NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 vs NVIDIA T400 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and NVIDIA T400 occupy opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, yet both are end-of-life products in NVIDIA's lineup. The RTX 3070 is a high-performance Ampere part aimed at enthusiasts, while the T400 is a low-profile Turing-based workstation card designed for basic display and compute duties. Benchmark data shows the RTX 3070 dominates in raw compute, but the T400 holds its own in specific workstation scenarios due to its efficiency and driver optimizations. This analysis breaks down the factual differences and performance deltas between the two.

FAQ

Q: How large is the performance gap in OpenCL compute between the RTX 3070 and T400?

A: The RTX 3070 scores 112,821 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 562.1% higher than the T400’s 17,039. This makes the RTX 3070 over six times faster in this compute workload.

Q: Does the T400 win any benchmark in the head-to-head comparison?

A: No. The RTX 3070 wins both head-to-head tests. Besides the OpenCL result, the RTX 3070 also leads in Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 21,022 versus 15,976, a 31.6% advantage.

Q: What are the core architecture differences between the two cards?

A: The RTX 3070 uses the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip built on Samsung’s 8 nm process, featuring 17,400 million transistors. The T400 uses the older Turing architecture with a TU117 chip on TSMC’s 12 nm node, with 4,700 million transistors.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare?

A: The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The T400 has only 2 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, resulting in 80.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 3070 also runs its memory at 14 Gbps effective versus 10 Gbps on the T400.

Q: Are there differences in API support?

A: Yes. The RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the T400 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The RTX 3070 has a TDP of 220 W and requires a 550 W power supply, while the T400 has a 30 W TDP and suggests a 200 W power supply. The T400 is single-slot and draws power from the motherboard, whereas the RTX 3070 is dual-slot with a 1x 12-pin connector.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows the RTX 3070 is the superior performer in raw compute and graphics tasks. Its average benchmark score of 17,208 places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the T400’s average of 16,508 sits in the 60th percentile. Despite the similar percentile ranking, the RTX 3070’s lead in the two shared benchmarks is decisive: 562.1% in OpenCL and 31.6% in Vulkan.

For users needing heavy 3D rendering, gaming, or GPU-accelerated compute, the RTX 3070 is the only logical choice based on the data. It offers 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, compared to the T400’s 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The RTX 3070 also has dedicated ray tracing (46 RT cores) and tensor cores (184), which the T400 lacks entirely.

However, the T400 is not without merit. Its 30 W TDP and single-slot design make it suitable for low-profile or power-constrained systems. The T400’s 3x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs and PCIe 3.0 x16 interface are adequate for basic multi-monitor workstation setups. The data suggests the T400 is a display adapter for office or entry-level CAD work, not a compute powerhouse.

Pick the RTX 3070 if you need performance; pick the T400 only if your workload is trivial and power or space is the primary constraint. The RTX 3070’s launch MSRP was 499 USD, but its end-of-life status and superior specs make it the clear winner in any performance-per-slot comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data includes only two tests, both won by the RTX 3070. The largest victory is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 3070 scores 112,821 against the T400’s 17,039. This 562.1% delta is massive and reflects the fundamental architectural differences: the RTX 3070’s 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 throughput dwarfs the T400’s 1,094.4 GFLOPS. In this test, the RTX 3070 is not just faster—it is in a different class entirely.

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, shows a narrower gap. The RTX 3070 scores 21,022 versus 15,976 for the T400, a 31.6% lead. This smaller delta suggests that the T400’s Turing architecture handles Vulkan workloads more efficiently relative to its specs than it does OpenCL. Still, the RTX 3070 wins, and the margin is significant enough to matter in any real-world application.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the RTX 3070 has a broader test suite in the data pack, including PassMark scores. Its PassMark G3D score is 22,214, and its GPU compute score is 11,195. The T400 has no PassMark data listed, so direct comparison in those tests is impossible. However, the RTX 3070’s nearest rival in average score is the NVIDIA Tesla K40c at -1.5% delta, while the T400’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 at 0% delta. This suggests both cards are mid-pack performers in their respective segments.

The RTX 3070’s performance in pixel and texture rates further illustrates its dominance: 165.6 GPixel/s and 317.4 GTexel/s, versus the T400’s 22.80 GPixel/s and 34.20 GTexel/s. These are 7.3x and 9.3x differences, respectively, aligning with the OpenCL result. In every measurable category, the RTX 3070 wins.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification field. The RTX 3070 uses the GA104 chip with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, while the T400 uses the TU117 with 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. Transistor density is 44.4M per mm² for the RTX 3070 versus 23.5M per mm² for the T400, reflecting the newer 8 nm process versus 12 nm.

Clock speeds show a mixed story. The RTX 3070 has a base clock of 1500 MHz and boost of 1725 MHz. The T400 has a much lower base clock of 420 MHz but a boost of 1425 MHz. The T400’s low base clock suggests aggressive power-saving behavior, while its boost clock is closer to the RTX 3070’s, indicating the architecture can reach decent speeds when needed.

Memory is another major differentiator. The RTX 3070 has 8 GB GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The T400 has 2 GB GDDR6 with a 64-bit bus and 80.00 GB/s bandwidth. Memory clock is 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) on the RTX 3070 versus 1250 MHz (10 Gbps effective) on the T400.

Compute units differ dramatically. The RTX 3070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. The T400 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and no RT or tensor cores. This explains the 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 rating for the RTX 3070 versus 1,094.4 GFLOPS for the T400.

Power and physical specs also diverge. The RTX 3070 is dual-slot with a 220 W TDP and a 1x 12-pin power connector, requiring a 550 W PSU. The T400 is single-slot with a 30 W TDP, no power connector, and a 200 W PSU suggestion. The RTX 3070 measures 242 mm in length and 112 mm in height; the T400 has no listed dimensions.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture, NVIDIA’s second-generation ray tracing design. It uses Samsung’s 8 nm process node and includes dedicated RT cores (46) and tensor cores (184), enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features. The FP32 throughput is 20.31 TFLOPS, and FP16 is also 20.31 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio, meaning it does not sacrifice half-precision performance.

The T400 is based on the older Turing architecture, using TSMC’s 12 nm node. It has no RT cores and no tensor cores, so it cannot hardware-accelerate ray tracing or tensor operations. Its FP32 output is just 1,094.4 GFLOPS, but its FP16 is 2.189 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio, meaning it is faster at half-precision than full-precision—a common trait in older workstation cards. This makes the T400 potentially useful for specific FP16 workloads, though the raw throughput is still far below the RTX 3070.

The transistor counts reflect the architectural gap: 17,400 million for the RTX 3070 versus 4,700 million for the T400. The die sizes are 392 mm² and 200 mm², respectively. The RTX 3070’s transistor density of 44.4M per mm² is nearly double the T400’s 23.5M per mm², showing the benefit of the 8 nm process.

The T400 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 3070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). This means the RTX 3070 can use features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading, which the T400 cannot. Both cards support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not a differentiator in those areas.

Finally, the bus interfaces differ: the RTX 3070 uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the T400 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. This gives the RTX 3070 double the theoretical bandwidth to the system, though real-world impact depends on the workload. The T400’s display outputs are 3x mini-DisplayPort 1.4a, while the RTX 3070 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, giving the latter more modern connectivity options.