AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Comparison

AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 occupy different tiers of the GPU landscape, separated by nearly three years of release timing and a significant gap in launch MSRP. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, but the RX 9070 GRE’s modern architecture and efficiency metrics present an interesting counterpoint to the RTX 4080’s raw compute dominance. Benchmark results indicate that while the NVIDIA card wins every head-to-head test in this dataset, the AMD card holds its own in specific architectural features, making the choice less straightforward than a simple score comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is unambiguous in its verdict: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE in both available tests. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 4080 scores 6,567 against the RX 9070 GRE’s 5,424, a delta of -17.4% for the AMD card. This is a substantial margin, indicating that in a modern DirectX 12 workload, the RTX 4080 delivers roughly one-sixth more performance. The gap widens dramatically in the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the RTX 4080’s score of 214,739 more than doubles the RX 9070 GRE’s 109,309, representing a -49.1% deficit for the AMD card. This near-halving of compute performance in OpenCL suggests the NVIDIA card’s massive shading unit count and tensor core array are particularly effective in general-purpose compute tasks.

Interestingly, the average benchmark scores tell a slightly different story. The RX 9070 GRE has an average benchmark score of 57,367, which is actually higher than the RTX 4080’s 54,247. This discrepancy arises because the average score aggregates a broader set of tests, including those where the AMD card may perform relatively better. The RTX 4080’s nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER (deltaPct 0.1%), while the RX 9070 GRE’s nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A580 (deltaPct -0.7%), indicating that the AMD card sits in a more competitive mid-range bracket. When comparing the two directly, the RTX 4080 wins 2 out of 2 head-to-head tests (winsB: 2), leaving the RX 9070 GRE with zero wins in this dataset.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is stark and explains much of the performance gap. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE uses the Navi 48 chip built on RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process by TSMC with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 uses the AD103 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, also produced by TSMC but on a 5 nm node, with 45,900 million transistors on a slightly larger 379 mm² die. The transistor density tells a story of design philosophy: AMD packs 151.0M transistors per mm², while NVIDIA achieves 121.1M per mm², meaning the AMD chip is denser despite having fewer total transistors.

The shading unit counts differ enormously: the RX 9070 GRE has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, while the RTX 4080 has 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. This roughly 3.2x advantage in shading units for NVIDIA is the primary driver of its compute lead. The RTX 4080 also features 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, while the RX 9070 GRE has 48 RT cores and no tensor core field listed. The AMD card’s FP32 performance is 34.28 TFLOPS, while the RTX 4080 reaches 48.74 TFLOPS, a 42% advantage. Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API-level feature parity exists, but the underlying hardware execution differs significantly.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 wins in every measured test, but the nature of those wins suggests distinct use-case scenarios. The RTX 4080’s 49.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL points to workloads that leverage massive parallel compute — think GPGPU tasks, rendering, or scientific simulations. The 17.4% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad indicates strong rasterized gaming performance at high resolutions, where the combination of 16 GB GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom. The RTX 4080’s 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores make it a superior choice for ray-traced gaming and AI-accelerated features like DLSS, though those specific workloads are not directly benchmarked in this dataset.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, while losing both head-to-head tests, still has areas where its architecture could be considered advantageous. Its 4 nm process node is smaller than the RTX 4080’s 5 nm node, suggesting better power efficiency per transistor. The RX 9070 GRE’s TDP is 220 W compared to the RTX 4080’s 320 W, and it requires a 550 W PSU versus the RTX 4080’s 700 W recommendation. This efficiency delta means that in power-constrained environments or smaller form-factor builds, the AMD card could be the more practical option despite lower raw performance. The RX 9070 GRE’s PCIe 5.0 x16 interface also offers double the bandwidth of the RTX 4080’s PCIe 4.0 x16, though real-world gaming benefits from this are likely minimal. The AMD card’s newer release date (2025-05-07 versus 2022-09-19) means it supports DisplayPort 2.1a outputs, while the RTX 4080 is limited to DisplayPort 1.4a — a clear advantage for future high-refresh-rate 8K displays.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 |

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

| Process Node | 4 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | 53,900 million | 45,900 million |

| Die Size | 357 mm² | 379 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1420 MHz | 2205 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2790 MHz | 2505 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB GDDR6 | 16 GB GDDR6X |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 432.0 GB/s | 716.8 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 3072 | 9728 |

| TMUs | 192 | 304 |

| ROPs | 96 | 112 |

| RT Cores | 48 | 76 |

| Tensor Cores | N/A | 304 |

| FP32 Performance | 34.28 TFLOPS | 48.74 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 220 W | 320 W |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Triple-slot |

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

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 700 W |

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

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2025-05-07 | 2022-09-19 |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

The specification table highlights several key divergences beyond raw compute. The RTX 4080 has a higher base clock (2205 MHz vs 1420 MHz) but a lower boost clock (2505 MHz vs 2790 MHz), suggesting the AMD card is designed to boost more aggressively under load. The memory subsystems are fundamentally different: 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus versus 16 GB GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, with the NVIDIA card offering 716.8 GB/s bandwidth versus 432.0 GB/s. The RTX 4080’s physical dimensions are listed (310 mm length, 140 mm height, 61 mm width) and it occupies a triple-slot design, while the RX 9070 GRE’s dimensions are not provided but it fits in a dual-slot form factor. The NVIDIA card’s 1x 16-pin power connector contrasts with the AMD card’s 2x 8-pin, and the RTX 4080 is end-of-life, while the RX 9070 GRE remains active in production.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE has a higher average benchmark score of 57,367 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080’s 54,247, despite losing both head-to-head tests in this dataset.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4080 in 3DMark Steel Nomad?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 6,567 versus the RX 9070 GRE’s 5,424, a 17.4% advantage for the NVIDIA card in this DirectX 12 benchmark.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between these two GPUs?

A: The RX 9070 GRE has 53,900 million transistors, while the RTX 4080 has 45,900 million, meaning the AMD chip has 8,000 million more transistors despite being built on a smaller 4 nm process.

Q: Do both cards support the same API versions?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring feature-level parity in supported APIs.

Q: Which card requires a lower recommended PSU wattage?

A: The RX 9070 GRE has a suggested PSU of 550 W, while the RTX 4080 requires 700 W, indicating the AMD card is more power-efficient in terms of system requirements.

Q: What are the launch MSRPs for these cards?

A: The RX 9070 GRE has a launch MSRP of 549 USD, while the RTX 4080 launched at 1,199 USD.

The Verdict

The data paints a clear performance picture: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the faster card in every head-to-head benchmark, with a 17.4% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad and a massive 49.1% lead in Geekbench OpenCL. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, 9728 shading units, and 304 tensor cores make it the superior choice for compute-heavy workloads and high-resolution gaming where memory bandwidth matters. The RTX 4080’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs (versus the RX 9070 GRE’s 87th) is roughly equivalent, but the NVIDIA card’s raw performance ceiling is higher in both tested scenarios.

However, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE should not be dismissed. It offers modern features like PCIe 5.0 and DisplayPort 2.1a, a smaller 4 nm process node, and significantly lower power requirements (220 W TDP versus 320 W, with a 550 W PSU recommendation versus 700 W). Its higher average benchmark score (57,367 vs 54,247) suggests it may perform better in a broader range of tests not covered in the head-to-head dataset. For users building a compact, power-efficient system or those prioritizing future display connectivity, the RX 9070 GRE is a viable alternative. For users who need maximum compute performance and are willing to accommodate a larger, more power-hungry card, the RTX 4080 is the clear winner — but its end-of-life status and higher launch MSRP (1,199 USD versus 549 USD) mean the AMD card offers a more modern baseline for new system builds. The choice hinges on whether raw performance or architectural currency matters more for the intended use case.