NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 SE Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The data reveals a stark asymmetry in this comparison. The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti arrives with a complete set of recorded benchmark scores across ten tests, while the GeForce RTX 5090 SE has no benchmark entries in the database at all. This means the RTX 4070 Ti wins every single measured test by default, not because it is faster, but because it is the only one with measurable results. The RTX 5090 SE's benchmark array is empty, its average score is recorded as zero, and its percentile ranking sits at 50, which is the median position for all GPUs, a placeholder rather than a measured performance tier.

For use-case separation, the RTX 4070 Ti shows its strongest recorded numbers in compute and modern API workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score reaches 176,953, while its Geekbench Vulkan result hits 213,808. These two tests dominate its profile in terms of raw points. The PassMark suite tells a different story: DirectX 9 yields 352, DirectX 11 yields 288, DirectX 10 yields 187, and DirectX 12 yields only 116. That DirectX 12 score is the lowest of the group, which suggests the card's legacy driver path or architecture handles older APIs more efficiently in these specific tests. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, a more modern and demanding workload, produces 5,024 points, which is far higher than the PassMark DX12 figure, indicating that the PassMark test may be measuring a very different aspect of the card's behavior.

The RTX 5090 SE, lacking all scores, wins nowhere. Its only recorded data points are its specifications, its release date of late 2025, and its status as an active product. The database has no evidence of its performance, so any claim about its wins would be speculative. The recorded data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti is the sole performer in this head-to-head, at least until the RTX 5090 SE produces benchmark results.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44,795. The RTX 5090 SE has an average benchmark score of 0, as no benchmark results are recorded for it.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in average score?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti sits 0.8% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (which scores 45,152), 1.3% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384), 1.6% above the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (44,075), and 1.7% below the Intel Arc A730M (45,592). Its percentile among all GPUs is 84.

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

A: The RTX 4070 Ti uses 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5090 SE uses 24 GB of GDDR7 on a 384-bit bus with 1.34 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has a boost clock of 2610 MHz. The RTX 5090 SE has a boost clock of 2377 MHz. The RTX 4070 Ti also has a higher base clock: 2310 MHz versus 1740 MHz.

Q: What are the transistor counts and die sizes?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The RTX 5090 SE has 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The transistor density is 121.8 million per mm² for the former and 122.9 million per mm² for the latter.

Q: Are both cards the same physical width?

A: No. The RTX 4070 Ti is 42 mm wide (1.7 inches), while the RTX 5090 SE is 40 mm wide (1.6 inches). Both are dual-slot cards.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is generational. The RTX 4070 Ti uses the AD104 chip built on Ada Lovelace architecture, part of the GeForce 40 generation. The RTX 5090 SE uses the GB202 chip built on Blackwell 2.0 architecture, part of the GeForce 50 generation. Both are fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process, but the transistor counts diverge sharply: 35,800 million for the AD104 versus 92,200 million for the GB202. Die size also grows from 294 mm² to 750 mm². Density is nearly identical, at 121.8 million transistors per mm² versus 122.9 million per mm², which means the larger die is simply scaled up rather than denser.

The compute resources change substantially. Shading units increase from 7,680 to 14,080. Texture mapping units go from 240 to 440. Render output units go from 80 to 160. Ray tracing cores double from 60 to 110. Tensor cores increase from 240 to 440. The FP32 throughput rises from 40.09 TFLOPS to 66.94 TFLOPS, and FP16 is identical to FP32 in both cases (1:1 ratio). Pixel rate jumps from 208.8 GPixel/s to 380.3 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 626.4 GTexel/s to 1,045.9 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture is another major split. The RTX 4070 Ti uses GDDR6X with 12 GB capacity, a 192-bit bus, and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 5090 SE uses GDDR7 with 24 GB capacity, a 384-bit bus, and 1.34 TB/s bandwidth. The memory clock also differs: 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective for the older card, versus 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective for the newer one. The bus interface changes from PCIe 4.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs shift from HDMI 2.1 with three DisplayPort 1.4a ports to HDMI 2.1b with three DisplayPort 2.1b ports. The API support is identical: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 for both.

Power delivery also differs. The RTX 4070 Ti has a TDP of 285 W and a suggested PSU rating of 600 W. The RTX 5090 SE has a TDP of 500 W and a suggested PSU rating of 900 W. Both use a single 16-pin power connector and are dual-slot cards. Physical dimensions are close: the RTX 4070 Ti measures 285 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 42 mm wide; the RTX 5090 SE measures 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. The newer card is shorter and slightly thinner.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

Since the RTX 5090 SE has no recorded benchmark scores, the head-to-head comparison relies entirely on the RTX 4070 Ti's results. The data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti achieves a Geekbench Vulkan score of 213,808, which is its highest single-test result. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 176,953. These two compute-oriented tests indicate strong general-purpose throughput for the Ada Lovelace chip. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test produces 5,024 points, which is a modern gaming workload result.

The PassMark suite paints a more fragmented picture. The DirectX 9 score of 352 is the highest among the PassMark DX tests. DirectX 11 comes next at 288, DirectX 10 at 187, and DirectX 12 at 116. The PassMark G3D score is 31,624, while the G2D score is 1,200. The GPU compute score is 18,396. The wide gap between the DirectX 12 score (116) and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score (5,024) is notable. Both tests target DirectX 12, but they measure different workloads, and the PassMark result may be less representative of modern game engines.

The RTX 4070 Ti's percentile rank of 84 means it sits above 84% of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals, based on average score, are the RTX 5090 Mobile (45,152, which is 0.8% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45,384, 1.3% higher), the RTX A6000 (44,075, 1.6% lower), and the Intel Arc A730M (45,592, 1.7% higher). These deltas are small, all within 2%, which places the RTX 4070 Ti in a tightly contested performance band. The RTX 5090 SE, with no scores, cannot be placed in this comparison at all.

The absence of data for the RTX 5090 SE means the largest wins in this matchup are the RTX 4070 Ti's entire benchmark suite. Every recorded score belongs to it. The RTX 5090 SE has no wins because it has no measurable results. This is an unusual situation for a database comparison, and it limits the analysis to the older card's capabilities.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification category. The chip changes from AD104 to GB202, and the architecture changes from Ada Lovelace to Blackwell 2.0. The process node is the same (5 nm, TSMC), but transistor count grows from 35,800 million to 92,200 million, and die size grows from 294 mm² to 750 mm². Transistor density is nearly identical (121.8M vs 122.9M per mm²).

Clock speeds favor the RTX 4070 Ti. Its base clock is 2310 MHz versus 1740 MHz, and its boost clock is 2610 MHz versus 2377 MHz. The memory clock is lower for the RTX 4070 Ti (1313 MHz, 21 Gbps effective) than for the RTX 5090 SE (1750 MHz, 28 Gbps effective). Memory capacity doubles from 12 GB to 24 GB, type changes from GDDR6X to GDDR7, bus width increases from 192-bit to 384-bit, and bandwidth rises from 504.2 GB/s to 1.34 TB/s.

Compute units all increase in the RTX 5090 SE: shading units from 7,680 to 14,080, TMUs from 240 to 440, ROPs from 80 to 160, RT cores from 60 to 110, and tensor cores from 240 to 440. Pixel rate goes from 208.8 to 380.3 GPixel/s, texture rate from 626.4 to 1,045.9 GTexel/s, and FP32/FP16 both from 40.09 to 66.94 TFLOPS. TDP rises from 285 W to 500 W, and suggested PSU from 600 W to 900 W. The bus interface moves from PCIe 4.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs change from HDMI 2.1 plus three DisplayPort 1.4a to HDMI 2.1b plus three DisplayPort 2.1b.

Physical dimensions differ slightly. The RTX 4070 Ti is 285 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 42 mm wide. The RTX 5090 SE is 267 mm long, 111 mm tall, and 40 mm wide. Both are dual-slot with a single 16-pin connector. Production status differs: the RTX 4070 Ti is end-of-life, while the RTX 5090 SE is active. Release dates are January 2023 for the former and late December 2025 for the latter. The launch MSRP is 799 USD for the RTX 4070 Ti and 1,499 USD for the RTX 5090 SE.

The Verdict

The recorded data supports only one choice for anyone who needs measured performance today: the RTX 4070 Ti. It has a full benchmark profile, an average score of 44,795, and a percentile rank of 84. It sits within 2% of its four nearest rivals, which shows it is a competitive mid-range to high-end card. Its DirectX 12 performance in 3DMark Steel Nomad is 5,024 points, and its compute scores in Geekbench are substantial. For any workload that requires known, quantifiable results, the RTX 4070 Ti is the only option with evidence.

The RTX 5090 SE is a different proposition. It has no scores, no average, and no rivals. Its specifications are far more aggressive: 24 GB of GDDR7, 14,080 shading units, 110 RT cores, 440 tensor cores, and 66.94 TFLOPS FP32. But the database has no proof of how these specifications translate into performance. Its percentile rank of 50 is a default value, not a measured outcome. Choosing it requires faith in its theoretical capabilities rather than data.

The verdict from the data is clear: the RTX 4070 Ti wins every benchmark because it is the only one with benchmarks. The RTX 5090 SE may have superior hardware on paper, but until its scores are recorded, it cannot claim any measured advantage. For a buyer who values verified results, the RTX 4070 Ti is the demonstrated performer. For a buyer who prioritizes specifications and is willing to wait for data, the RTX 5090 SE offers a larger memory pool, higher bandwidth, and more compute units, but those are promises, not results. The database currently holds no evidence that the RTX 5090 SE outperforms anything, including the older card it was designed to succeed.