, and the 2D graphics test with 892 versus 763, a 16.9% gap that suggests better performance in less graphically intensive but still GPU-accelerated desktop workloads.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, conversely, takes its wins in legacy DirectX paths and the primary gaming benchmark. The most substantial NVIDIA victory comes in PassMark DirectX 9, where it scores 223 against AMD’s 174, a massive 22% advantage. This suggests NVIDIA retains a significant edge in older titles and engines that rely on pre-12 DirectX pipelines. In the more broadly relevant PassMark DirectX 11 test, NVIDIA edges out AMD by a slim margin, 179 to 176, a 1.7% difference. The most critical gaming metric, PassMark G3D, belongs to NVIDIA with a score of 19,587 versus AMD’s 17,613, a 10.1% lead. This is the headline performance number for gaming, and it shows NVIDIA pulling ahead where it matters most for the average player. NVIDIA also wins the DirectX 10 test, scoring 116 against AMD’s 99, a 14.7% margin. The split is clean: AMD wins modern API and compute workloads, while NVIDIA dominates legacy APIs and the aggregate 3D gaming performance metric.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures, each with its own set of trade-offs. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M uses the Navi 32 chip based on RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed "Wheat Nas," fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It packs 28,100 million transistors onto a 346 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm². The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile uses the AD106 chip based on Ada Lovelace architecture, also on TSMC’s 5 nm process, but with 22,900 million transistors on a much smaller 188 mm² die, achieving a higher density of 121.8 million per mm². This means NVIDIA achieves more transistors per square millimeter, while AMD uses a larger die to fit more raw silicon.

The memory configurations diverge sharply. AMD equips the RX 7800M with 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. NVIDIA’s RTX 4070 Mobile offers 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, resulting in 256.0 GB/s. This is a 176 GB/s difference in favor of AMD, which directly contributes to its compute and Vulkan performance advantages. Clock speeds also tell a story: AMD runs a base clock of 1295 MHz with a boost of 2335 MHz and a game clock of 2145 MHz, while NVIDIA runs a higher base of 1395 MHz but a lower boost of 1695 MHz. AMD’s higher boost clock helps drive its FP32 throughput to 35.87 TFLOPS, compared to NVIDIA’s 15.62 TFLOPS, though NVIDIA counters with 144 tensor cores and 36 RT cores versus AMD’s 60 RT cores and no tensor cores.

Power consumption is another major differentiator. The RX 7800M carries a TDP of 180 W, while the RTX 4070 Mobile is rated at 115 W. This 65 W gap explains why AMD can sustain higher clock speeds and memory bandwidth, but it also means NVIDIA achieves its performance at a lower power envelope. Both use a PCIe 4.0 interface, with AMD at x16 and NVIDIA at x8. Neither card has dedicated power connectors, as they are designed as integrated graphics packages for portable devices. The RX 7800M launched in September 2024, succeeding Polaris Mobile, while the RTX 4070 Mobile launched in January 2023, with its successor already identified as GeForce 50 Mobile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single victory in the entire comparison belongs to NVIDIA in the DirectX 9 test. The RTX 4070 Mobile’s score of 223 crushes the RX 7800M’s 174, a 22% delta that is nearly double the next-largest margin. This is a clear signal that NVIDIA’s architecture retains superior optimization for older software stacks, which can be relevant for players of classic games or users running legacy applications.

AMD’s strongest counter comes in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where its 126,668 score outperforms NVIDIA’s 108,367 by 16.9%. This is matched in the PassMark G2D test, where AMD’s 892 beats NVIDIA’s 763 by the same 16.9% margin. The Vulkan result is particularly meaningful for modern gaming, as it reflects performance in current-generation engines that use this API. AMD also secures an 11.2% win in GPU Compute (9,342 vs. 8,399) and a 10.6% win in OpenCL (120,778 vs. 109,197), reinforcing its compute strength.

The gaming-focused metrics are less forgiving for AMD. In PassMark G3D, NVIDIA’s 19,587 score beats AMD’s 17,613 by 10.1%, a substantial margin that will be felt in frame rates across a wide range of titles. The DirectX 10 test also favors NVIDIA by 14.7%, though this API is less relevant in the modern landscape. The DirectX 11 test is nearly a tie, with NVIDIA leading 179 to 176, a 1.7% difference that is within the margin of noise. The DirectX 12 test is the only modern gaming API where AMD wins, taking 89 to 85, a 4.7% edge that suggests AMD has better optimization for Microsoft’s latest graphics standard.

Looking at the broader picture, AMD’s average benchmark score of 27,883 places it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X. NVIDIA’s 27,435 average puts it exactly level with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, 0.5% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell. Both cards sit in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, confirming that neither has a clear overall performance advantage despite their different strengths.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear picture of two GPUs optimized for different workloads. The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the compute and modern-API specialist. Its 12 GB memory configuration, 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, and 35.87 TFLOPS FP32 throughput give it decisive wins in Vulkan, OpenCL, and GPU Compute benchmarks, with margins ranging from 10.6% to 16.9%. It also wins the DirectX 12 test, making it the better choice for users running the latest games that use this API. The 180 W TDP is a trade-off, but for users prioritizing raw compute and future-facing APIs, the RX 7800M is the stronger buy.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is the legacy gaming champion. Its 19,587 PassMark G3D score is 10.1% higher than AMD’s, and its DirectX 9 performance is a staggering 22% better. The 115 W TDP also makes it a more power-efficient option. For gamers who play a mix of older and current titles, or who prioritize the aggregate 3D performance metric, the RTX 4070 Mobile delivers better out-of-the-box gaming results. Its 144 tensor cores also provide AI acceleration that AMD lacks entirely.

There is no universal winner. AMD leads in 5 of 9 benchmarks, but NVIDIA wins the most important gaming aggregate. The choice comes down to whether the user values compute throughput and modern APIs (AMD) or legacy compatibility and overall gaming performance at lower power (NVIDIA). Both cards occupy the same percentile tier, so neither is a mistake, but the data favors AMD for productivity and NVIDIA for gaming.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M has an average benchmark score of 27,883, which is 448 points higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile’s 27,435.

Q: How much faster is the AMD Radeon RX 7800M in the Vulkan benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M scores 126,668 in Geekbench Vulkan compared to 108,367 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, giving AMD a 16.9% advantage.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M has a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s from its 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile has 256.0 GB/s from 8 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: Which GPU has the higher transistor density?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile has a transistor density of 121.8 million per mm², which is higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7800M’s 81.2 million per mm².

Q: How do the power requirements compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M has a TDP of 180 W, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile has a TDP of 115 W, making NVIDIA the lower-power option.

Q: What is the largest margin of victory in any single benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile wins the PassMark DirectX 9 test with a score of 223 versus 174 for AMD, a 22% margin that is the largest in the comparison.