AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Comparison

The benchmark data presents a striking generational contrast: the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 are separated by over a decade of GPU architecture, yet their single available shared benchmark tells a surprising story. The GTX 570, a Fermi 2.0 part from 2010, actually edges out the RDNA 3.0 flagship in one specific compute test, while the RX 7900 XT’s overwhelming advantages in raw specifications and modern feature support define the broader picture.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the result is an upset. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 scores 13,515, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT scores 12,756. That gives the older card a 5.6% lead, with the deltaPct recorded as -5.6% from the RX 7900 XT’s perspective. This is a narrow victory, but it is a victory nonetheless for a GPU built on a 40 nm process with 3,000 million transistors versus the RX 7900 XT’s 5 nm node and 57,700 million transistors.

Why does the GTX 570 win this one test? The data does not provide per-test breakdowns beyond the scores, but the OpenCL result suggests that the GTX 570’s compute pipeline, despite its age, handles this particular workload efficiently. The RX 7900 XT’s 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is orders of magnitude higher on paper, yet the actual benchmark score does not reflect that theoretical dominance. This is a reminder that synthetic compute tests can be sensitive to driver optimizations, workload characteristics, and API implementation quirks, not just raw shader count.

Beyond this single head-to-head, the broader benchmark suites paint a very different picture. The RX 7900 XT has 10 recorded benchmarks spanning 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, multiple Passmark DirectX versions, and Geekbench Vulkan. Its scores range from 110 in Passmark DirectX 12 to 29,009 in Passmark G3D, with an average benchmark score of 13,745. The GTX 570, in contrast, has only one recorded benchmark — the Geekbench OpenCL test — giving it an average score of 13,515. This disparity in available data means the head-to-head comparison is inherently limited, but the RX 7900 XT’s other results demonstrate capabilities the GTX 570 simply cannot match, such as a 71,068 score in Geekbench Vulkan, a test the GTX 570 cannot run due to its lack of Vulkan support.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins the only shared benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 13,515 against the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT’s 12,756, a 5.6% margin in favor of the GTX 570.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 13,745 across 10 tests, while the GTX 570 averages 13,515 from its single Geekbench OpenCL result. The RX 7900 XT’s average is 1.7% higher, but the comparison is skewed by the vastly different test counts.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each GPU?

A: The RX 7900 XT sits at the 55th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 570 sits at the 54th percentile. Despite the massive architectural gap, their percentile rankings are nearly identical, driven largely by the GTX 570’s strong OpenCL showing.

Q: Does the RX 7900 XT support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the RX 7900 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 570 only supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, with no Vulkan support listed.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each card based on the data?

A: The RX 7900 XT’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 660M with an average score of 13,812 (-0.5% delta), followed by the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile at 13,821 (-0.5%). The GTX 570’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7770M at 13,536 (-0.2%), followed by the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT at 13,543 (-0.2%).

Q: Which card has more benchmark wins in the head-to-head data?

A: The GTX 570 has 1 win (Geekbench OpenCL) and the RX 7900 XT has 0 wins in the head-to-head benchmarks. However, this reflects only the single shared test, not the broader benchmark landscape.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split verdict. For anyone running modern workloads, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the only viable choice. Its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, 5 nm process, and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 place it in a completely different performance class, despite its loss in the single OpenCL test. The RX 7900 XT’s 800.0 GB/s memory bandwidth versus the GTX 570’s 152.0 GB/s, its 5376 shading units versus 480, and its 84 RT cores versus none, all point to overwhelming superiority in any contemporary game or compute application.

The GTX 570’s victory in Geekbench OpenCL is a statistical anomaly relative to its hardware. It wins that one test by 5.6%, but it cannot even run the Vulkan benchmarks that the RX 7900 XT handles with scores above 71,000. The GTX 570’s 1,280 MB of memory is insufficient for modern titles, its 40 nm process limits clock speeds, and its lack of ray tracing cores means it cannot accelerate the RT workloads that the RX 7900 XT handles natively.

For a buyer choosing between these two today, the RX 7900 XT is the only rational pick for any gaming, content creation, or compute task that requires current API support and ample VRAM. The GTX 570 is a historical artifact whose single benchmark win does not translate to real-world usability in 2024 and beyond. The data shows a 55th percentile ranking for the RX 7900 XT versus 54th for the GTX 570, but that near-tie is misleading; the RX 7900 XT’s 10 benchmarks include modern DX12 and Vulkan tests where the GTX 570 has no comparable results.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 7900 XT uses a 5 nm process with 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, while the GTX 570 uses a 40 nm process with 3,000 million transistors on a 520 mm² die. Transistor density is 109.1M per mm² for the RX 7900 XT versus 5.8M per mm² for the GTX 570 — a 19x difference in integration density.

Memory is a major differentiator: the RX 7900 XT has 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 320-bit bus with 800.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 570 has 1,280 MB of GDDR5 on a 320-bit bus with 152.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 7900 XT’s memory clock is 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) versus the GTX 570’s 950 MHz (3.8 Gbps effective).

Compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The RX 7900 XT has 5376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, plus 84 RT cores. The GTX 570 has 480 shading units, 60 TMUs, and 40 ROPs, with no RT cores. Pixel rate is 459.6 GPixel/s for the RX 7900 XT versus 21.96 GPixel/s for the GTX 570, and texture rate is 804.4 GTexel/s versus 43.92 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 51.48 TFLOPS versus 1,405.4 GFLOPS.

Power and connectivity also differ. The RX 7900 XT has a 300 W TDP with 2x 8-pin connectors and a suggested 700 W PSU, while the GTX 570 has a 219 W TDP with 2x 6-pin connectors and a suggested 550 W PSU. The RX 7900 XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16, the GTX 570 uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C for the RX 7900 XT, versus 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a for the GTX 570. The RX 7900 XT measures 276 mm in length, 110 mm in height, and 51 mm in width; the GTX 570 measures 267 mm in length with no height or width listed.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap is fundamental. The RX 7900 XT is built on RDNA 3.0 with the Navi 31 chip, codenamed Plum Bonito, and is part of the Navi III (RX 7000) generation. The GTX 570 is built on Fermi 2.0 with the GF110 chip and is part of the GeForce 500 generation. The RX 7900 XT is fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, while the GTX 570 uses a 40 nm process, also at TSMC.

The RX 7900 XT’s RDNA 3.0 architecture introduces a chiplet design with a 529 mm² die that packs 57,700 million transistors, enabling the 109.1M per mm² density. The GTX 570’s Fermi 2.0 uses a monolithic 520 mm² die with only 3,000 million transistors, a density of 5.8M per mm². This density difference explains the RX 7900 XT’s ability to fit 5376 shading units and 84 RT cores where the GTX 570 manages only 480 shading units.

Cache and memory hierarchy differ as well, though the FACT PACK does not list specific cache sizes. The RX 7900 XT supports FP16 compute at 103.0 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the GTX 570 has no FP16 capability listed. The RX 7900 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) with hardware ray tracing via its RT cores, while the GTX 570 only supports DirectX 12 (11_0) with no RT acceleration. Vulkan support is present on the RX 7900 XT (version 1.4) but absent on the GTX 570.

The RX 7900 XT’s predecessor is Navi II and its successor is Navi IV, placing it at the apex of the RDNA 3.0 line. The GTX 570’s predecessor is GeForce 400 and its successor is GeForce 600, marking it as a mid-life Fermi refresh. Both cards are end-of-life in production status.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XT wins in every modern workload category. Its 20 GB memory buffer and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for 4K gaming, large texture packs, and GPU compute tasks that exceed the GTX 570’s 1,280 MB limit. The 84 RT cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature the GTX 570 lacks entirely. DirectX 12 Ultimate support means the RX 7900 XT can run the latest titles with all graphical features enabled, while the GTX 570 is limited to DirectX 11-era effects. Vulkan 1.4 support opens up modern cross-platform engines that the GTX 570 cannot access.

The GTX 570 wins in exactly one scenario: the Geekbench OpenCL workload. Its 13,515 score beats the RX 7900 XT’s 12,756 by 5.6%, making it the better performer in that specific synthetic test. This could be relevant for legacy OpenCL applications that are optimized for Fermi’s compute architecture, though the practical utility is limited given the card’s age and lack of modern API support.

For any other use case — gaming, rendering, machine learning, or general compute — the RX 7900 XT’s specifications dominate. The 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is 36x higher than the GTX 570’s 1,405.4 GFLOPS. The 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is 21x higher. The 804.4 GTexel/s texture rate is 18x higher. These are not incremental gains; they represent a completely different performance tier.

The percentile rankings are the only place where the two cards appear comparable, with the RX 7900 XT at 55 and the GTX 570 at 54. But this is an artifact of the GTX 570’s single strong OpenCL score being averaged against its own limited data set. When you consider that the RX 7900 XT’s 10 benchmarks include modern DX12 and Vulkan tests that the GTX 570 cannot even attempt, the overall performance picture is unambiguous: the RX 7900 XT is the superior card for any contemporary workload, and the GTX 570’s lone benchmark win is a historical curiosity rather than a practical advantage.