NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data for this comparison is limited to a single benchmark result, and the two GPUs do not share any direct head-to-head test entries in the database. The only available performance metric belongs to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER, which produced a score of 2690 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Max-Q has no benchmark entries recorded, so its average benchmark score is zero and its percentile rank among all GPUs is 50.

Because the RTX 4090 Max-Q lacks any measured benchmark scores, the database cannot produce a direct delta percentage between the two cards. The RTX 5070 SUPER, however, sits at the 18th percentile among all GPUs, which places it in the lower half of the performance distribution. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA Quadro K1100M with an average score of 2664, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 with 2662, the Intel Arc Pro B50 with 2660, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 with 2645. The RTX 5070 SUPER leads the Quadro K1100M by 1%, the GT 1030 by 1.1%, the Arc Pro B50 by 1.1%, and the GT 440 by 1.7%. These are narrow margins, indicating that the RTX 5070 SUPER's measured performance is only slightly ahead of a cluster of much older or lower-tier graphics solutions.

The RTX 4090 Max-Q cannot be positioned relative to those rivals because no scores exist for it. This absence of data means the comparison is asymmetric: the RTX 5070 SUPER has a concrete, if modest, benchmark result, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q is effectively unmeasured. The single score of 2690 is the only figure available for cross-referencing, and it does not provide a basis for declaring either card the winner in a head-to-head sense.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5070 SUPER wins in the only measured benchmark category, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, with a score of 2690. This is the sole recorded performance data point, so it is the only arena where the card demonstrates an advantage. Its nearest rival deltas, all under 2%, suggest that the RTX 5070 SUPER's performance is competitive with entry-level or legacy GPUs, rather than decisively superior to them.

The RTX 4090 Max-Q wins in no measured benchmark categories, as it has no entries in the database. Its percentile rank of 50 among all GPUs indicates a median position in the overall distribution, but this rank is derived from an average score of zero, which is not a meaningful performance indicator. The card's specifications, however, suggest capabilities that the benchmark data does not capture. It carries 9728 shading units, 76 ray tracing cores, and 304 tensor cores, far more than the RTX 5070 SUPER's 6400 shading units, 50 ray tracing cores, and 200 tensor cores. In raw compute resource counts, the RTX 4090 Max-Q is the stronger candidate, but without benchmark scores, the database cannot confirm that it translates those resources into higher frame rates.

Use-case conclusions must be drawn from what is measurable. For the RTX 5070 SUPER, the 3DMark Steel Nomad result is the only evidence, and it indicates a card that performs near the level of the Quadro K1100M and GT 1030 in that specific DirectX 12 test. For the RTX 4090 Max-Q, no measured use case exists. The specification sheet implies a different class of hardware, but the absence of scores prevents any data-driven assignment of wins.

FAQ

Q: What benchmark score does the RTX 5070 SUPER have in the database?

A: The RTX 5070 SUPER has one recorded score of 2690 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 Max-Q have any benchmark scores?

A: No, the RTX 4090 Max-Q has no benchmark entries, resulting in an average benchmark score of zero.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: It leads the NVIDIA Quadro K1100M by 1%, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 by 1.1%, the Intel Arc Pro B50 by 1.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 by 1.7%.

Q: What percentile rank does each GPU hold among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 SUPER is at the 18th percentile, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q is at the 50th percentile.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 9728 shading units, compared to the RTX 5070 SUPER's 6400 shading units.

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

A: The RTX 4090 Max-Q uses 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 5070 SUPER uses 18 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. The RTX 4090 Max-Q uses the AD103 chip with the Ada Lovelace architecture, while the RTX 5070 SUPER uses the GB205 chip with the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. The RTX 4090 Max-Q belongs to the GeForce 40 Mobile generation, whereas the RTX 5070 SUPER belongs to the GeForce 50 generation.

Clock speeds diverge sharply. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has a base clock of 930 MHz and a boost clock of 1455 MHz, while the RTX 5070 SUPER runs at a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: the RTX 4090 Max-Q operates at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, while the RTX 5070 SUPER operates at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed.

Memory capacity and type are different. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s. The RTX 5070 SUPER has 18 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the RTX 5070 SUPER delivers higher memory bandwidth.

Compute unit counts favor the RTX 4090 Max-Q in most categories. It has 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, 112 render output units, 76 ray tracing cores, and 304 tensor cores. The RTX 5070 SUPER has 6400 shading units, 200 texture mapping units, 80 render output units, 50 ray tracing cores, and 200 tensor cores.

Pixel and texture rates favor the RTX 5070 SUPER. It achieves a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 502.4 GTexel/s, while the RTX 4090 Max-Q achieves 163.0 GPixel/s and 442.3 GTexel/s. Floating point performance also favors the RTX 5070 SUPER: 32.15 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16, compared to 28.31 TFLOPS for both on the RTX 4090 Max-Q.

Power and physical specifications are markedly different. The RTX 4090 Max-Q has a TDP of 80 W, an IGP slot width, and no power connectors. The RTX 5070 SUPER has a TDP of 275 W, a dual-slot width, and a single 16-pin power connector. The bus interface differs as well: the RTX 4090 Max-Q uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the RTX 5070 SUPER uses PCIe 5.0 x16.

Display outputs are not comparable. The RTX 4090 Max-Q lists "Portable Device Dependent" outputs, while the RTX 5070 SUPER provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b. Physical dimensions are only recorded for the RTX 5070 SUPER, which measures 245 mm in length, 115 mm in height, and 40 mm in width.

Release dates also differ. The RTX 4090 Max-Q was released on 2023-01-02, and the RTX 5070 SUPER on 2025-12-31.

Architecture Differences

The architectural split is fundamental. The RTX 4090 Max-Q is built on Ada Lovelace, NVIDIA's 40-series mobile architecture, while the RTX 5070 SUPER is built on Blackwell 2.0, the 50-series architecture. Both are fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, but the transistor counts and die sizes differ substantially.

The RTX 4090 Max-Q packs 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 121.1 million per square millimeter. The RTX 5070 SUPER has 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die, with a density of 118.3 million per square millimeter. The RTX 4090 Max-Q is the larger and more complex chip in absolute terms, but the density difference is small, indicating similar manufacturing efficiency.

Ray tracing and tensor core counts are significantly higher on the RTX 4090 Max-Q. It has 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores, while the RTX 5070 SUPER has 50 and 200, respectively. This suggests the Ada Lovelace chip dedicates more silicon to these specialized units. However, the RTX 5070 SUPER's newer architecture may implement these cores differently, and its higher clock speeds could compensate for the lower counts in some workloads.

Both GPUs support the same API levels: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The feature set at the API level is therefore identical, even though the underlying hardware generations differ. The RTX 4090 Max-Q is a mobile-oriented part with an IGP slot width and no power connectors, designed for integration into portable devices. The RTX 5070 SUPER is a discrete dual-slot card with a 16-pin connector, designed for desktop or larger chassis use.

The memory architecture differs in type and bus width. GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus gives the RTX 4090 Max-Q a wider but slower memory path, while GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus gives the RTX 5070 SUPER a narrower but faster path. The result is higher bandwidth on the RTX 5070 SUPER, 672.0 GB/s versus 576.0 GB/s, despite the narrower interface.

The generation gap also shows in clock behavior. The RTX 4090 Max-Q's boost clock of 1455 MHz is far below the RTX 5070 SUPER's 2512 MHz. This reflects the mobile power envelope of the former, with its 80 W TDP, versus the latter's 275 W TDP. The higher power budget allows the RTX 5070 SUPER to sustain much higher frequencies, which explains its advantage in pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 throughput despite having fewer compute units.