NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data splits these two Ada Lovelace cards into distinct roles. The NVIDIA RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins in compute-oriented and legacy DirectX workloads, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 takes the newer DirectX 12 and general 3D rendering tests. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation delivers a commanding 111.1% lead over the RTX 4070 in Geekbench OpenCL, making it the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks. However, the RTX 4070 counters with a 6.8% advantage in Passmark G3D and a 32% lead in DirectX 12, indicating stronger performance in modern gaming-oriented APIs. The database places the RTX 5880 Ada Generation in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, while the RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile. For professionals running OpenCL workloads, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation is the data-backed pick. For users prioritizing DirectX 12 gaming or general 3D rendering, the RTX 4070 wins outright. The RTX 4070 also holds a 33.2% advantage in Passmark G2D, which reflects 2D desktop and interface performance.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs share the Ada Lovelace architecture and are fabricated by TSMC on a 5 nm process, but the silicon itself diverges significantly. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip, a massive 609 mm² die containing 76,300 million transistors. The RTX 4070 uses the AD104 chip, which is 294 mm² with 35,800 million transistors. The transistor density is nearly identical, 125.3M per mm² for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation versus 121.8M per mm² for the RTX 4070, but the total resources differ sharply. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation carries 14,080 shading units, 440 texture mapping units, 176 ROPs, 110 ray tracing cores, and 440 tensor cores. The RTX 4070 has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 46 ray tracing cores, and 184 tensor cores. That translates to roughly 2.4 times the shading units, 2.4 times the TMUs, and 2.75 times the ROPs on the RTX 5880 Ada Generation.

Memory architecture also separates the two. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, yielding 864.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation's memory clock runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), while the RTX 4070's memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). Despite the higher effective speed per pin on the RTX 4070, the wider bus on the RTX 5880 Ada Generation provides substantially more total bandwidth. Clock speeds favor the RTX 4070 in base frequency, 1920 MHz versus 975 MHz, but boost clocks are nearly equal at 2475 MHz versus 2460 MHz. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has a 285 W TDP and suggests a 600 W power supply, while the RTX 4070 draws 200 W and recommends a 550 W unit. Both are dual-slot cards with a single 16-pin power connector and PCIe 4.0 x16 interfaces. Display outputs differ: the RTX 5880 Ada Generation provides four DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RTX 4070 offers one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is longer at 267 mm versus 240 mm for the RTX 4070, and slightly taller at 112 mm versus 110 mm. The RTX 4070 also has a specified width of 40 mm, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation lacks a recorded width. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation remains in active production, while the RTX 4070 is marked end-of-life.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more raw compute throughput?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation delivers 69.27 TFLOPS of FP32 and FP16 performance, while the RTX 4070 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS in both. That is a 2.38x advantage for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation in raw floating-point throughput.

Q: How do they compare in memory capacity and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 48 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus with 864.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation offers four times the capacity and 71% more bandwidth.

Q: Which card wins in DirectX 12 performance?

A: The RTX 4070 wins in Passmark DirectX 12 with a score of 103 versus 70 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation, a 32% advantage. The RTX 4070 also wins in DirectX 11 with 244 versus 228, a 6.6% lead.

Q: Where does the RTX 5880 Ada Generation show its biggest strength?

A: The largest margin is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898 versus 154,858 for the RTX 4070, a 111.1% lead. It also wins Passmark DirectX 10 by 20.1% (167 versus 139) and DirectX 9 by 4.7% (335 versus 320).

Q: What are the production statuses of these cards?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation is listed as active in production, released on 2024-01-04. The RTX 4070 is end-of-life, released earlier on 2023-04-11. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation's successor is Blackwell PRO W, while the RTX 4070's successor is GeForce 50.

Q: How do their average benchmark scores compare?

A: The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 45,972, while the RTX 4070 averages 37,648. That puts the RTX 5880 Ada Generation roughly 22% higher on average, though the RTX 4070 has more recorded benchmark entries and wins more individual head-to-head tests.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation uses the AD102 chip, while the RTX 4070 uses AD104. The die size is 609 mm² versus 294 mm², and transistor count is 76,300 million versus 35,800 million. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has 14,080 shading units, 440 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 110 RT cores, and 440 tensor cores, compared to 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores on the RTX 4070. Base clocks are 975 MHz versus 1920 MHz, while boost clocks are 2460 MHz versus 2475 MHz. Memory differs in size (48 GB versus 12 GB), type (GDDR6 versus GDDR6X), bus width (384-bit versus 192-bit), and bandwidth (864.0 GB/s versus 504.2 GB/s). The memory clock is 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) on the RTX 5880 Ada Generation and 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) on the RTX 4070.

Pixel rate is 433.0 GPixel/s versus 158.4 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 1,082.4 GTexel/s versus 455.4 GTexel/s. FP32 and FP16 are 69.27 TFLOPS versus 29.15 TFLOPS. TDP is 285 W versus 200 W, with suggested PSUs of 600 W and 550 W respectively. Display outputs are four DisplayPort 1.4a versus one HDMI 2.1 plus three DisplayPort 1.4a. Physical dimensions are 267 mm by 112 mm for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation versus 240 mm by 110 mm by 40 mm for the RTX 4070. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation has no launch MSRP recorded, while the RTX 4070 lists a launch MSRP of 599 USD. Release dates are 2024-01-04 for the RTX 5880 Ada Generation and 2023-04-11 for the RTX 4070. Production status is active versus end-of-life.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head results show a split with the RTX 4070 winning five tests and the RTX 5880 Ada Generation winning three. The most decisive outcome is in Geekbench OpenCL, where the RTX 5880 Ada Generation scores 326,898 against the RTX 4070's 154,858, a 111.1% margin. This single result dominates the comparison and reflects the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's much larger compute core count and memory bandwidth. In Passmark DirectX 10, the RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins 167 to 139, a 20.1% advantage. The DirectX 9 test goes to the RTX 5880 Ada Generation as well, 335 to 320, a 4.7% margin.

The RTX 4070's wins are concentrated in newer APIs and rasterization tests. Passmark DirectX 12 shows the largest gap for the RTX 4070, 103 versus 70, a 32% lead. Passmark G2D favors the RTX 4070 heavily, 1,164 versus 777, a 33.2% margin, which is its best relative performance. In Passmark G3D, the RTX 4070 scores 26,927 versus 25,096, a 6.8% lead. Passmark GPU Compute is close, with the RTX 4070 at 14,720 versus 14,208, a 3.5% edge. Passmark DirectX 11 is also narrow, 244 versus 228, a 6.6% win for the RTX 4070. The average benchmark scores align with this split: the RTX 5880 Ada Generation averages 45,972, while the RTX 4070 averages 37,648, but the RTX 4070 has additional benchmarks recorded, including 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 3,854 and Geekbench Vulkan at 174,152, which are not present in the RTX 5880 Ada Generation's dataset.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5880 Ada Generation wins in compute-heavy and legacy graphics workloads. Its 111.1% OpenCL advantage makes it the definitive pick for OpenCL-based compute tasks, scientific simulation, or any workload that scales with raw FP32 throughput. The 20.1% DirectX 10 win and 4.7% DirectX 9 win indicate strong compatibility with older graphics APIs, which matters for legacy professional applications. The 48 GB memory capacity and 864.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a massive buffer for large datasets, and the 69.27 TFLOPS FP32 rate is more than double the RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS. The pixel rate of 433.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,082.4 GTexel/s are substantially higher, which supports fill-rate-bound workloads. The RTX 5880 Ada Generation also has a higher average benchmark score, 45,972 versus 37,648, and a higher percentile ranking at 85 versus 81. For professional users running compute or legacy DirectX applications, the data strongly favors the RTX 5880 Ada Generation.

The RTX 4070 wins in DirectX 12, DirectX 11, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute tests. The 32% DirectX 12 lead and 6.6% DirectX 11 lead make it the better choice for modern gaming and DirectX-based rendering. The 6.8% G3D advantage and 3.5% GPU compute win indicate it holds a slight edge in general 3D rendering and compute tasks that use its specific API paths. The 33.2% G2D lead shows better 2D desktop performance. The RTX 4070 also has a much lower TDP at 200 W versus 285 W, and its smaller physical footprint at 240 mm length versus 267 mm makes it easier to fit in compact systems. The recorded launch MSRP of 599 USD applies to the RTX 4070, while the RTX 5880 Ada Generation has no recorded launch price. The RTX 4070 also includes a display output configuration with HDMI 2.1, which the RTX 5880 Ada Generation lacks. For gaming, DirectX 12 workloads, and 2D-heavy desktop use, the RTX 4070 is the data-backed winner.