AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 represent two vastly different eras of graphics hardware, separated by nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The data shows a decisive performance gulf, with the RX 7900 XTX delivering a 249.2% higher score in Vulkan and a 120.7% higher score in OpenCL against the older Kepler-based card. While both cards share the same 64th percentile ranking among all GPUs, this parity is misleading, as the average benchmark scores of 19,410 for the RX 7900 XTX and 19,164 for the GTX 780 place them within 1.3% of each other in the aggregate, yet their individual workload capabilities could not be more divergent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison between these two cards is limited to two benchmark tests, both of which the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX wins decisively. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RX 7900 XTX scores 50,465, which is 120.7% higher than the GTX 780’s 22,863. This is not a marginal improvement; it represents more than a doubling of raw compute throughput in a general-purpose GPU workload, reflecting the fundamental shift in shader architecture and memory bandwidth between 2013 and 2022.

The gap widens even further in the Geekbench Vulkan test. The RX 7900 XTX achieves a score of 85,612, while the GTX 780 manages only 24,514. The delta here is 249.2%, meaning the newer card delivers roughly 3.5 times the performance in a modern low-level graphics API. This result is particularly telling because Vulkan is designed to reduce CPU overhead and better utilize multi-core processors, a feature that the Kepler architecture from 2013 simply cannot exploit to the same degree. The GTX 780’s lack of hardware ray tracing and its older DirectX 12 (11_0) feature level put it at a severe disadvantage in any contemporary workload.

There are no benchmark tests where the GTX 780 emerges victorious. The head-to-head record stands at 2 wins for the RX 7900 XTX and 0 wins for the GTX 780. While the aggregate average scores are close (19,410 vs 19,164), this is an artifact of the different benchmark suites each card was tested with; the RX 7900 XTX was evaluated across a broader range of DirectX and compute tests, while the GTX 780’s data is limited to Metal, OpenCL, and Vulkan. The direct comparisons available paint an unambiguous picture of generational dominance.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 XTX wins in every scenario that leverages modern graphics APIs, high-resolution textures, or compute-heavy workloads. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provides 3.3 times the bandwidth of the GTX 780’s 288.4 GB/s, making it suitable for 4K texture packs and large datasets. The card’s 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is 14.8 times higher than the GTX 780’s 4.156 TFLOPS, which translates directly to faster rendering in compute shaders, physics simulations, and AI-assisted upscaling. The presence of 96 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) means the RX 7900 XTX can handle ray-traced lighting and effects, a feature class that the GTX 780 lacks entirely.

The GTX 780’s only conceivable advantage lies in its legacy software compatibility. Its 3 GB of GDDR5 memory and 2304 shading units are sufficient for older DirectX 9, 10, and 11 titles, and its 28 nm Kepler architecture has mature driver support for legacy operating systems. The card’s 250 W TDP is lower than the RX 7900 XTX’s 355 W, and its shorter 267 mm length and 38 mm width make it easier to fit into smaller cases. However, the performance data shows that even in the GTX 780’s native era, the RX 7900 XTX’s PassMark DirectX 9 score of 330 and DirectX 10 score of 166 indicate it handles older APIs competently through backward compatibility, though direct comparisons in these tests are not available.

For modern gaming, content creation, or any GPU-accelerated computing task, the RX 7900 XTX is the clear choice. The GTX 780 is only relevant for retro gaming or as a collector’s item, given its End-of-life status and the fact that its successor, GeForce 900, was released years ago. The data does not support any use case where the GTX 780 outperforms the RX 7900 XTX in a measurable way.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two GPUs is vast. The RX 7900 XTX uses the Navi 31 chip on TSMC’s 5 nm process node, packing 57,700 million transistors into a 529 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 109.1M / mm². The GTX 780 uses the GK110 chip on TSMC’s 28 nm node, with 7,080 million transistors on a larger 561 mm² die, resulting in a density of just 12.6M / mm². This means the RX 7900 XTX has 8.1 times more transistors in a slightly smaller physical area, enabling 6144 shading units compared to the GTX 780’s 2304, 384 texture mapping units versus 192, and 192 ROPs versus 48.

The memory subsystems are equally divergent. The RX 7900 XTX features 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, running at an effective 20 Gbps, producing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 on the same 384-bit bus, but at 6 Gbps effective, yielding only 288.4 GB/s. The RX 7900 XTX also introduces 96 dedicated ray tracing cores, a feature completely absent from the GTX 780. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the RX 7900 XTX boosts to 2498 MHz, while the GTX 780 boosts to 902 MHz, a 176% difference that compounds with the shader count advantage.

Process node and power efficiency further separate the two. The RX 7900 XTX has a TDP of 355 W and requires a 750 W power supply with 2x 8-pin connectors, while the GTX 780 draws 250 W and needs a 600 W unit with 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin. The newer card supports PCIe 4.0 x16, double the bandwidth of the GTX 780’s PCIe 3.0 x16. API support is also generationally different: the RX 7900 XTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6, while the GTX 780 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0), Vulkan 1.2.175, and OpenGL 4.6. The RX 7900 XTX also offers modern display outputs including HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB Type-C, versus the GTX 780’s legacy DVI, HDMI 1.4a, and DisplayPort 1.2.

FAQ

Q: Which card has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RX 7900 XTX delivers 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is 14.8 times higher than the GTX 780’s 4.156 TFLOPS. This is reflected in the 120.7% higher OpenCL score.

Q: Can the GTX 780 handle ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 780 has no ray tracing cores (null in the specification), while the RX 7900 XTX includes 96 dedicated RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) for hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Q: How do memory capacities compare?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth, a 3.3 times difference in bandwidth.

Q: Are both cards still in production?

A: No. Both cards are marked as End-of-life in the production status. The RX 7900 XTX was released on 2022-11-02, and the GTX 780 on 2013-05-22.

Q: Which card is better for modern Vulkan games?

A: The RX 7900 XTX scores 85,612 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 249.2% higher than the GTX 780’s 24,514. The newer card also supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 780 is limited to Vulkan 1.2.175.

Q: What is the power supply requirement difference?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has a TDP of 355 W and recommends a 750 W power supply with 2x 8-pin connectors. The GTX 780 has a TDP of 250 W and recommends a 600 W power supply with 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | Kepler |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 57,700 million | 7,080 million |

| Die Size | 529 mm² | 561 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 109.1M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1929 MHz | 863 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2498 MHz | 902 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | 3 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Speed | 20 Gbps effective | 6 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bandwidth | 960.0 GB/s | 288.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 6144 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 384 | 192 |

| ROPs | 192 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 96 | 0 (null) |

| Pixel Rate | 479.6 GPixel/s | 43.30 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 959.2 GTexel/s | 173.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 61.39 TFLOPS | 4.156 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 122.8 TFLOPS (2:1) | Not available |

| TDP | 355 W | 250 W |

| Power Connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 750 W | 600 W |

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

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.175 |

| Length | 287 mm (11.3 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Height | 110 mm (4.3 inches) | 111 mm (4.4 inches) |

| Width | 51 mm (2 inches) | 38 mm (1.5 inches) |