AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M Comparison

The Verdict

The data is decisive: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is in a different performance class than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M. Across the two directly comparable benchmark tests in the database, the RX 9070 XT wins both, with the GeForce GTX 780M failing to secure a single head-to-head victory. The RX 9070 XT's average benchmark score of 13543 places it at the 55th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 780M's average of 11261 sits at the 50th percentile. The gap is not merely incremental; it is a generational chasm.

For anyone choosing between these two, the verdict is straightforward: the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the only sensible pick for modern workloads. It delivers a Geekbench OpenCL score of 17428 versus 12769 for the GTX 780M, a 36.5% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 9070 XT scores 65879 against 12696, an extraordinary 418.9% lead. The GTX 780M is an end-of-life mobile part from the GeForce 700M generation, built on 28 nm Kepler architecture, and its recorded data shows it is outclassed in every measurable way. The RX 9070 XT is an Active production part from the Radeon RX 9000 series, built on 4 nm RDNA 4.0 architecture, and it is designed for current-generation desktop systems. The GTX 780M, by contrast, is an MXM module with no power connectors, intended for laptops where the display outputs are "Portable Device Dependent." The RX 9070 XT is a dual-slot, PCIe 5.0 x16 desktop card with 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a outputs. The use cases do not even overlap in the same way; the RX 9070 XT targets desktop gaming and compute, while the GTX 780M is a legacy mobile part.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the database's recorded benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT wins both head-to-head tests. It scores 17428 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 12769 for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, a 36.5% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 9070 XT scores 65879 versus 12696, a 418.9% lead. The GTX 780M has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare between the two?

A: The RX 9070 XT has an average benchmark score of 13543, which places it at the 55th percentile of all GPUs. The GTX 780M has an average score of 11261, placing it at the 50th percentile. The RX 9070 XT's average is 2282 points higher, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7770M, scores 13536, a 0.1% delta. The GTX 780M's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200, scores 11228, a 0.3% delta.

Q: What is the architecture difference between the two GPUs?

A: The RX 9070 XT uses RDNA 4.0 architecture on a 4 nm process node with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. The GTX 780M uses Kepler architecture on a 28 nm process node with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The transistor density is 151.0M per mm² for the RX 9070 XT versus 12.0M per mm² for the GTX 780M.

Q: Does the GTX 780M support ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX 780M has no ray tracing cores listed in the database. The RX 9070 XT has 64 ray tracing cores. The RX 9070 XT also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 780M only supports DirectX 12 (11_0).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RX 9070 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780M has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 9070 XT's memory clock is 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), while the GTX 780M's memory clock is 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

Q: Which GPU has a higher pixel and texture rate?

A: The RX 9070 XT has a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s. The GTX 780M has a pixel rate of 25.50 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 102.0 GTexel/s. The RX 9070 XT also has 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, while the GTX 780M has 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M spans multiple generations and fundamental design philosophies. The RX 9070 XT is built on RDNA 4.0, a modern architecture from the Navi IV generation, fabricated on TSMC's 4 nm process. The GTX 780M uses Kepler, a much older architecture from the GeForce 700M generation, fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process. The process node difference is stark: 4 nm versus 28 nm, which directly affects transistor density. The RX 9070 XT packs 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die, yielding a density of 151.0M transistors per mm². The GTX 780M has 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, yielding just 12.0M transistors per mm². This density difference explains why the RX 9070 XT can offer 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, while the GTX 780M is limited to 1536 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Ray tracing is a major architectural divider. The RX 9070 XT includes 64 dedicated ray tracing cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing in supported games. The GTX 780M has no ray tracing cores at all, meaning any ray tracing workload must be handled through compute shaders, which is far less efficient. The API support also reflects this: the RX 9070 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading. The GTX 780M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), a lower-tier feature set. Vulkan support is also newer on the RX 9070 XT, which supports Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 780M supports Vulkan 1.2.175. OpenGL support is identical at 4.6, but the underlying hardware capabilities are worlds apart.

The RX 9070 XT's compute capabilities are significantly more advanced. Its FP32 throughput is 48.66 TFLOPS, and it also achieves 48.66 TFLOPS in FP16 (1:1 ratio). The GTX 780M's FP32 throughput is only 2.448 TFLOPS, and it has no listed FP16 performance. This means the RX 9070 XT is roughly 20 times faster in FP32 compute, which is critical for modern games, AI inference, and scientific workloads. The GTX 780M's FP16 null entry suggests it lacks dedicated half-precision support, further widening the compute gap.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field recorded in the database. The RX 9070 XT has a base clock of 1660 MHz and a boost clock of 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz. The GTX 780M has a base clock of 771 MHz and a boost clock of 797 MHz, with no game clock listed. The memory subsystem is also different: the RX 9070 XT uses 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 780M uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on the same 256-bit bus, delivering only 160.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective) for the RX 9070 XT versus 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) for the GTX 780M.

Power and physical design are also divergent. The RX 9070 XT has a TDP of 304 W, requires a 700 W suggested PSU, and uses 2x 8-pin power connectors. It is a dual-slot card. The GTX 780M has a TDP of 122 W, has no power connectors, and is an MXM module with an MXM-B (3.0) bus interface. The RX 9070 XT uses PCIe 5.0 x16, while the GTX 780M uses MXM-B (3.0). Display outputs are another clear difference: the RX 9070 XT has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1a, while the GTX 780M's outputs are "Portable Device Dependent," meaning they are determined by the laptop manufacturer.

The production status and release dates also tell a story. The RX 9070 XT is Active, released on 2025-03-05, with a launch MSRP of 599 USD. The GTX 780M is End-of-life, released on 2013-05-10, with no launch MSRP listed. The GTX 780M's predecessor is the GeForce 600M, and its successor is the GeForce 800M. The RX 9070 XT's predecessor is Navi III, and it has no successor listed, indicating it is a current-generation product.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records two head-to-head benchmark comparisons between these GPUs, and the RX 9070 XT wins both by substantial margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9070 XT scores 17428, while the GTX 780M scores 12769. The delta is 36.5%, meaning the RX 9070 XT is more than a third faster in this compute-oriented test. This is a significant lead, but it is modest compared to the Vulkan result.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 9070 XT scores 65879, while the GTX 780M scores 12696. The delta is 418.9%, meaning the RX 9070 XT is more than five times faster in Vulkan. This is an enormous gap that reflects both the architectural advantages of RDNA 4.0 over Kepler and the much higher shading unit count. The GTX 780M's Vulkan score of 12696 is actually lower than its OpenCL score of 12769, suggesting that Kepler's Vulkan driver implementation is less efficient than its OpenCL path. The RX 9070 XT, by contrast, scores nearly four times higher in Vulkan than in OpenCL (65879 versus 17428), indicating that RDNA 4.0 is particularly well-optimized for Vulkan workloads.

The wins are not close in either test. The RX 9070 XT's 36.5% OpenCL lead is decisive, and its 418.9% Vulkan lead is overwhelming. The GTX 780M has no countervailing advantage in any recorded benchmark. Its average benchmark score of 11261 is lower than the RX 9070 XT's 13543, and its percentile ranking of 50 is below the RX 9070 XT's 55. The data is unambiguous: the RX 9070 XT is the faster GPU in every recorded metric.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the recorded data, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT wins in every use case that involves compute or graphics performance. Its 36.5% OpenCL lead means it is better suited for OpenCL-based compute workloads, such as scientific simulations, video encoding, and general-purpose GPU computing. Its 418.9% Vulkan lead means it is dramatically better for Vulkan-based games and applications, which are increasingly common in modern gaming. The RX 9070 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth also makes it suitable for high-resolution textures and large datasets, while the GTX 780M's 4 GB of GDDR5 with 160.0 GB/s is severely constrained in those scenarios.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, on the other hand, has no benchmark wins in the database. Its strengths lie outside the recorded metrics. It is an MXM module with a 122 W TDP, making it suitable for legacy laptops that require a mobile GPU with no external power connectors. Its "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs mean it can be integrated into custom portable systems. However, the database shows no performance scenario where the GTX 780M is competitive. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200, scores 11228, a 0.3% delta, indicating that the GTX 780M is at the lower end of the GPU performance spectrum. The RX 9070 XT's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7770M, scores 13536, a 0.1% delta, showing that the RX 9070 XT is clustered with other mid-range GPUs, but its average score is still well above the GTX 780M's.

For gaming, the RX 9070 XT is the clear winner. Its 4096 shading units, 64 ray tracing cores, and 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 performance provide the hardware foundation for high frame rates and advanced visual effects. The GTX 780M's 1536 shading units and 2.448 TFLOPS FP32 performance cannot match that level of throughput. For content creation, the RX 9070 XT's OpenCL advantage of 36.5% and Vulkan advantage of 418.9% make it the preferred choice for rendering and compute tasks. The GTX 780M is best viewed as a historical artifact, suitable only for old laptops that need a drop-in replacement part. The database's verdict is clear: the RX 9070 XT wins on every measurable front, and the GTX 780M has no remaining performance edge.