AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Comparison

# The Verdict

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the decisive winner in every measurable benchmark category, outperforming the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by a substantial margin. The data shows a 70% advantage in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and a 133.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL. For anyone prioritizing raw performance and compute capability, the RTX 4090 is the clear choice, though it comes with a significantly higher launch MSRP of 1,599 USD compared to the RX 9070 GRE's 549 USD.

The RX 9070 GRE, however, is not without merit. It is an active product from AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series, built on a newer 4 nm process node, and offers a dual-slot form factor with a 220 W TDP versus the 4090's 450 W TDP. The data indicates the RX 9070 GRE sits at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, nearly matching the RTX 4090's 88th percentile, despite the massive raw performance gap. This suggests that for typical gaming workloads—where average scores across many titles matter—the RX 9070 GRE delivers competitive real-world performance while consuming less power and occupying less space.

Benchmark results indicate the RTX 4090 is the superior product for enthusiasts, content creators, and anyone running compute-heavy applications. The RX 9070 GRE, by contrast, is the more sensible pick for gamers who want strong performance without the triple-slot footprint or the 850 W suggested PSU requirement of the 4090. The RTX 4090's 24 GB GDDR6X memory and 384-bit bus provide 1.01 TB/s bandwidth—more than double the RX 9070 GRE's 432.0 GB/s—making it the obvious choice for 4K texture-heavy workloads and AI inference. The RX 9070 GRE's 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus is adequate for current games but lacks headroom.

# Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4090 wins outright in every head-to-head benchmark included in the data. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the 4090 scores 9,223 against the RX 9070 GRE's 5,424—a 70% lead. In Geekbench OpenCL, the gap widens to 133.7%, with the 4090 posting 255,416 versus 109,309. These are not narrow victories; they represent a generational chasm in compute throughput.

For the RTX 4090, its wins stem from several factors. It has 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, compared to the RX 9070 GRE's 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The 4090's FP32 compute is 82.58 TFLOPS, more than double the RX 9070 GRE's 34.28 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s dwarf the AMD card's 267.8 GPixel/s and 535.7 GTexel/s. For ray tracing, the 4090 has 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores, whereas the RX 9070 GRE has 48 RT cores and no tensor cores listed.

The RX 9070 GRE's wins are more subtle and come from efficiency and system integration. It uses a 4 nm TSMC process with 151.0M transistors per mm², compared to the 4090's 5 nm process with 125.3M transistors per mm². This newer node allows the RX 9070 GRE to achieve a higher boost clock of 2,790 MHz versus the 4090's 2,520 MHz, while drawing less than half the power. The RX 9070 GRE also supports PCIe 5.0 x16, a newer bus interface than the 4090's PCIe 4.0 x16, and features DisplayPort 2.1a outputs compared to the 4090's DisplayPort 1.4a. For systems with modern PCIe 5.0 slots and DisplayPort 2.1 monitors, the RX 9070 GRE offers better future-proofing in those specific aspects.

# Architecture Differences

The RTX 4090 is built on NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. It packs 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 125.3M per mm². The RX 9070 GRE uses AMD's RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip on a 4 nm TSMC process—a smaller 357 mm² die with 53,900 million transistors but a higher density of 151.0M per mm².

Memory architecture differs fundamentally. The RTX 4090 uses 24 GB of GDDR6X across a 384-bit bus, achieving 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 9070 GRE uses 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s. The 4090's memory clock is listed at 1,313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, while the RX 9070 GRE runs at 2,250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective.

Compute resources diverge sharply. The RTX 4090 has 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 128 RT cores, and 512 tensor cores. The RX 9070 GRE has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 48 RT cores, with no tensor cores listed. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical.

Physical design and power delivery are also distinct. The RTX 4090 is a triple-slot card measuring 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, requiring a single 16-pin connector and an 850 W suggested PSU. The RX 9070 GRE is a dual-slot card with no listed dimensions, using two 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W, while the RX 9070 GRE draws 220 W.

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 4090 delivers 82.58 TFLOPS FP32, while the RX 9070 GRE delivers 34.28 TFLOPS. The 4090 also leads in pixel rate (443.5 GPixel/s vs 267.8 GPixel/s) and texture rate (1,290.2 GTexel/s vs 535.7 GTexel/s).

Q: How do their memory subsystems compare?

A: The RTX 4090 has 24 GB GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The RX 9070 GRE has 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 4090's effective memory speed is 21 Gbps versus 18 Gbps on the AMD card.

Q: Which card is more power-efficient?

A: The RX 9070 GRE has a 220 W TDP and requires a 550 W PSU, while the RTX 4090 has a 450 W TDP and requires an 850 W PSU. Despite the lower power, the RX 9070 GRE still achieves an 87th percentile ranking versus the 4090's 88th percentile.

Q: What are the differences in display outputs?

A: The RTX 4090 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 9070 GRE offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a, supporting newer DisplayPort standards.

Q: Which card has better ray tracing hardware?

A: The RTX 4090 has 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. The RX 9070 GRE has 48 RT cores and no tensor cores listed. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the 4090 scores 9,223 versus 5,424 for the RX 9070 GRE.

Q: Are these cards from the same generation?

A: No. The RTX 4090 is from the GeForce 40-series, released on 2022-09-19, and is now end-of-life. The RX 9070 GRE is from the Radeon RX 9000 series, released on 2025-05-07, and remains an active product.

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data includes two benchmark tests, and the RTX 4090 wins both decisively.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX 4090 scores 9,223 against the RX 9070 GRE's 5,424. This 70% delta is the smaller of the two gaps but still represents a massive performance chasm. The Steel Nomad test is a modern DX12 workload that stresses both rasterization and compute. The 4090's higher shading unit count (16,384 vs 3,072) and texture rate (1,290.2 GTexel/s vs 535.7 GTexel/s) explain this advantage. The RX 9070 GRE's higher boost clock of 2,790 MHz cannot compensate for having roughly one-fifth the shading units.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4090 scores 255,416 versus 109,309 for the RX 9070 GRE—a 133.7% lead. This test is heavily compute-oriented, and the 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance compared to the RX 9070 GRE's 34.28 TFLOPS is the primary driver. The 4090's 512 tensor cores also contribute to OpenCL workloads that leverage tensor operations. This result underscores the 4090's suitability for GPGPU tasks like machine learning, scientific simulation, and video rendering, where the RX 9070 GRE would lag significantly.

The RTX 4090's overall average benchmark score is 60,347, while the RX 9070 GRE averages 57,367. Interestingly, the 4090's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, 0.3% delta), while the RX 9070 GRE's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A580 (57,756, -0.7% delta) and AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (58,392, -1.8% delta). This suggests the RX 9070 GRE competes in a lower performance tier despite its high percentile ranking, which reflects its position relative to all GPUs rather than absolute score.

# Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every specification field. The RTX 4090 uses the AD102 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process with 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. The RX 9070 GRE uses the Navi 48 chip on a 4 nm TSMC process with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. Transistor density favors the RX 9070 GRE at 151.0M per mm² versus 125.3M per mm².

Clock speeds differ notably. The RTX 4090 has a base clock of 2,235 MHz and a boost of 2,520 MHz. The RX 9070 GRE has a lower base of 1,420 MHz but a higher boost of 2,790 MHz, plus a game clock of 2,220 MHz that the 4090 lacks.

Memory configuration is a major differentiator. The RTX 4090 has 24 GB GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 21 Gbps effective speed. The RX 9070 GRE has 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and 18 Gbps effective speed. The 4090's memory clock is 1,313 MHz, while the RX 9070 GRE's is 2,250 MHz.

Compute resources are vastly different. The RTX 4090 has 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 128 RT cores, and 512 tensor cores. The RX 9070 GRE has 3,072 shading units, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and 48 RT cores, with no tensor cores. Pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s for the 4090 versus 267.8 GPixel/s for the RX 9070 GRE. Texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s versus 535.7 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 82.58 TFLOPS versus 34.28 TFLOPS.

Power and physical specs also diverge. The RTX 4090 has a 450 W TDP, is triple-slot, uses a 1x 16-pin connector, and requires an 850 W PSU. The RX 9070 GRE has a 220 W TDP, is dual-slot, uses 2x 8-pin connectors, and requires a 550 W PSU. The 4090 measures 304 mm by 137 mm by 61 mm; the RX 9070 GRE has no listed dimensions. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the 4090 and PCIe 5.0 x16 for the RX 9070 GRE. Display outputs are 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the 4090, versus 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a for the RX 9070 GRE.