AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data shows a single shared benchmark between the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480: Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 edges out the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT with a score of 13300 versus 12756, a delta of -4.1% for the AMD card. This is a narrow margin, and it represents the only direct comparison available in the dataset.

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has a much larger benchmark portfolio, with scores across 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, Geekbench Vulkan, Passmark DirectX 9/10/11/12, Passmark G2D, Passmark G3D, and Passmark GPU Compute. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 only has the single Geekbench OpenCL result.

Looking at the AMD card’s own scores, it posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623, a Geekbench Vulkan score of 71068, and a Passmark G3D score of 29009. Its Passmark GPU Compute score is 16828. These are strong absolute numbers, but the average benchmark score for the AMD card is 13745, which is remarkably close to the NVIDIA card’s 13300 average.

The AMD card’s average score of 13745 places it just 0.5% below the AMD Radeon 660M (13812) and 0.5% below the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821). It is 0.9% below the AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871) and 1.5% above the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480’s average of 13300 sits 0.2% below the AMD Radeon Pro 555X (13321), 0.4% below the AMD FirePro M6100 (13354), 0.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 5500M (13356), and 0.6% below the AMD Radeon HD 8950M (13376).

In the head-to-head test, the NVIDIA card wins the only shared benchmark, but the overall picture is that both cards land in similar average territory despite being from completely different eras. The AMD card’s percentile rank is 55 versus the NVIDIA card’s 53, meaning the AMD card sits slightly higher among all GPUs.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT uses the Navi 31 chip built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, with the codename Plum Bonito. It is part of the Navi III generation (RX 7000 series) and is fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 uses the GF100 chip based on the Fermi architecture, belonging to the GeForce 400 generation, also fabricated by TSMC but on a 40 nm process.

The transistor counts are vastly different. The AMD card has 57,700 million transistors, while the NVIDIA card has 3,100 million. Both have the same die size of 529 mm², but the transistor density tells the story: the AMD card packs 109.1M transistors per mm², whereas the NVIDIA card has just 5.9M per mm².

Memory configurations diverge sharply. The AMD card has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The NVIDIA card has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, with 177.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The AMD card’s memory clock is 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card’s memory clock is 924 MHz (3.7 Gbps effective).

Compute resources also differ dramatically. The AMD card has 5376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, plus 84 ray tracing cores. The NVIDIA card has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with no ray tracing cores. The AMD card’s pixel rate is 459.6 GPixel/s and texture rate is 804.4 GTexel/s, versus 21.03 GPixel/s and 42.06 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA card. FP32 performance is 51.48 TFLOPS for the AMD card, while the NVIDIA card manages 1,345.0 GFLOPS. The AMD card also supports FP16 at 103.0 TFLOPS (2:1), a feature the NVIDIA card lacks entirely.

The AMD card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support listed. The AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs differ too: the AMD card has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the NVIDIA card has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with a score of 13300 against the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT’s 12756. This is a 4.1% advantage. That single result gives the NVIDIA card a clean sweep in the headToHeadBenchmarks data, with winsB equal to 1 and winsA equal to 0.

However, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT wins in nearly every other measurable category. Its average benchmark score of 13745 is higher than the NVIDIA card’s 13300. Its percentile rank of 55 beats the NVIDIA card’s 53. The AMD card has a full suite of benchmark results across modern APIs, including Vulkan and DirectX 12, while the NVIDIA card has no such results in the dataset.

For users targeting modern workloads, the AMD card’s feature set is decisive. It has ray tracing cores, which the NVIDIA card lacks. It supports Vulkan 1.4, which the NVIDIA card does not support at all. Its FP16 capability at 103.0 TFLOPS enables compute workloads that the NVIDIA card cannot handle. The AMD card also uses PCIe 4.0 x16 versus the NVIDIA card’s PCIe 2.0 x16, and its display outputs support HDMI 2.1a and DisplayPort 2.1, compared to the NVIDIA card’s older DVI and mini-HDMI 1.3a.

For legacy compatibility, the NVIDIA card holds a niche. Its Geekbench OpenCL result shows it can still compete in that specific test. It also has a 384-bit memory bus, which is wider than the AMD card’s 320-bit bus, though the AMD card’s bandwidth is 4.5 times higher. The NVIDIA card’s power draw of 250 W is lower than the AMD card’s 300 W, and its suggested PSU of 600 W is lower than the AMD card’s 700 W.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has a base clock of 1387 MHz, a boost clock of 2394 MHz, and a game clock of 2025 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 has no base, boost, or game clock listed. The AMD card’s memory clock is 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), while the NVIDIA card’s is 924 MHz (3.7 Gbps effective).

Memory size is 20 GB for the AMD card versus 1536 MB for the NVIDIA card. Memory type is GDDR6 versus GDDR5. The AMD card has a 320-bit bus, the NVIDIA card has a 384-bit bus. Bandwidth is 800.0 GB/s versus 177.4 GB/s.

The AMD card has 5376 shading units, 336 TMUs, 192 ROPs, and 84 RT cores. The NVIDIA card has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with no RT cores. Pixel rate is 459.6 GPixel/s versus 21.03 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 804.4 GTexel/s versus 42.06 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 51.48 TFLOPS versus 1,345.0 GFLOPS. FP16 is 103.0 TFLOPS (2:1) for the AMD card, with no FP16 listed for the NVIDIA card.

TDP is 300 W for the AMD card versus 250 W for the NVIDIA card. Power connectors are 2x 8-pin for the AMD card versus 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin for the NVIDIA card. Suggested PSU is 700 W versus 600 W. The AMD card uses PCIe 4.0 x16, the NVIDIA card uses PCIe 2.0 x16. The AMD card has 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C; the NVIDIA card has 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a.

The process node is 5 nm for the AMD card versus 40 nm for the NVIDIA card. Transistors are 57,700 million versus 3,100 million. Die size is identical at 529 mm². Transistor density is 109.1M / mm² versus 5.9M / mm².

The AMD card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan. The AMD card’s dimensions are 276 mm (10.9 inches) in length, 110 mm (4.3 inches) in height, and 51 mm (2 inches) in width. The NVIDIA card’s length is 267 mm (10.5 inches), with no height or width listed. Both are dual-slot cards.

The AMD card’s launch MSRP is 899 USD, and the NVIDIA card’s launch MSRP is 499 USD. The AMD card was released on 2022-11-02, while the NVIDIA card was released on 2010-03-25. The AMD card’s predecessor is Navi II and successor is Navi IV. The NVIDIA card’s predecessor is GeForce 200 and successor is GeForce 500. Both are end-of-life products.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the only shared benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 wins Geekbench OpenCL with a score of 13300, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 12756, a delta of -4.1% for the AMD card.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 13745, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 has an average of 13300. The AMD card’s average is 3.3% higher.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory.

Q: Does the NVIDIA card support ray tracing?

A: No. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 has no RT cores, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has 84 ray tracing cores.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 has 1,345.0 GFLOPS.

Q: What are the process nodes for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT uses a 5 nm process, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 uses a 40 nm process. Both are fabricated by TSMC.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear split. On the single shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 takes the win with 13300 against the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT’s 12756. That is the only direct comparison available, and the NVIDIA card wins it.

But the broader dataset favors the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT almost everywhere else. Its average benchmark score of 13745 beats the NVIDIA card’s 13300. Its percentile rank of 55 beats the NVIDIA card’s 53. It has ray tracing cores, Vulkan support, FP16 capability, and a far higher memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s versus 177.4 GB/s. The AMD card also has 20 GB of memory versus 1536 MB, and 5376 shading units versus 480.

For modern gaming and compute workloads, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the obvious choice. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and has 84 RT cores. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 lacks all of these. The AMD card’s 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance is orders of magnitude higher than the NVIDIA card’s 1,345.0 GFLOPS.

For legacy use cases, specifically the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 remains competitive. Its 384-bit memory bus and lower 250 W TDP are its only notable advantages. Its suggested PSU of 600 W is lower than the AMD card’s 700 W.

The verdict is straightforward: the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the superior card for virtually every task except the one OpenCL benchmark where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 edges it out. The NVIDIA card’s single win does not offset its lack of modern API support, ray tracing, and vastly lower compute resources. Users who need modern features should pick the AMD card. Users who only care about that one OpenCL score might consider the NVIDIA card, but the data does not support that choice for any broader purpose.