NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Comparison

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is in a different performance class than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780. Across the shared benchmark suite, the RTX 2070 SUPER delivers more than triple the raw compute performance, with lead margins that make the comparison less a contest and more a demonstration of generational progression. The GTX 780, while a capable card from its era, is fundamentally outmatched in modern workloads, particularly those leveraging asynchronous compute and Vulkan.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results are stark. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 83,358 points against the GTX 780’s 22,863 points. That is a delta of 264.6%, meaning the newer card is nearly three and a half times faster in this general-purpose compute workload. This margin reflects not just clock speed improvements but the fundamental architectural shift from Kepler to Turing, where the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance dwarfs the GTX 780’s 4.156 TFLOPS.

The Vulkan result is even more lopsided. The RTX 2070 SUPER posts 90,637 points, while the GTX 780 manages only 24,514 points. The 269.7% delta here is the largest of any shared test. Vulkan’s low-overhead nature rewards modern hardware with better scheduling and async compute support, and the GTX 780’s older Kepler architecture simply cannot keep pace. To put these numbers in context, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 20,282 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, while the GTX 780’s average of 19,164 lands at the 64th percentile. Despite the GTX 780’s respectable percentile ranking due to other legacy tests, the direct head-to-head comparisons show a generational chasm.

The RTX 2070 SUPER wins both shared benchmarks, giving it a 2-0 record in this comparison. There are no tests where the GTX 780 comes out ahead. This isn’t a case of one card edging out another in specific titles; it’s a comprehensive sweep across the only two data points available for direct comparison. The GTX 780’s sole benchmark appearances outside the head-to-head set are Geekbench Metal (10,114 points), OpenCL, and Vulkan, but those first two are already accounted for in the comparison above.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2070 SUPER in OpenCL than the GTX 780?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 83,358 points compared to the GTX 780’s 22,863 points, a 264.6% improvement. This is nearly four times the raw compute throughput.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20,282, while the GTX 780 averages 19,164. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s average is about 5.8% higher, despite the GTX 780 scoring within 0.1% of a TITAN Xp in its own rival grouping.

Q: Does the GTX 780 win any shared benchmark?

A: No. The GTX 780 loses both Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan to the RTX 2070 SUPER. It has zero wins in the head-to-head comparison.

Q: What is the performance gap in Vulkan between the two cards?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90,637 points versus the GTX 780’s 24,514 points, a 269.7% delta. This is the largest margin of any test in the comparison.

Q: Is the GTX 780 competitive with the RTX 2070 SUPER in any metric?

A: Based on the benchmark data, no. The closest margin is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 2070 SUPER is still 264.6% ahead. The GTX 780’s percentile ranking (64th) is only one point lower than the RTX 2070 SUPER’s (65th), but that is due to a different pool of benchmark results, not direct performance parity.

Q: How do the cards compare in the context of their nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER sits within 1.5% of Intel Arc B570 and Arc A750, while the GTX 780 is within 0.7% of an AMD Radeon RX 6600. This shows both cards are in similar competitive brackets relative to their contemporaries, but the RTX 2070 SUPER’s bracket is far more modern and higher performing.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is the primary reason for the performance gap. The RTX 2070 SUPER uses the TU104 chip built on TSMC’s 12 nm process, packing 13,600 million transistors onto a 545 mm² die. The GTX 780 uses the GK110 chip on a 28 nm process, with 7,080 million transistors on a similar 561 mm² die. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s transistor density is 25.0M per mm², exactly double the GTX 780’s 12.6M per mm². This doubling of density enables the Turing card to fit more functional units into a similar physical footprint.

The RTX 2070 SUPER features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It also includes 40 dedicated ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, neither of which exist on the GTX 780. The GTX 780 has 2,304 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. While the GTX 780 has more texture units, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s higher clocks and newer execution engine more than compensate. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s pixel rate is 113.3 GPixel/s versus the GTX 780’s 43.30 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 283.2 GTexel/s versus 173.2 GTexel/s.

The RTX 2070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the GTX 780 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175. This API gap means the GTX 780 cannot utilize modern rendering features like mesh shaders or variable rate shading, which explains why its Vulkan score collapses so badly against the newer card. The GTX 780 also lacks any FP16 support, while the RTX 2070 SUPER delivers 18.12 TFLOPS of FP16 performance via a 2:1 ratio, making it far more efficient for AI and compute workloads.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every major specification. The RTX 2070 SUPER has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, compared to the GTX 780’s 863 MHz base and 902 MHz boost. This is a 74% higher base clock and 96% higher boost clock, which alone would account for a significant performance advantage. Memory is another clear differentiator: the RTX 2070 SUPER uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 780 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 288.4 GB/s. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 55% more bandwidth despite a narrower bus, thanks to the higher data rate of GDDR6.

The RTX 2070 SUPER’s TDP is 215 W, while the GTX 780 draws 250 W. Despite consuming 35 W less power, the RTX 2070 SUPER delivers over twice the FP32 throughput. The suggested PSU requirement reflects this: 550 W for the RTX 2070 SUPER versus 600 W for the GTX 780. Both cards use a dual-slot cooler and the same power connector layout (1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin), but their dimensions differ slightly. The RTX 2070 SUPER is 267 mm long, 116 mm tall, and 35 mm wide, while the GTX 780 is 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 38 mm wide.

Display outputs also differ. The RTX 2070 SUPER offers 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the GTX 780 provides 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s USB Type-C output is a modern addition absent from the older card. The release dates are separated by over six years: the GTX 780 launched in May 2013, and the RTX 2070 SUPER launched in July 2019. Both are end-of-life products, with the GTX 780’s successor being the GeForce 900 series and the RTX 2070 SUPER’s successor being the GeForce 30 series.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2070 SUPER wins in every measurable category from the data. In compute-heavy workloads like OpenCL, its 264.6% lead means tasks that take three minutes on the GTX 780 take under a minute on the RTX 2070 SUPER. In Vulkan-based gaming or productivity applications, the 269.7% advantage is even more pronounced. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s higher pixel rate (113.3 GPixel/s vs 43.30 GPixel/s) directly translates to better fill-rate-bound scenarios, such as high-resolution rendering with heavy post-processing effects.

The GTX 780 has no benchmark wins, but its strengths are relative to its own era. Its 384-bit memory bus and 192 TMUs were impressive in 2013, and its 2,304 shading units were near flagship-level at launch. In legacy DirectX 9 or DirectX 10 workloads, the GTX 780’s PassMark scores (223 in DirectX 9, 132 in DirectX 10) show it retains some utility for older software. Its 3 GB of GDDR5 memory is sufficient for 1080p gaming of its generation, but the lack of modern API support and low FP32 throughput (4.156 TFLOPS) bottleneck any current workload.

For users running modern applications, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the only viable choice. Its 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores enable ray tracing and DLSS features that the GTX 780 cannot even attempt. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory also doubles the GTX 780’s capacity, which is critical for modern game textures and AI inference workloads. The GTX 780, by contrast, is limited to 3 GB, which is below the minimum requirement for many contemporary titles.

The Verdict

The verdict is straightforward: the RTX 2070 SUPER is the superior GPU by a wide margin, and the GTX 780 should only be considered for legacy systems that cannot accommodate a modern card. The benchmark data shows a 264.6% lead in OpenCL and a 269.7% lead in Vulkan, with no countervailing wins for the GTX 780. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s average score of 20,282 versus the GTX 780’s 19,164 may seem close on the surface, but that is an artifact of the GTX 780 being benchmarked against fewer, less demanding tests. In any direct comparison, the RTX 2070 SUPER is decisively faster.

Choose the RTX 2070 SUPER if you need modern API support, ray tracing capability, higher memory capacity, or lower power consumption. The data supports it as a card that delivers over double the FP32 throughput (9.062 TFLOPS vs 4.156 TFLOPS) while drawing 35 W less power. Its 12 nm TU104 chip is a decade ahead of the 28 nm GK110 in efficiency and features. Choose the GTX 780 only if you are constrained to a system from 2013 and cannot upgrade the PSU or motherboard. Even then, its 250 W TDP and lack of modern display outputs make it a poor choice for anything but retro computing or basic 2D workloads. The RTX 2070 SUPER is the clear pick for anyone running current software.