AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark database positions these two cards in very different performance tiers. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds a commanding lead in every recorded head-to-head test, winning all three comparisons. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, despite being an older design, posts a higher average benchmark score overall, but that figure is skewed by its inclusion of a Geekbench Metal result, a test the RTX 4070 does not have recorded.

The RTX 4070 should be the default choice for anyone prioritizing modern DirectX 12 workloads, Vulkan compute, and raw shader throughput. It delivers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, more than double the Vega 64's 12.66 TFLOPS. The Vega 64, however, retains relevance in specific legacy or Metal-based workflows, where its score of 68750 in Geekbench Metal shows it can still compete in Apple-oriented environments.

For buyers focused purely on the data, the RTX 4070 is the stronger card in every direct comparison. The Vega 64 remains a functional option for those constrained to older PCIe 3.0 platforms or who require HBM2 memory characteristics, but the performance gap is decisive. The RTX 4070's percentile rank of 81 versus the Vega 64's rank of 86 might suggest the opposite, but that percentile reflects the entire GPU database, not just this pairing. Within this direct matchup, the RTX 4070 is the clear winner.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 wins every recorded benchmark in the head-to-head table. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 3854 against the Vega 64's 1669, a 56.7% advantage. This is the most modern test in the set and reflects the Ada Lovelace architecture's efficiency in current graphics APIs.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 records 154858 versus 62552, a 59.6% lead. This indicates substantially better general-purpose compute performance, particularly for workloads that scale across many shader units. The RTX 4070's 5888 shading units, while not overwhelmingly more than the Vega 64's 4096, operate at much higher clocks: 2475 MHz boost versus 1546 MHz boost.

Geekbench Vulkan tells a similar story, with the RTX 4070 scoring 174152 against 67032, a 61.5% margin. Vulkan performance is critical for modern game engines and professional 3D applications, and the data shows the RTX 4070 is in a different class here.

The Vega 64 has no recorded wins in this matchup. Its only standout result is the Geekbench Metal score of 68750, which has no RTX 4070 counterpart in the database. That absence means the comparison cannot be made directly, but it does indicate the Vega 64 can handle Metal workloads, likely due to AMD's historical presence in macOS environments.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from fundamentally different design eras. The Vega 64 uses the Vega 10 chip built on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, packing 12,500 million transistors into a 495 mm² die. The RTX 4070 uses the AD104 chip on TSMC's 5 nm node, with 35,800 million transistors in a 294 mm² die. The transistor density difference is stark: 25.3M per mm² for the Vega 64 versus 121.8M per mm² for the RTX 4070.

Memory configurations diverge significantly. The Vega 64 uses 8 GB of HBM2 on a 2048-bit bus, delivering 483.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4070 uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, achieving 504.2 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 4070 has slightly higher memory bandwidth due to faster effective data rates: 21 Gbps versus 1890 Mbps for the Vega 64's HBM2.

The compute architectures differ in their FP16 handling. The Vega 64 offers 25.33 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 2:1 ratio, meaning half-rate relative to FP32. The RTX 4070 provides 29.15 TFLOPS of FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, so full-rate FP16 performance. This makes the RTX 4070 more suitable for workloads that mix precision levels.

The RTX 4070 adds hardware features the Vega 64 lacks entirely: 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The Vega 64 has no equivalent units. This explains the RTX 4070's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support versus the Vega 64's older DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support Vulkan, but the RTX 4070 lists Vulkan 1.4 while the Vega 64 lists Vulkan 1.3.

Power and connectivity also differ. The Vega 64 has a 295 W TDP with two 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4070 has a 200 W TDP with a single 16-pin connector and a 550 W suggested PSU. The RTX 4070 also uses PCIe 4.0 x16 versus the Vega 64's PCIe 3.0 x16. Physical dimensions favor the RTX 4070, which is 240 mm long versus 280 mm for the Vega 64.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better raw FP32 performance?

A: The RTX 4070 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS, which is 16.49 TFLOPS more than the Vega 64's 12.66 TFLOPS, representing a 130% advantage in single-precision floating-point throughput.

Q: Does the Vega 64 have any advantage in memory bandwidth?

A: No. The Vega 64 has 483.8 GB/s from HBM2, while the RTX 4070 has 504.2 GB/s from GDDR6X. The RTX 4070 is slightly ahead despite using a 192-bit bus versus the Vega 64's 2048-bit bus.

Q: Can the Vega 64 handle ray tracing?

A: The database lists no ray tracing cores for the Vega 64. The RTX 4070 has 46 dedicated RT cores. The Vega 64 also lacks the DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) API support that the RTX 4070 has, which is required for hardware-accelerated ray tracing in modern titles.

Q: Which card has a better average benchmark score?

A: The Vega 64 has an average score of 50001, while the RTX 4070 averages 37648. However, this figure includes the Vega 64's Geekbench Metal result, which has no RTX 4070 counterpart. In the three directly comparable tests, the RTX 4070 leads by margins between 56.7% and 61.5%.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The Vega 64 has a 295 W TDP with a suggested 600 W PSU. The RTX 4070 has a 200 W TDP with a suggested 550 W PSU. The RTX 4070 requires less power and a smaller power supply.

Q: Which card has more memory?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X, while the Vega 64 has 8 GB of HBM2. The RTX 4070 also has slightly higher bandwidth at 504.2 GB/s versus 483.8 GB/s.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows the largest architectural gap in this pairing. The RTX 4070 scores 3854, which is 2185 points higher than the Vega 64's 1669. The delta of 56.7% reflects the RTX 4070's modern geometry processing and its ability to feed the GPU pipeline more efficiently. This test is particularly demanding on memory subsystems and shader occupancy, areas where the Ada Lovelace design with its 5 nm process and higher clocks excels. The Vega 64's 14 nm process and older GCN 5.0 architecture cannot keep pace.

Geekbench OpenCL results follow the same pattern. The RTX 4070 achieves 154858, while the Vega 64 manages 62552. The 59.6% difference highlights the RTX 4070's superior compute throughput, driven by its 5888 shading units running at a 2475 MHz boost clock. The Vega 64's 4096 shading units at 1546 MHz boost produce substantially less aggregate compute. OpenCL workloads that scale across many cores will see a massive improvement on the RTX 4070.

The Vulkan test produces the widest margin of the three. The RTX 4070 scores 174152 versus 67032 for the Vega 64, a 61.5% lead. Vulkan's low-overhead nature tends to reward architectures with better driver efficiency and hardware scheduling. The RTX 4070's Ada Lovelace design, with its dedicated tensor and RT cores, also benefits from Vulkan's ability to utilize specialized hardware. The Vega 64's GCN architecture, while Vulkan-compatible, does not have equivalent dedicated units.

The data does not include any test where the Vega 64 wins. Its only unique result, Geekbench Metal at 68750, has no RTX 4070 equivalent in the database, so a direct comparison is impossible. That said, the magnitude of the losses in the three shared tests suggests the RTX 4070 would likely dominate a Metal comparison as well, given its higher FP32 throughput and faster memory.

The RTX 4070 also shows consistency across its broader benchmark set. Its Passmark G3D score of 26927 and GPU compute score of 14720 indicate balanced performance across different rendering and compute paths. The Vega 64's average score of 50001, boosted by its Metal result, does not translate into competitive performance in the tests where both cards are measured. The RTX 4070's 37648 average, while lower, comes from a different mix of tests that includes more varied workloads.

In summary, the RTX 4070 wins decisively in every directly comparable benchmark. The margins range from 56.7% to 61.5%, which is a generational gap rather than a minor performance difference. The Vega 64 remains a capable card for its era, but against the RTX 4070, the data shows a clear hierarchy.