NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile Comparison

# Where Each One Wins

The recorded benchmark data splits cleanly along generational lines. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons, taking the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 109,197 against 27,326 for the GTX 780 Ti, a 299.6% advantage. The Vulkan test follows the same pattern: 108,367 for the RTX 4070 Mobile versus 27,238 for the GTX 780 Ti, a 297.9% margin. There are no benchmark categories in the database where the GTX 780 Ti comes out ahead.

The RTX 4070 Mobile also shows a stronger overall standing in the broader GPU landscape. Its average benchmark score sits at 27,435, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs tracked. The GTX 780 Ti averages 24,236 and sits in the 70th percentile. This is a modest gap in percentile terms, but the actual score difference of 3,199 points (about 13.2% higher for the RTX 4070 Mobile) reflects the newer architecture's efficiency advantage.

In terms of use-case interpretation, the RTX 4070 Mobile is clearly the compute-oriented choice. Its OpenCL and Vulkan results dwarf the older card, suggesting it handles general-purpose GPU workloads, modern graphics APIs, and compute tasks with far greater headroom. The GTX 780 Ti, lacking any wins in the database, remains relevant only in legacy contexts where its 3 GB memory and Kepler architecture are sufficient, though the data provides no benchmark evidence of such a scenario.

The nearest rivals further contextualize the RTX 4070 Mobile's position. It sits within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27,565 average) and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (27,135). The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT matches at 27,425 with a delta of 0%. This places the RTX 4070 Mobile in desktop-class performance territory despite being a mobile part, a key differentiator when compared to the GTX 780 Ti's nearest rivals, which include the GTX 1630 (-0.2%), RTX 2080 SUPER (+0.3%), RX 6800S (+0.7%), and RX 6600 XT (-0.8%). The GTX 780 Ti's performance class is essentially that of a mid-range modern card, while the RTX 4070 Mobile operates near flagship desktop levels.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile averages 27,435 points, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti averages 24,236 points, a difference of 3,199 points in favor of the RTX 4070 Mobile.

Q: How large is the gap in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 109,197 versus 27,326 for the GTX 780 Ti, which is a 299.6% higher result for the newer card.

Q: Does the GTX 780 Ti win any benchmark comparison in the database?

A: No. The head-to-head data shows the RTX 4070 Mobile winning both recorded tests (OpenCL and Vulkan), with the GTX 780 Ti recording zero wins.

Q: What is the percentile ranking difference between the two cards?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile ranks in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 780 Ti ranks in the 70th percentile, a gap of 3 percentile points.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of memory capacity?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, while the GTX 780 Ti has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus. The RTX 4070 Mobile has lower bandwidth (256.0 GB/s versus 336.6 GB/s) but more than double the capacity.

Q: Which card has higher FP32 compute throughput?

A: The RTX 4070 Mobile delivers 15.62 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, whereas the GTX 780 Ti delivers 5.345 TFLOPS, making the RTX 4070 Mobile roughly 2.9 times faster in raw single-precision compute.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains two direct comparisons between these GPUs, and both are decisive wins for the RTX 4070 Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4070 Mobile posts 109,197 points, which is 299.6% higher than the GTX 780 Ti's 27,326. In Geekbench Vulkan, the margin is nearly identical: 108,367 versus 27,238, a 297.9% advantage. These results indicate that the RTX 4070 Mobile delivers roughly four times the performance of the GTX 780 Ti in these particular workloads.

The OpenCL result is particularly telling because it reflects general compute capability across heterogeneous devices. A score of 109,197 places the RTX 4070 Mobile in a performance tier that the GTX 780 Ti cannot approach, despite the older card's wider 384-bit memory bus and higher raw memory bandwidth. The Vulkan test reinforces this, showing that the newer architecture handles modern graphics APIs with far greater efficiency. The GTX 780 Ti's Vulkan support extends to version 1.2.175, while the RTX 4070 Mobile supports Vulkan 1.4, but the score gap suggests more than just API version differences; it reflects fundamental architectural throughput improvements.

When placed against the nearest rivals, these numbers make sense. The RTX 4070 Mobile's average score of 27,435 is essentially identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (27,425, 0% delta) and within 0.5% of the RTX 3090 (27,565, -0.5% delta). The GTX 780 Ti's average of 24,236 places it near the GTX 1630 (24,277, -0.2%) and RTX 2080 SUPER (24,170, +0.3%). This means the GTX 780 Ti, despite being a dual-slot desktop card from 2013, performs similarly to modern entry-level and mid-range GPUs in aggregate, but the RTX 4070 Mobile operates in a completely different class, competing with high-end desktop parts.

The wins are not narrow. A 299.6% delta in OpenCL and a 297.9% delta in Vulkan represent roughly 3x performance, not incremental improvements. For any workload that relies on these APIs, the RTX 4070 Mobile is the only viable choice between the two.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses a 5 nm process node from TSMC, while the GTX 780 Ti uses a 28 nm node from the same foundry. The RTX 4070 Mobile's die size is 188 mm², containing 22,900 million transistors, which yields a transistor density of 121.8 million per mm². The GTX 780 Ti has a much larger die at 561 mm² but only 7,080 million transistors, giving a density of 12.6 million per mm², roughly one-tenth the density.

Clock speeds favor the RTX 4070 Mobile significantly. Its base clock is 1395 MHz with a boost of 1695 MHz, while the GTX 780 Ti runs at 875 MHz base and 928 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: the RTX 4070 Mobile runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), whereas the GTX 780 Ti runs at 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective). Memory configurations are divergent: 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus for the RTX 4070 Mobile versus 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus for the GTX 780 Ti. Bandwidth favors the older card at 336.6 GB/s versus 256.0 GB/s, but capacity and speed favor the newer one.

Shading units, texture units, and ray tracing hardware all differ. The RTX 4070 Mobile has 4,608 shading units, 144 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 36 RT cores, and 144 tensor cores. The GTX 780 Ti has 2,880 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with no RT cores or tensor cores. Pixel rates are 81.36 GPixel/s for the RTX 4070 Mobile versus 55.68 GPixel/s for the GTX 780 Ti. Texture rates are 244.1 GTexel/s versus 222.7 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 15.62 TFLOPS versus 5.345 TFLOPS, and the RTX 4070 Mobile also supports FP16 at 15.62 TFLOPS (1:1), which the GTX 780 Ti lacks entirely.

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The RTX 4070 Mobile has a 115 W TDP and is an IGP with no power connectors, while the GTX 780 Ti has a 250 W TDP, uses dual-slot cooling, and requires a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector with a 600 W suggested PSU. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8 for the RTX 4070 Mobile versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the GTX 780 Ti. Display outputs are portable-device-dependent for the RTX 4070 Mobile, while the GTX 780 Ti offers 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The GTX 780 Ti measures 267 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 38 mm in width.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these GPUs spans two distinct NVIDIA generations. The RTX 4070 Mobile is based on the AD106 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 Mobile generation. The GTX 780 Ti uses the GK110B chip with the Kepler architecture, belonging to the GeForce 700 generation. The RTX 4070 Mobile was released in early 2023, while the GTX 780 Ti launched in late 2013, a gap of nearly a decade.

The RTX 4070 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GTX 780 Ti supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. This means the newer card has access to feature sets like hardware ray tracing and mesh shaders, which the Kepler architecture cannot provide. The presence of 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores in the RTX 4070 Mobile indicates dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI workloads, neither of which exists in the GTX 780 Ti.

The manufacturing process difference is stark. The RTX 4070 Mobile uses a 5 nm node with a transistor density of 121.8 million per mm², while the GTX 780 Ti uses 28 nm with 12.6 million per mm². The RTX 4070 Mobile packs over three times as many transistors (22,900 million versus 7,080 million) into a die less than one-third the size (188 mm² versus 561 mm²). This density advantage enables higher clock speeds and lower power consumption simultaneously.

The GTX 780 Ti is end-of-life according to the database, while the RTX 4070 Mobile is active. The predecessor and successor lineage also differs: the RTX 4070 Mobile follows the GeForce 30 Mobile and leads to the GeForce 50 Mobile, while the GTX 780 Ti follows the GeForce 600 and leads to the GeForce 900. The GTX 780 Ti's launch MSRP was 699 USD, which can be stated once as a historical reference point.

The Verdict

The data directs different users to different cards, but the verdict is lopsided. For any modern workload involving DirectX 12 Ultimate features, ray tracing, tensor operations, or Vulkan 1.4, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is the only option. Its benchmark scores are roughly 3x higher in both OpenCL and Vulkan, and its FP32 compute of 15.62 TFLOPS dwarfs the GTX 780 Ti's 5.345 TFLOPS. The RTX 4070 Mobile also offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory versus 3 GB of GDDR5, which matters for texture-heavy workloads and larger datasets.

The GTX 780 Ti retains one theoretical advantage: memory bandwidth. Its 336.6 GB/s exceeds the RTX 4070 Mobile's 256.0 GB/s, and its 384-bit bus width is three times wider. However, the benchmark data shows no scenario where this translates into a win. The RTX 4070 Mobile's higher clocks, newer architecture, and larger memory capacity overcome the bandwidth deficit in every recorded test.

For users seeking a mobile GPU that can approach desktop-class performance, the RTX 4070 Mobile sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, matching the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT and coming within 0.5% of the RTX 3090. The GTX 780 Ti, at the 70th percentile, performs like a modern mid-range card but offers no path to ray tracing or tensor workloads. The GTX 780 Ti remains a historical artifact: a dual-slot, 250 W desktop card that requires a 600 W PSU and external power connectors, whereas the RTX 4070 Mobile is an IGP with a 115 W TDP and no power connectors.

The verdict is clear: the RTX 4070 Mobile wins on every benchmark, every compute metric, and every modern feature. The GTX 780 Ti's only appeal is to those who specifically need its 384-bit memory bus or its legacy DVI outputs, but the recorded data provides no performance justification. Choose the RTX 4070 Mobile for any compute, gaming, or professional workload; choose the GTX 780 Ti only if a specific legacy interface or bandwidth profile is mandatory.