AMD Radeon RX 9070 vs NVIDIA RTX A4000 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data presents a clear split between these two cards. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 wins 9 of the 10 head-to-head benchmark comparisons, while the NVIDIA RTX A4000 takes only a single victory. The RX 9070 leads decisively in modern DirectX 12 workloads, compute performance, and legacy DirectX tests. The RTX A4000, however, retains a commanding advantage in Vulkan performance, a result that cannot be dismissed. The data positions the RX 9070 as the faster overall card for most workloads, but the A4000 remains relevant for Vulkan-specific applications. The RTX A4000 is an end-of-life workstation product from 2021, while the RX 9070 is an active RDNA 4.0 part from 2025. For users prioritizing raw throughput in DirectX-based tasks, the RX 9070 is the clear choice. For those locked into Vulkan pipelines, the A4000 shows it can still compete despite its older architecture.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different design philosophies and manufacturing generations. The RTX A4000 uses the GA104 chip built on Samsung's 8 nm process, while the RX 9070 uses the Navi 48 chip on TSMC's 4 nm node. The transistor counts reflect this gap: the A4000 packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, resulting in a density of 44.4M per mm². The RX 9070 contains 53,900 million transistors on a slightly smaller 357 mm² die, achieving 151.0M per mm². That density advantage is substantial.

The A4000 is an Ampere architecture part, belonging to the Workstation Ampere generation. The RX 9070 is RDNA 4.0, part of the Navi IV (RX 9000) series. Clock speeds differ significantly. The A4000 runs a 735 MHz base and 1560 MHz boost. The RX 9070 starts at 1330 MHz base, reaches 2070 MHz in game mode, and boosts to 2520 MHz. Memory configurations are both 16 GB GDDR6 on a 256 bit bus, but bandwidth diverges: the A4000 delivers 448.0 GB/s, while the RX 9070 reaches 644.6 GB/s.

The compute resources tell a more nuanced story. The A4000 has more shading units at 6144 versus 3584 on the RX 9070. It also has 192 TMUs, while the RX 9070 has 224. The ROP count favors the RX 9070 at 128 versus 96. Ray tracing cores are 48 on the A4000 and 56 on the RX 9070. The A4000 includes 192 tensor cores, while the RX 9070 has no tensor core count listed. Despite fewer shading units, the RX 9070 produces 36.13 TFLOPS FP32 versus 19.17 TFLOPS on the A4000, a direct result of the higher clocks. Pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s on the RX 9070 versus 149.8 GPixel/s on the A4000. Texture rate is 564.5 GTexel/s versus 299.5 GTexel/s.

Power and physical design also differ. The A4000 is a single-slot card with a 140 W TDP and one 6-pin connector, suggesting a 300 W power supply. The RX 9070 is dual-slot, rated at 220 W TDP, uses two 8-pin connectors, and suggests a 550 W power supply. The A4000 fits in 241 mm length and 112 mm height. The RX 9070 dimensions are not recorded. The A4000 uses PCIe 4.0 x16; the RX 9070 uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs are four DisplayPort 1.4a on the A4000, while the RX 9070 offers one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1a. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The A4000 has been discontinued, with the Workstation Ada generation as its successor. The RX 9070 remains active, with no successor listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The biggest single win for the RX 9070 comes in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The RX 9070 scores 6290 against 2604 for the A4000, a delta of -58.6% from the perspective of the A4000. This is more than double the score and indicates a massive gap in modern DirectX 12 rendering performance.

The RX 9070 also leads in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 131539 versus 105739, a 19.6% advantage. PassMark GPU Compute shows a similar pattern: 14737 versus 9760, a 33.8% lead for the RX 9070. PassMark G3D follows with 25381 versus 19459, a 23.3% difference.

Legacy DirectX tests also favor the RX 9070. In PassMark DirectX 11, the RX 9070 scores 281 against 158, a 43.8% lead. PassMark DirectX 9 shows 343 versus 240, a 30% advantage. PassMark DirectX 10 is closer at 141 versus 126, a 10.6% lead. PassMark DirectX 12 is the narrowest DirectX result: 74 versus 72, only a 2.7% gap, though still a win for the RX 9070. PassMark G2D also goes to the RX 9070 at 1280 versus 1024, a 20% difference.

The A4000's sole victory is in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 127645 against 58705 for the RX 9070. That is a 117.4% lead, meaning the A4000 more than doubles the RX 9070 in this specific test. This outlier is striking given the RX 9070's dominance elsewhere.

The average benchmark scores in the database put the A4000 at 26683 and the RX 9070 at 23877, which seems contradictory until considering the nearest rivals. The A4000 sits at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26553 (0.5% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at 26421 (1% behind), the AMD Radeon 860M at 26401 (1.1% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 26331 (1.3% behind). The RX 9070 sits at the 69th percentile, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 23736 (0.6% behind), the AMD Radeon RX 6800S at 24063 (0.8% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile at 23628 (1.1% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24170 (1.2% ahead). The A4000's higher average comes from its Vulkan score pulling up the mean, while the RX 9070's lower Vulkan result drags its average down despite winning most tests.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in DirectX 12 workloads?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 wins the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test with a score of 6290 versus 2604 for the RTX A4000, a 58.6% lead. In PassMark DirectX 12, the RX 9070 also wins, but by a narrow margin of 74 to 72.

Q: How do the two cards compare in Vulkan performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A4000 dominates in Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 127645, while the RX 9070 scores 58705. The A4000 leads by 117.4%, more than doubling the RX 9070's result in this test.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 9070 has a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s, while the RTX A4000 has 448.0 GB/s. Both cards have 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256 bit bus, but the RX 9070's higher memory clock of 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) drives the difference.

Q: Which card has higher raw compute throughput?

A: The RX 9070 delivers 36.13 TFLOPS FP32, while the RTX A4000 delivers 19.17 TFLOPS. The RX 9070 also wins PassMark GPU Compute with 14737 against 9760, a 33.8% lead.

Q: How do power requirements differ?

A: The RTX A4000 has a 140 W TDP and suggests a 300 W power supply, using a single 6-pin connector. The RX 9070 has a 220 W TDP and suggests a 550 W power supply, using two 8-pin connectors. The A4000 is single-slot, while the RX 9070 is dual-slot.

Q: Are these cards from the same generation?

A: No. The RTX A4000 is from the Workstation Ampere generation, released in April 2021, and is now end-of-life. The RX 9070 is from the Navi IV (RX 9000) series, released in March 2025, and remains active. The RX 9070 uses TSMC's 4 nm process, while the A4000 uses Samsung's 8 nm process.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 9070 wins across nearly every measured category. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 is the standout result, indicating strong modern rendering performance. In compute tasks, the RX 9070 leads both in Geekbench OpenCL (131539 versus 105739) and PassMark GPU Compute (14737 versus 9760). The RX 9070 also handles legacy DirectX workloads better, winning DirectX 9, 10, and 11 tests with leads ranging from 10.6% to 43.8%. Even in 2D performance, the RX 9070 leads in PassMark G2D with 1280 versus 1024.

The A4000's single win in Geekbench Vulkan is significant for specific use cases. A 117.4% lead in that test means applications built on Vulkan will run substantially better on the A4000. The A4000 also has a lower power profile at 140 W TDP and a single-slot design, which can matter in constrained chassis. Its 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs may suit multi-monitor workstation setups, though the RX 9070 offers a different output mix with HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1a.

For users running DirectX-based applications, especially modern titles or workloads leveraging DX12, the RX 9070 is the superior choice. Its higher clocks, greater bandwidth, and newer architecture deliver consistent wins. For Vulkan-centric environments, the A4000 remains compelling despite its age. The RX 9070 also carries a higher TDP at 220 W, so systems must accommodate a 550 W power supply recommendation, whereas the A4000 only suggests 300 W.

The average benchmark scores place the A4000 slightly higher overall (26683 versus 23877), but this is skewed by the Vulkan outlier. The percentile rankings show both cards in a similar tier: the A4000 at 72nd percentile and the RX 9070 at 69th. The nearest rival data confirms both cards operate in a crowded performance band. The A4000 sits within 1.3% of its closest competitors, and the RX 9070 within 1.2%. This suggests that while the RX 9070 wins most head-to-head tests, neither card is dramatically far from its peers in aggregate performance.

The practical recommendation depends on the workload. For DirectX 12 gaming or compute-heavy tasks, the RX 9070 is the data-backed pick. For Vulkan-based rendering pipelines, the A4000 offers a massive advantage that no other benchmark in this dataset can match. The RX 9070's launch MSRP was 549 USD, though that figure should not be weighed against the A4000's absence of a recorded launch price. The A4000's end-of-life status also means it is no longer in active production, while the RX 9070 remains available. The choice is less about which card is better overall and more about which API and workload profile matters most to the user.