NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a clear generational split between these two NVIDIA flagships. The GeForce GTX 1070 dominates the head-to-head comparison, winning 8 out of 10 tests, while the older TITAN BLACK manages only 2 victories. The magnitude of the wins, however, tells a more nuanced story than the raw win count suggests.

The GTX 1070’s most decisive victory comes in Geekbench OpenCL, where it scores 44,700 against the TITAN BLACK’s 27,218 — a 64.2% advantage. This is the largest performance gap in either direction across the entire test suite. The compute-oriented nature of this benchmark highlights the Pascal architecture’s efficiency improvements. Similarly, in Passmark GPU Compute, the GTX 1070 posts 6,102 versus 3,726, a 63.8% lead. These two compute tests alone demonstrate that the newer GPU’s fundamental execution throughput is in a different class.

The Passmark DirectX tests all favor the GTX 1070 substantially. In DirectX 10, the margin is 74.5% (82 vs. 47), the single largest percentage delta in the entire comparison. DirectX 11 shows a 37% lead (100 vs. 73), DirectX 12 a 41.2% edge (48 vs. 34), and DirectX 9 a 48.1% advantage (197 vs. 133). Across all four API generations, the GTX 1070 maintains a consistent lead of roughly 37–75%, indicating that its architectural superiority is not tied to any specific DirectX feature level but is a general property of the GPU.

The Passmark G3D score reinforces this pattern, with the GTX 1070 at 13,498 versus 9,184 — a 47% advantage. This is the most direct measure of overall 3D rendering performance in the dataset, and the gap is substantial. The Passmark G2D result also favors the GTX 1070, at 846 versus 595 (42.2% lead), suggesting that even 2D operations benefit from the newer memory subsystem and rasterization pipeline.

The TITAN BLACK’s two wins are both in Geekbench tests, and both are significant. In Geekbench Metal, it scores 24,172 against 18,801 — a 22.2% lead for the TITAN BLACK. This is notable because Metal is a low-level graphics API, and the TITAN BLACK’s 2,880 shading units versus 1,920 for the GTX 1070 likely explain the advantage. The Geekbench Vulkan result is even more pronounced: 29,561 versus 22,121, a 25.2% margin. Vulkan is also a low-level API, and the TITAN BLACK’s raw shader count and wider 384-bit memory bus appear to provide an advantage in these specific workloads.

The overall average benchmark scores reflect the GTX 1070’s general superiority: 9,780 versus 9,474, a modest 3.2% gap. The percentile rankings are nearly identical, with the GTX 1070 at the 47th percentile of all GPUs and the TITAN BLACK at 46th. This suggests that while the newer card wins most head-to-head tests, both GPUs occupy a similar tier in the overall GPU landscape.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear overall winner: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. It wins 8 of 10 benchmarks, often by margins of 40% or more, and its average benchmark score of 9,780 edges out the TITAN BLACK’s 9,474. The GTX 1070’s leads in DirectX 9 through 12, G2D, G3D, OpenCL, and compute tests are consistent and substantial. For any workload that relies on DirectX, general 3D rendering, or compute throughput, the GTX 1070 is the superior choice.

The TITAN BLACK does retain a measurable advantage in two specific areas: Geekbench Metal and Geekbench Vulkan. In those tests, it leads by 22.2% and 25.2%, respectively. These are low-level API workloads that appear to favor the TITAN BLACK’s larger shader count and wider memory interface. Users whose primary applications are built on Metal or Vulkan should note this advantage.

The launch MSRP of the GTX 1070 was 379 USD. The launch MSRP of the TITAN BLACK was 999 USD. The performance data shows that the lower-priced card wins the majority of tests, but the TITAN BLACK’s niche wins in Metal and Vulkan workloads may justify its selection for specific use cases.

For the average user, the GTX 1070 is the rational pick. It offers superior performance in the most common APIs and compute workloads. For a specialized user targeting Metal or Vulkan performance, the TITAN BLACK’s wins are real and substantial, but they come with an older architecture and higher power requirements.

Where Each One Wins

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 — 8 benchmark wins:

• Geekbench OpenCL (64.2% lead) — compute throughput
• Passmark DirectX 10 (74.5% lead) — legacy 3D rendering
• Passmark DirectX 11 (37% lead) — mainstream 3D rendering
• Passmark DirectX 12 (41.2% lead) — modern 3D rendering
• Passmark DirectX 9 (48.1% lead) — legacy 3D rendering
• Passmark G2D (42.2% lead) — 2D graphics operations
• Passmark G3D (47% lead) — overall 3D rendering
• Passmark GPU Compute (63.8% lead) — compute workloads

NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK — 2 benchmark wins:

• Geekbench Metal (22.2% lead) — low-level graphics API
• Geekbench Vulkan (25.2% lead) — low-level graphics API

The GTX 1070 wins every Passmark test, including all four DirectX versions, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute. It also wins Geekbench OpenCL. This spans the full range of common graphics APIs and compute workloads. The TITAN BLACK wins only the two Geekbench tests that use low-level, cross-platform APIs (Metal and Vulkan), suggesting its advantage is specific to those environments.

For gaming, the DirectX results are most relevant. The GTX 1070 leads by 37% to 74.5% across DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12, making it the clear choice for PC gaming. For productivity, the G3D and compute scores favor the GTX 1070 by 47% and 63.8%, respectively. For specialized workloads that leverage Metal or Vulkan, the TITAN BLACK holds a 22–25% edge.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9,780, compared to 9,474 for the TITAN BLACK.

Q: How many benchmarks does each GPU win in the head-to-head comparison?

A: The GTX 1070 wins 8 of 10 benchmarks, while the TITAN BLACK wins 2.

Q: What is the largest performance margin in either direction?

A: The GTX 1070’s 74.5% lead in Passmark DirectX 10 (82 vs. 47) is the largest margin. The TITAN BLACK’s largest lead is 25.2% in Geekbench Vulkan (29,561 vs. 22,121).

Q: In which benchmarks does the TITAN BLACK outperform the GTX 1070?

A: The TITAN BLACK wins Geekbench Metal (24,172 vs. 18,801) and Geekbench Vulkan (29,561 vs. 22,121).

Q: What is the difference in percentile ranking between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 ranks at the 47th percentile of all GPUs, while the TITAN BLACK ranks at the 46th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has higher pixel and texture rates?

A: The GTX 1070 has a higher pixel rate (107.7 GPixel/s vs. 58.80 GPixel/s), while the TITAN BLACK has a higher texture rate (235.2 GTexel/s vs. 202.0 GTexel/s).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent distinct architectural generations from NVIDIA. The GTX 1070 is built on the Pascal architecture (chip GP104), fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. The TITAN BLACK uses the Kepler architecture (chip GK110B), fabricated on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. This process node difference is significant: 16 nm versus 28 nm.

The transistor counts are remarkably close: 7,200 million for the GTX 1070 and 7,080 million for the TITAN BLACK. However, the die sizes differ dramatically. The GTX 1070’s die is 314 mm², while the TITAN BLACK’s is 561 mm². This yields transistor densities of 22.9M per mm² for the GTX 1070 versus 12.6M per mm² for the TITAN BLACK, reflecting the denser packing enabled by the smaller process node.

Clock speeds also differ substantially. The GTX 1070 runs at a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz. The TITAN BLACK runs at 889 MHz base and 980 MHz boost. The memory clock shows a similar pattern: 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) for the GTX 1070 versus 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) for the TITAN BLACK.

The memory configurations are different in both capacity and bus width. The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The TITAN BLACK has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the wider bus, the lower clock speed keeps the TITAN BLACK’s bandwidth advantage moderate.

The shader configurations differ in a notable way. The TITAN BLACK has 2,880 shading units and 240 TMUs versus 1,920 shading units and 120 TMUs for the GTX 1070. However, the GTX 1070 has 64 ROPs versus 48 for the TITAN BLACK. The TITAN BLACK’s higher shader count explains its wins in Metal and Vulkan, while the GTX 1070’s higher ROP count contributes to its pixel rate advantage: 107.7 GPixel/s versus 58.80 GPixel/s.

The FP32 compute figures show the GTX 1070 ahead at 6.463 TFLOPS versus 5.645 TFLOPS for the TITAN BLACK. The GTX 1070 also supports FP16 at 101.0 GFLOPS (1:64), while the TITAN BLACK has no listed FP16 capability. The TITAN BLACK’s texture rate is higher (235.2 GTexel/s vs. 202.0 GTexel/s), consistent with its greater TMU count.

Power requirements also differ. The GTX 1070 has a TDP of 150 W with a single 8-pin power connector, while the TITAN BLACK has a TDP of 250 W and requires both a 6-pin and an 8-pin connector. The suggested PSU ratings are 450 W for the GTX 1070 and 600 W for the TITAN BLACK.

API support shows generational differences. The GTX 1070 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The TITAN BLACK supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The GTX 1070 also offers more modern display outputs, including HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a, versus the TITAN BLACK’s HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2. Both cards are dual-slot designs with similar physical dimensions, though the GTX 1070 is slightly wider (40 mm vs. 38 mm).