NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER represent two distinct eras of NVIDIA’s GPU design. The recorded data shows a decisive performance advantage for the RTX 2070 SUPER, which wins both head-to-head benchmarks by substantial margins. The GTX 780 Ti, while a capable card in its own right, is clearly outclassed in modern compute workloads, largely due to its older Kepler architecture and lack of dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2070 SUPER is the clear winner in the recorded head-to-head benchmarks. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, it scores 83,358 compared to the GTX 780 Ti’s 27,326. This represents a 67.2% lead for the RTX 2070 SUPER. The Vulkan result is even more lopsided: the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90,637 versus 27,238 for the GTX 780 Ti, a 69.9% advantage. These results indicate that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the superior choice for any workload leveraging OpenCL or Vulkan, which includes many modern games and compute applications.

The GTX 780 Ti, however, is not without its own positioning. Its average benchmark score is 24,236, which places it at the 70th percentile of all GPUs in the database. This is higher than the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 65th percentile, despite the RTX 2070 SUPER’s far higher raw scores in the head-to-head tests. This discrepancy is explained by the fact that the GTX 780 Ti’s average score is based on a different set of benchmarks, and its nearest rivals include cards like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (average score 24,277, delta -0.2%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (average score 24,442, delta -0.8%). The RTX 2070 SUPER’s nearest rivals are a different group, including the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (average score 20,480, delta -1%) and the Intel Arc B570 (average score 20,556, delta -1.3%). This suggests that in the specific benchmark suites where the GTX 780 Ti is measured, it remains competitive with much newer entry-level and mid-range cards, while the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in a higher performance tier.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is significant. The GTX 780 Ti is built on the Kepler architecture, using the GK110B chip, and is fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 12.6 million transistors per mm². In contrast, the RTX 2070 SUPER uses the Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, built on a 12 nm process, also at TSMC. It packs 13,600 million transistors onto a slightly smaller 545 mm² die, yielding a much higher density of 25.0 million transistors per mm².

The RTX 2070 SUPER also brings features that the GTX 780 Ti simply does not have. It is equipped with 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. The GTX 780 Ti has no such dedicated hardware, with no RT cores and no tensor cores listed. This is a fundamental difference in capability that goes beyond raw compute performance.

Another key difference is in the API support. The GTX 780 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The RTX 2070 SUPER, on the other hand, supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support on the RTX 2070 SUPER is a major advantage, as it enables features like DirectX Raytracing and Variable Rate Shading, which are not available on the older card.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti has a higher average benchmark score of 24,236, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER’s average score of 20,282.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER perform in Vulkan benchmarks compared to the GTX 780 Ti?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90,637 in the Geekbench Vulkan test, which is 69.9% higher than the GTX 780 Ti’s score of 27,238.

Q: Does the GTX 780 Ti support hardware ray tracing?

A: No, the GTX 780 Ti has no ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores.

Q: What are the DirectX support levels for each card?

A: The GTX 780 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the RTX 2070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: Which card has a higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has a higher memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, compared to the GTX 780 Ti’s 336.6 GB/s.

Q: What is the difference in transistor density between the two cards?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has a transistor density of 25.0 million transistors per mm², which is roughly double the GTX 780 Ti’s density of 12.6 million transistors per mm².

Specification Differences

The specification differences between the two cards are extensive. The GTX 780 Ti is a Kepler-based card on a 28 nm process, while the RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-based card on a 12 nm process. The RTX 2070 SUPER has a much larger transistor count at 13,600 million versus 7,080 million, although its die size is slightly smaller at 545 mm² compared to 561 mm².

Clock speeds differ significantly. The GTX 780 Ti has a base clock of 875 MHz and a boost clock of 928 MHz. The RTX 2070 SUPER runs much faster with a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. Memory also differs: the GTX 780 Ti has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 336.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The compute configurations are also different. The GTX 780 Ti has 2880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units and TMUs, the RTX 2070 SUPER achieves much higher pixel and texture rates: 113.3 GPixel/s and 283.2 GTexel/s, versus 55.68 GPixel/s and 222.7 GTexel/s for the GTX 780 Ti. The FP32 performance tells a similar story, with the RTX 2070 SUPER delivering 9.062 TFLOPS compared to 5.345 TFLOPS for the GTX 780 Ti. The RTX 2070 SUPER also has FP16 performance of 18.12 TFLOPS (2:1), a feature the GTX 780 Ti lacks.

Power and connectivity also differ. The GTX 780 Ti has a TDP of 250 W and requires a 600 W power supply, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has a lower TDP of 215 W and requires a 550 W power supply. Both are dual-slot cards with identical power connectors (1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin). The display outputs are different: the GTX 780 Ti has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data is unambiguous. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 83,358, which is 67.2% higher than the GTX 780 Ti’s 27,326. This is a massive margin that reflects the combined benefits of the newer architecture, higher clock speeds, and greater memory bandwidth of the RTX 2070 SUPER.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows an even larger gap. The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90,637, while the GTX 780 Ti manages only 27,238. This is a 69.9% difference in favor of the RTX 2070 SUPER. Vulkan is a modern low-level API, and the data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is far better equipped to handle its demands, likely due to its newer architecture and superior compute capabilities.

The GTX 780 Ti’s performance in its own benchmark set is respectable, with an average score of 24,236, placing it at the 70th percentile. Its closest rival in the database is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, which scores 24,277, a difference of only -0.2%. This shows that in the benchmarks where it is measured, the GTX 780 Ti is essentially on par with a much newer entry-level card. However, this does little to close the gap with the RTX 2070 SUPER, which is in a different performance class entirely.

The Verdict

The data overwhelmingly favors the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. It wins both head-to-head benchmarks by margins of 67.2% and 69.9%, has more than double the FP32 performance, and offers modern features like ray tracing and tensor cores that the GTX 780 Ti cannot match. The RTX 2070 SUPER also has a lower TDP of 215 W compared to 250 W, and its launch MSRP was 499 USD, which is lower than the GTX 780 Ti’s launch MSRP of 699 USD. For any user looking for the best performance in modern compute or gaming workloads, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the clear choice.

The GTX 780 Ti, however, still holds value in its specific niche. Its average benchmark score of 24,236 is higher than the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 20,282, and it sits at a higher percentile (70th versus 65th). This indicates that in the benchmark suites where it is tested, it remains competitive with modern entry-level cards like the GTX 1630. For users running older applications that rely on OpenCL or Vulkan in a way that favors the GTX 780 Ti’s architecture, or for those who need a card that is still supported in legacy systems, the GTX 780 Ti may be a viable option. But for raw performance and future-proofing, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the superior choice according to the recorded data.