NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data places these two NVIDIA cards in different eras, and the head-to-head benchmark results reflect that gap, though not in a completely one-sided manner. The database contains two common tests for both cards: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a score of 112,821, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 scores 22,863. This represents a massive 79.7% delta in favor of the RTX 3070, meaning the GTX 780’s result is only about a fifth of the newer card’s output. This is the single largest performance gap in the comparison, and it aligns with the raw compute specifications: the RTX 3070 has 5,888 shading units versus 2,304 on the GTX 780, and its FP32 throughput of 20.31 TFLOPS dwarfs the 4.156 TFLOPS of the older card. The RTX 3070 also benefits from a higher boost clock of 1725 MHz compared to 902 MHz on the GTX 780.

However, the Geekbench Vulkan test tells a different story. Here, the GTX 780 scores 24,514, which is 16.6% higher than the RTX 3070’s 21,022. This is a notable win for the older card, and it indicates that in this specific API workload, the GTX 780’s Kepler architecture holds its own. The GTX 780’s Vulkan support is listed as version 1.2.175, while the RTX 3070 supports Vulkan 1.4, but the newer specification does not automatically translate to a higher score in this particular test. The result suggests that the GTX 780’s driver optimization or its memory subsystem, with a 384-bit bus and 288.4 GB/s bandwidth, can still be effective in certain Vulkan scenarios.

Overall, the head-to-head record is a 1-1 split. The RTX 3070 wins the OpenCL compute test by a landslide, while the GTX 780 wins the Vulkan graphics test by a solid margin. Looking at the average benchmark scores across the database, the RTX 3070 sits at 17,208, while the GTX 780 has a higher average of 19,164. This is because the GTX 780’s average is pulled up by its strong Vulkan and Metal results, whereas the RTX 3070’s average includes several lower Passmark scores, such as 85 in DirectX 12 and 150 in DirectX 10. The RTX 3070’s percentile rank among all GPUs is 61, slightly lower than the GTX 780’s 64, indicating that the older card’s benchmark profile is more consistently strong in the tests recorded.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score in the database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 has an average benchmark score of 19,164, which is higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070’s average of 17,208. This is largely due to the GTX 780’s strong Geekbench Vulkan score of 24,514 and its Geekbench Metal score of 10,114, while the RTX 3070’s average is lowered by several lower Passmark scores.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 3070 in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 3070 scores 112,821 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the GTX 780 scores 22,863. The delta percentage is 79.7% in favor of the RTX 3070, meaning the RTX 3070’s score is roughly five times higher.

Q: Does the GTX 780 win any benchmark against the RTX 3070?

A: Yes, the GTX 780 wins the Geekbench Vulkan test with a score of 24,514 compared to the RTX 3070’s 21,022, a 16.6% advantage. This is the only head-to-head win for the GTX 780 in the recorded data.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each card according to the database?

A: The GTX 780’s closest rival is the NVIDIA TITAN Xp with an average score of 19,177 and a delta of -0.1%, followed by the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (19,089, 0.4%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19,049, 0.6%). The RTX 3070’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla K40c with an average score of 17,468 and a delta of -1.5%, followed by the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083, 0.7%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037, 1%).

Q: What is the memory configuration difference between the two cards?

A: The GTX 780 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 3070 has more capacity and higher bandwidth despite a narrower bus.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel rate and texture rate?

A: The RTX 3070 has a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s. The GTX 780 has a pixel rate of 43.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 173.2 GTexel/s. The RTX 3070 is significantly ahead in both metrics.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 780 claims a clear victory in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where its 24,514 score outpaces the RTX 3070 by 16.6%. This makes it the better choice for workloads that rely heavily on Vulkan API performance, at least based on the recorded data. The GTX 780 also holds a higher percentile rank (64 versus 61) and a higher average benchmark score (19,164 versus 17,208), suggesting that its overall profile across the database tests is more favorable. For users running legacy applications or those that favor Vulkan over OpenCL, the GTX 780 appears to have a niche advantage.

The RTX 3070 dominates in the Geekbench OpenCL test with a 79.7% lead, making it the clear pick for compute-heavy tasks that utilize OpenCL. Its raw specifications support this: 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 96 raster output units, and 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The RTX 3070 also has dedicated ray tracing cores (46) and tensor cores (184), which the GTX 780 lacks entirely. This means the RTX 3070 is the only one of the two capable of hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. For modern DirectX 12 Ultimate workloads, the RTX 3070 supports the full feature set (12_2), while the GTX 780 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). The RTX 3070 also has superior memory bandwidth at 448.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s, and a higher texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s versus 173.2 GTexel/s.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category. The GTX 780 is built on the GK110 chip using the Kepler architecture, while the RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip with the Ampere architecture. The process node differs significantly: the GTX 780 uses a 28 nm process from TSMC, while the RTX 3070 uses an 8 nm process from Samsung. Transistor counts reflect the generational leap: the GTX 780 has 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die, yielding a density of 12.6 million transistors per mm². The RTX 3070 has 17,400 million transistors on a smaller 392 mm² die, giving a much higher density of 44.4 million per mm².

Clock speeds are higher on the RTX 3070, with a base of 1500 MHz and boost of 1725 MHz, versus 863 MHz base and 902 MHz boost on the GTX 780. Memory specifications differ in capacity, type, bus width, and bandwidth, as detailed in the FAQ. The RTX 3070 has more shading units (5,888 versus 2,304), more ROPs (96 versus 48), and slightly fewer TMUs (184 versus 192). The RTX 3070 also has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, features absent on the GTX 780. The FP32 performance is 20.31 TFLOPS for the RTX 3070 versus 4.156 TFLOPS for the GTX 780, and the RTX 3070 supports FP16 at 20.31 TFLOPS (1:1), which the GTX 780 does not list.

Power and physical specs also differ: the RTX 3070 has a TDP of 220 W and requires a 550 W suggested PSU, while the GTX 780 has a TDP of 250 W and needs a 600 W PSU. The RTX 3070 uses a single 12-pin power connector, while the GTX 780 uses 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16 for the RTX 3070 versus PCIe 3.0 x16 for the GTX 780. Display outputs are also different: the RTX 3070 has 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, while the GTX 780 has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The RTX 3070 is shorter at 242 mm versus 267 mm for the GTX 780, and it does not list a width, while the GTX 780 is 38 mm wide.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two cards is fundamental. The GTX 780 is based on Kepler, a graphics-focused architecture from the GeForce 700 generation, manufactured on a 28 nm node. It has no dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores, and its DirectX support is limited to 12 (11_0), meaning it cannot fully utilize modern DirectX 12 features. Its Vulkan version is 1.2.175, and it has 2,304 shading units organized in a configuration that delivers 43.30 GPixel/s and 173.2 GTexel/s.

The RTX 3070 is based on Ampere, the architecture behind the GeForce 30-series, built on an 8 nm Samsung process. It introduces dedicated hardware for ray tracing (46 RT cores) and tensor operations (184 tensor cores), which enable features like real-time ray tracing and AI-based rendering techniques. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support includes advanced features such as variable rate shading and mesh shaders. The Vulkan version is 1.4, the latest listed. The Ampere architecture also allows for FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, which is not present on the Kepler card. The transistor density is nearly 3.5 times higher on the RTX 3070, reflecting the more advanced manufacturing process and denser design.

The cache hierarchy and memory architecture are also indicative of the generational shift. The GTX 780 uses a 384-bit memory bus with GDDR5, while the RTX 3070 uses a narrower 256-bit bus but with faster GDDR6 memory, resulting in higher overall bandwidth. The RTX 3070’s ROP count is double that of the GTX 780 (96 versus 48), which contributes to its higher pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s versus 43.30 GPixel/s.

The Verdict

Based on the recorded data, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the superior card for most modern workloads. Its 79.7% lead in Geekbench OpenCL, combined with higher pixel and texture rates, double the ROPs, and dedicated ray tracing and tensor cores, makes it the clear choice for compute-heavy applications, ray-traced games, and DirectX 12 Ultimate content. The RTX 3070 also has more memory (8 GB versus 3 GB) and higher bandwidth (448.0 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s), which is critical for modern game textures and professional workloads. Its lower TDP (220 W versus 250 W) and shorter length (242 mm versus 267 mm) make it an easier fit for many systems, despite requiring a newer 12-pin power connector.

The GTX 780, however, should not be dismissed entirely. Its 16.6% win in Geekbench Vulkan shows that it can outperform the RTX 3070 in specific API-bound scenarios. Its higher average benchmark score (19,164 versus 17,208) and higher percentile rank (64 versus 61) in the database suggest that, in the tests recorded, it punches above its weight relative to its age. For users running older Vulkan-based applications or those that do not benefit from the RTX 3070’s newer features, the GTX 780 remains a functional option. Its larger die size and 384-bit bus also give it a distinct memory interface that some workloads may favor.

The choice ultimately depends on the workload. For ray tracing, AI acceleration, modern DirectX 12 Ultimate titles, and high-resolution gaming with large texture pools, the RTX 3070 is the definitive pick. For legacy Vulkan performance, or if the database’s average score is the primary consideration, the GTX 780 holds a surprising edge. The RTX 3070’s launch MSRP was 499 USD, while the GTX 780 launched at 649 USD, but both cards are now end-of-life, so current availability and pricing are not reflected in the data. The RTX 3070 is the forward-looking choice, while the GTX 780 is a historical outlier with a specific, narrow strength.