NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 vs NVIDIA RTX A5000 Comparison

The Verdict

The recorded data splits these two cards cleanly by workload. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 wins 8 of 10 head-to-head benchmarks, including all modern DirectX tests and the compute-heavy Passmark GPU Compute workload. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 wins only 2 tests: Geekbench OpenCL and Passmark DirectX 10. If your priority is raw gaming performance, ray tracing, or general compute in current APIs, the RTX 4070 is the clear choice from the numbers. If you specifically need 24 GB of VRAM for large datasets or rendering scenes that exceed 12 GB, the RTX A5000 is the only option here, despite its lower average benchmark score. The RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, while the RTX A5000 sits at the 78th. The average benchmark score difference is notable: 37,648 for the RTX 4070 versus 33,622 for the RTX A5000, a gap of roughly 12%.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different manufacturing generations and foundries. The RTX 4070 uses the AD104 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process, packing 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die. The RTX A5000 uses the GA102 chip built on Samsung's 8 nm process, with 28,300 million transistors on a much larger 628 mm² die. This gives the RTX 4070 a transistor density of 121.8 million per mm² versus 45.1 million per mm² for the RTX A5000, a direct result of the denser process node.

The memory subsystems diverge sharply. The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX A5000 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, delivering 768.0 GB/s. The A5000's wider bus and larger capacity are typical of workstation parts, but the 4070's faster GDDR6X memory runs at 21 Gbps effective versus 16 Gbps effective for the A5000.

Core counts tell a mixed story. The RTX A5000 has more shading units (8,192 versus 5,888), more texture mapping units (256 versus 184), more raster operation units (96 versus 64), more ray tracing cores (64 versus 46), and more tensor cores (256 versus 184). Despite this, the RTX 4070 achieves higher peak FP32 performance at 29.15 TFLOPS versus 27.77 TFLOPS for the A5000, thanks to its much higher boost clock of 2475 MHz versus 1695 MHz. The pixel rates are nearly identical (158.4 GPixel/s for the 4070, 162.7 GPixel/s for the A5000), but the texture rate favors the 4070 at 455.4 GTexel/s versus 433.9 GTexel/s.

Power and physical specs also differ. The RTX 4070 draws 200 W and uses a single 16-pin connector, while the RTX A5000 draws 230 W and uses a single 8-pin connector. Both suggest a 550 W power supply. The 4070 is shorter at 240 mm versus 267 mm for the A5000. Both are dual-slot cards. The 4070 offers 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the A5000 offers 4x DisplayPort 1.4a only. Both use PCIe 4.0 x16 and support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The biggest single win for the RTX 4070 comes in Geekbench Vulkan, where it scores 174,152 against the A5000's 137,828, a 26.4% advantage. This is a massive gap in a modern cross-platform API and suggests the Ada Lovelace architecture handles Vulkan workloads substantially better than Ampere. The next largest win is in Passmark DirectX 11, where the 4070 scores 244 versus 187, a 30.5% lead. Passmark DirectX 9 shows a 27.5% advantage (320 versus 251), and Passmark DirectX 12 shows an 18.4% lead (103 versus 87).

In Passmark G3D, the 4070 scores 26,927 against 22,541 for the A5000, a 19.5% margin. Passmark GPU Compute also favors the 4070 at 14,720 versus 12,455, an 18.2% lead. Even in 2D workloads, the 4070 wins: Passmark G2D shows 1,164 versus 1,032, a 12.8% advantage. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test is close, with the 4070 scoring 3,854 versus 3,783, only a 1.9% edge.

The RTX A5000's two wins are smaller in magnitude. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 157,905 versus 154,858 for the 4070, a 1.9% lead. In Passmark DirectX 10, it scores 153 versus 139, a 9.2% advantage. These wins are in older or compute-oriented APIs, not modern gaming workloads. The data shows the A5000's higher core count and larger memory bus help in OpenCL compute, but the 4070's architectural efficiency dominates everywhere else.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster overall in the database's average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37,648, while the NVIDIA RTX A5000 scores 33,622. The 4070 ranks at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, versus the 78th percentile for the A5000.

Q: Does the RTX A5000 ever beat the RTX 4070 in any benchmark?

A: Yes, in two tests. The A5000 wins Geekbench OpenCL with 157,905 versus 154,858 (a 1.9% lead) and Passmark DirectX 10 with 153 versus 139 (a 9.2% lead). These are the only two wins out of ten head-to-head benchmarks.

Q: Which card has more VRAM, and does that show up in benchmark results?

A: The RTX A5000 has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, twice the 12 GB of GDDR6X on the RTX 4070. The A5000 also has higher memory bandwidth at 768.0 GB/s versus 504.2 GB/s. However, the benchmark data shows this does not translate into higher scores in most tests; the 4070 still wins in 8 of 10 benchmarks.

Q: How do the clock speeds compare between the two cards?

A: The RTX 4070 has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The RTX A5000 has a base clock of 1170 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz. The 4070's higher clocks are a major reason it achieves higher FP32 performance despite fewer cores.

Q: Are these cards from the same architecture generation?

A: No. The RTX 4070 uses the Ada Lovelace architecture (AD104 chip) on a 5 nm TSMC process. The RTX A5000 uses the Ampere architecture (GA102 chip) on an 8 nm Samsung process. The A5000 was released in 2021, while the 4070 was released in 2023.

Q: What power connector does each card require?

A: The RTX 4070 uses a single 16-pin power connector, while the RTX A5000 uses a single 8-pin connector. Both have a 550 W suggested power supply and a dual-slot form factor.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 4070 wins in every modern gaming and general-purpose scenario covered by the benchmarks. Its 26.4% lead in Geekbench Vulkan makes it the better choice for Vulkan-based games and applications. Its 30.5% lead in Passmark DirectX 11 and 18.4% lead in Passmark DirectX 12 cover the vast majority of current PC games. The 19.5% advantage in Passmark G3D and 18.2% advantage in Passmark GPU Compute mean it also handles general 3D rendering and compute tasks faster. For anyone building a gaming PC or a workstation that does not require more than 12 GB of VRAM, the data clearly favors the RTX 4070.

The RTX A5000 wins only in Geekbench OpenCL and Passmark DirectX 10. The OpenCL win is significant for certain scientific or compute workloads that specifically use that API. The DirectX 10 win is relevant only for legacy applications. The A5000's real advantage is its 24 GB of VRAM, which the benchmarks do not directly measure but which matters for large neural network models, massive 3D scenes, or multi-GPU rendering setups that exceed the 4070's 12 GB capacity. The A5000 also has a wider memory bus (384-bit versus 192-bit) and higher bandwidth (768.0 GB/s versus 504.2 GB/s), which can help in memory-bandwidth-bound professional workloads.

For pure performance per benchmark score, the RTX 4070 is the winner in 8 of 10 tests. For capacity-bound professional work, the RTX A5000 is the only viable choice between these two due to its 24 GB frame buffer. The choice comes down to whether your workload fits in 12 GB or needs the full 24 GB.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | NVIDIA RTX A5000 |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | Ampere |

| Process Node | 5 nm (TSMC) | 8 nm (Samsung) |

| Transistors | 35,800 million | 28,300 million |

| Die Size | 294 mm² | 628 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 121.8M / mm² | 45.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1920 MHz | 1170 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2475 MHz | 1695 MHz |

| Memory Size | 12 GB | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6X | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 504.2 GB/s | 768.0 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1313 MHz, 21 Gbps effective | 2000 MHz, 16 Gbps effective |

| Shading Units | 5,888 | 8,192 |

| TMUs | 184 | 256 |

| ROPs | 64 | 96 |

| RT Cores | 46 | 64 |

| Tensor Cores | 184 | 256 |

| Pixel Rate | 158.4 GPixel/s | 162.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 455.4 GTexel/s | 433.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 29.15 TFLOPS | 27.77 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 29.15 TFLOPS (1:1) | 27.77 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 200 W | 230 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 550 W |

| Length | 240 mm (9.4 inches) | 267 mm (10.5 inches) |

| Height | 110 mm (4.3 inches) | 112 mm (4.4 inches) |

| Width | 40 mm (1.6 inches) | Not specified |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Release Date | 2023-04-11 | 2021-04-11 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |

| Launch MSRP | 599 USD | Not specified |

The RTX 4070 launches with a 599 USD MSRP, while the RTX A5000 has no recorded launch MSRP in the database. Both cards are end-of-life products, and both use PCIe 4.0 x16 interfaces. API support is identical: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 for both.