NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER vs NVIDIA L4 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded database contains a single benchmark result for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER, namely a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2690. The NVIDIA L4, in contrast, has two recorded results: a Geekbench OpenCL score of 140838 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 121306. Direct head-to-head comparisons between the two cards are absent, so the analysis must rely on each card's standing relative to its own nearest rivals and the overall percentile data.

The RTX 5070 SUPER sits at the 18th percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 2690, placing it just ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K1100M (2664, 1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 (2662, 1.1% higher), the Intel Arc Pro B50 (2660, 1.1% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 (2645, 1.7% higher). These deltas are remarkably tight, with the largest margin over a rival being only 1.7%. The data indicates that the RTX 5070 SUPER, despite its modern architecture and specifications, lands in a performance tier occupied by entry-level and older discrete GPUs when measured by this particular DX12 workload. The score of 2690 is the sole data point, and it suggests this card is not positioned for high-end rasterization performance in the Steel Nomad test.

The NVIDIA L4, on the other hand, achieves an average benchmark score of 131072, which places it at the 95th percentile among all GPUs. Its OpenCL result of 140838 and Vulkan result of 121306 are both very high, and the average is within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (131938), meaning the L4 trails that rival by a negligible margin. The L4 is also 3.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation (135218) and the NVIDIA A10M (135230), and 3.2% behind the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 (135396). These are small deficits, indicating that the L4 performs in the same class as some of the most powerful GPUs in the database, despite being a low-power server accelerator. The benchmark data clearly shows a massive gulf in raw compute scores between the two cards, with the L4 outperforming the RTX 5070 SUPER by a factor of roughly 48.7 based on average scores.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from entirely different NVIDIA lineages. The RTX 5070 SUPER uses the GB205 chip built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 118.3 million per square millimeter. The L4 uses the AD104 chip built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, also fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die and a density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. The L4 has a slightly larger and denser chip, though both are recent 5 nm designs.

Clock speeds differ substantially. The RTX 5070 SUPER has a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, while the L4 has a base clock of only 795 MHz but a boost clock of 2040 MHz. The RTX 5070 SUPER runs at far higher sustained frequencies, which is typical for a consumer gaming card. Memory configurations also diverge: the RTX 5070 SUPER has 18 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on the same 192-bit bus width, with a memory clock of 1563 MHz (12.5 Gbps effective), giving a bandwidth of only 300.1 GB/s. The RTX 5070 SUPER thus has more than double the memory bandwidth despite having less total memory.

Compute resources are where the L4 pulls ahead in raw counts. The L4 has 7424 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, 80 ROPs, 60 ray tracing cores, and 240 tensor cores. The RTX 5070 SUPER has 6400 shading units, 200 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 50 RT cores, and 200 tensor cores. The L4 leads in shading units, TMUs, RT cores, and tensor cores, while ROP counts are equal at 80. Despite this, the pixel rate of the RTX 5070 SUPER is 201.0 GPixel/s versus 163.2 GPixel/s for the L4, and the texture rate is 502.4 GTexel/s versus 489.6 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 32.15 TFLOPS for the RTX 5070 SUPER and 30.29 TFLOPS for the L4, with both cards offering 1:1 FP16 to FP32 ratios. The L4's higher core counts are offset by its lower clocks, resulting in slightly lower peak throughput.

Power and physical design are starkly different. The RTX 5070 SUPER has a TDP of 275 W, is dual-slot, uses a single 16-pin power connector, and measures 245 mm by 115 mm by 40 mm. The L4 has a TDP of only 72 W, is single-slot, requires no power connector, and measures 169 mm by 56 mm. The L4 also lists a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the RTX 5070 SUPER does not. The L4 uses PCIe 4.0 x16 and has no display outputs, while the RTX 5070 SUPER uses PCIe 5.0 x16 and provides 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b outputs. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data indicates the NVIDIA L4 wins decisively in raw compute-heavy workloads. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 140838 and Vulkan score of 121306 place it at the 95th percentile, and its average of 131072 is within 0.7% of the RTX 3090 Ti. This positions the L4 as a high-performance accelerator for tasks that leverage massive parallel throughput, such as server-side inference or compute offload. The L4's 24 GB of memory, while slower in bandwidth, provides a larger working set for large models or datasets. Its single-slot, 72 W design with no power connector means it can be deployed in dense server configurations without additional power cabling.

The RTX 5070 SUPER wins in memory bandwidth, with 672.0 GB/s versus 300.1 GB/s, and in peak FP32 throughput, at 32.15 TFLOPS versus 30.29 TFLOPS. Its pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 502.4 GTexel/s are also higher. These figures suggest the RTX 5070 SUPER is better suited for latency-sensitive graphics tasks where high fill rates and quick memory access matter, such as traditional gaming at high resolutions. Its dual-slot design and display outputs make it a consumer-facing card. However, its only benchmark score of 2690 in Steel Nomad places it at the 18th percentile, which is a poor showing relative to its spec sheet. The data shows the RTX 5070 SUPER does not translate its architecture into strong measured performance in this DX12 test.

In terms of nearest rivals, the RTX 5070 SUPER's closest competitors are all low-end cards (Quadro K1100M, GT 1030, Arc Pro B50, GT 440), with deltas between 1% and 1.7%. This indicates its real-world performance in the recorded test is entry-level. The L4's nearest rivals are all high-end cards (RTX 3090 Ti, RTX 4000 Ada, A10M, Radeon PRO W6800), with deltas between -0.7% and -3.2%. This shows the L4 is a top-tier performer in the database, despite its low power draw.

The Verdict

The data presents an unambiguous split. The NVIDIA L4 is the higher-performing card by a wide margin in every recorded benchmark, with an average score of 131072 versus 2690 for the RTX 5070 SUPER. The L4 sits at the 95th percentile and trades blows with the RTX 3090 Ti, while the RTX 5070 SUPER sits at the 18th percentile and competes with the GT 1030 and GT 440. For any application that relies on raw compute performance, the recorded data shows the L4 is the clear choice.

The RTX 5070 SUPER cannot be recommended based on the benchmark evidence. Its single score of 2690 in Steel Nomad is far below what its architecture suggests, and its nearest rivals are all obsolete or entry-level parts. The card does have advantages in memory bandwidth and peak clock speeds, but these do not materialize into favorable benchmark results. The L4, with its 24 GB memory, higher core counts, and 95th percentile standing, is the superior accelerator in the database's measurements.

For users who need display output and a consumer form factor, the RTX 5070 SUPER offers HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b, while the L4 has no outputs, making it unusable as a standalone graphics card. The L4 is a server accelerator, and the RTX 5070 SUPER is a desktop part. But strictly from the recorded performance data, the L4 wins overwhelmingly. The RTX 5070 SUPER's only saving grace is its higher pixel and texture rates, but those do not show up in the benchmark. The verdict is that the L4 is the data-backed pick for compute, and the RTX 5070 SUPER lacks sufficient measured evidence to justify any performance claim.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA L4 has an average benchmark score of 131072, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER has an average of 2690.

Q: How does the L4 compare to the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti?

A: The L4's average score is 131072, which is 0.7% lower than the RTX 3090 Ti's 131938.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: The RTX 5070 SUPER has 18 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The L4 has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 300.1 GB/s.

Q: What are the power requirements?

A: The RTX 5070 SUPER has a TDP of 275 W and uses a 1x 16-pin power connector. The L4 has a TDP of 72 W and requires no power connector, with a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA L4 has 7424 shading units, while the RTX 5070 SUPER has 6400.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each card?

A: The RTX 5070 SUPER is at the 18th percentile among all GPUs, while the L4 is at the 95th percentile.