AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits these two cards into distinct roles. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 takes 8 of the 10 recorded head-to-head tests, establishing itself as the broader performer across modern and legacy workloads. Its wins span 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench Vulkan, every PassMark DirectX generation except one, PassMark G2D, PassMark G3D, and PassMark GPU Compute. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE counters with only 2 wins, but they are telling: Geekbench OpenCL and PassMark DirectX 11.

The RTX 5070's dominance is not marginal in every case. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 178,923 versus 99,850 for the RX 7900 GRE represents a 79.2% advantage, the single largest gap in the entire dataset. This is a decisive lead in Vulkan compute and rendering workloads. The RTX 5070 also posts a 29.5% win in PassMark DirectX 10 (180 vs 139), a 10.6% win in PassMark G2D (1305 vs 1180), and a 7.6% win in PassMark G3D (29137 vs 27089). These are not narrow margins; they indicate consistent architectural superiority in rasterization and 2D throughput.

The RX 7900 GRE's wins are narrower. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 175,758 against 172,660, a 1.8% edge that puts it barely ahead in general-purpose compute. In PassMark DirectX 11, it scores 300 versus 277, a 7.7% lead. That DirectX 11 result is the only legacy API test where AMD pulls ahead, suggesting its driver or hardware layout handles that specific workload better. Everywhere else, the NVIDIA card either matches or clearly outpaces it.

When looking at the overall average benchmark scores, the RTX 5070 sits at 40,377 while the RX 7900 GRE sits at 32,456. The percentile ranks tell the same story: the RTX 5070 is in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 7900 GRE is in the 77th. The RTX 5070's nearest rivals in the database are professional AMD cards (Radeon Pro 580, Pro WX 7100, Pro 5300) and an NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, all within 2% of its average score. The RX 7900 GRE's nearest rivals are legacy AMD FirePro cards and an RX 590 GME, all within 0.9% of its average. This places the two cards in very different performance neighborhoods despite their shared launch MSRP.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The RTX 5070 uses the GB205 chip on NVIDIA's Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 31,100 million transistors into a 263 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 118.3 million per mm². The RX 7900 GRE uses the Navi 31 chip on AMD's RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed Plum Bonito, also on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 57,700 million transistors spread over a much larger 529 mm² die, with a lower density of 109.1 million per mm².

The compute layouts diverge sharply. The RTX 5070 has 6,144 shading units, 192 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores. The RX 7900 GRE has 5,120 shading units, 320 TMUs, 160 ROPs, and 80 RT cores, but no tensor core count is recorded. The AMD card compensates with far higher texture and pixel rates: 718.4 GTexel/s and 359.2 GPixel/s versus 482.3 GTexel/s and 201.0 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. However, the RTX 5070's FP32 throughput of 30.87 TFLOPS is lower than the RX 7900 GRE's 45.98 TFLOPS, and AMD's FP16 rate of 91.96 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) dwarfs NVIDIA's 30.87 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). This suggests AMD's raw shader math is stronger, yet the benchmark results favor NVIDIA in most real tests.

Memory configurations also differ. The RTX 5070 uses 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 7900 GRE uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s. The NVIDIA card has higher bandwidth despite a narrower bus, thanks to newer memory technology. The AMD card has 4 GB more capacity, which matters for texture-heavy workloads at high resolutions, but the bandwidth deficit is real.

Clock behavior is another differentiator. The RTX 5070 runs a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, while the RX 7900 GRE has a much lower base of 1287 MHz, a game clock of 1880 MHz, and a boost of 2245 MHz. NVIDIA's higher sustained clocks contribute to its benchmark wins, even when AMD has more raw shader units. Power draw is similar: 250 W for NVIDIA versus 260 W for AMD, with both recommending a 600 W PSU. The RTX 5070 uses a single 16-pin connector, while the RX 7900 GRE uses two 8-pin connectors. The NVIDIA card is also shorter (245 mm vs 276 mm), thinner (40 mm vs 51 mm), and slightly taller (115 mm vs 110 mm).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest win for the RTX 5070 is Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 178,923 against 99,850 for the RX 7900 GRE. That 79.2% delta is enormous and points to NVIDIA's Vulkan driver and architecture handling compute and rendering far more efficiently. In PassMark DirectX 10, the RTX 5070 wins 180 to 139, a 29.5% margin that shows backward compatibility strength. PassMark G2D has the RTX 5070 at 1305 versus 1180, a 10.6% lead in 2D operations, which is rarely a deciding factor for gamers but matters for desktop and productivity tasks.

In PassMark G3D, the RTX 5070 scores 29,137 versus 27,089, a 7.6% advantage that reflects overall 3D rendering performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is closer: 5,077 for the RTX 5070 versus 4,814 for the RX 7900 GRE, a 5.5% win for NVIDIA. PassMark GPU Compute shows the RTX 5070 ahead at 15,787 versus 15,016, a 5.1% margin. PassMark DirectX 9 goes to the RTX 5070 at 320 versus 310, a 3.2% lead. The smallest NVIDIA win is PassMark DirectX 12, 108 versus 107, a 0.9% margin that is effectively a tie.

The RX 7900 GRE's two wins are less dramatic but significant. In PassMark DirectX 11, it scores 300 versus 277, a 7.7% lead that suggests AMD's hardware handles that API's specific workload patterns better. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 175,758 versus 172,660, a 1.8% edge. That OpenCL result is notable because it is a compute-oriented test, and AMD's higher FP32 and FP16 rates likely contribute to this narrow victory. However, the RTX 5070 counters with a massive Vulkan compute win, indicating that NVIDIA's compute advantage is API-dependent rather than universal.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. If the workload is Vulkan-centric, the RTX 5070 is the overwhelming choice. Its 79.2% lead in Geekbench Vulkan is not a subtle advantage; it is a generational gap. For DirectX 10, G2D, G3D, and even the modern Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 5070 holds a consistent 0.9% to 29.5% edge. Users running legacy DirectX 9 workloads also see a 3.2% win for NVIDIA.

The RX 7900 GRE is the pick only for two specific scenarios. In OpenCL compute, it edges ahead by 1.8%, and in DirectX 11, it leads by 7.7%. If those are the dominant applications, the AMD card delivers measurable gains. Its 16 GB of memory also gives it a capacity advantage over the RTX 5070's 12 GB, which the benchmark scores do not capture but which matters for memory-intensive tasks like high-resolution texture packs or large compute buffers.

For most buyers, the RTX 5070 is the better performer. It wins 8 of 10 tests, has a higher average benchmark score (40,377 vs 32,456), and sits in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs compared to the RX 7900 GRE's 77th. The RTX 5070 also has PCIe 5.0 x16 support versus the RX 7900 GRE's PCIe 4.0 x16, and newer display outputs (HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b versus HDMI 2.1a, two DisplayPort 2.1, and one USB Type-C). Both cards launched at the same MSRP of 549 USD, but the RTX 5070 delivers more benchmark wins per watt at 250 W versus 260 W.

The RX 7900 GRE is not a bad card. It wins in OpenCL and DirectX 11, has more memory, and offers higher raw texture and pixel rates. But the recorded benchmark data shows the RTX 5070 as the stronger all-around performer, especially in Vulkan, which is increasingly common in modern games and compute applications.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the most benchmark tests?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 wins 8 of the 10 recorded head-to-head tests. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE wins 2.

Q: What is the biggest performance gap between the two cards?

A: The Geekbench Vulkan test shows the RTX 5070 scoring 178,923 versus 99,850 for the RX 7900 GRE, a 79.2% advantage for NVIDIA.

Q: In which tests does the RX 7900 GRE outperform the RTX 5070?

A: The RX 7900 GRE wins Geekbench OpenCL (175,758 vs 172,660, a 1.8% lead) and PassMark DirectX 11 (300 vs 277, a 7.7% lead).

Q: How do the memory configurations differ?

A: The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7900 GRE has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each card?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40,377, while the RX 7900 GRE has an average of 32,456. The RTX 5070 sits in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs; the RX 7900 GRE sits in the 77th.

Q: Do both cards have the same launch MSRP?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE have a launch MSRP of 549 USD.

Specification Differences

| Field | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 | AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE |

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

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | RDNA 3.0 |

| Chip | GB205 | Navi 31 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 31,100 million | 57,700 million |

| Die Size | 263 mm² | 529 mm² |

| Base Clock | 2325 MHz | 1287 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2512 MHz | 2245 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 1880 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 672.0 GB/s | 576.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 6144 | 5120 |

| TMUs | 192 | 320 |

| ROPs | 80 | 160 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 80 |

| Tensor Cores | 192 | N/A |

| Pixel Rate | 201.0 GPixel/s | 359.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 482.3 GTexel/s | 718.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 30.87 TFLOPS | 45.98 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 30.87 TFLOPS (1:1) | 91.96 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 250 W | 260 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 2x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C |

| Dimensions | 245 mm (length), 115 mm (height), 40 mm (width) | 276 mm (length), 110 mm (height), 51 mm (width) |