AMD Radeon RX 470 vs NVIDIA RTX A1000 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a clean sweep for the NVIDIA RTX A1000 across all three shared benchmark tests, with the most dramatic gap appearing in compute-oriented workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX A1000 scores 52,078 points against the RX 470's 33,568, a 55.1% advantage. This is the largest delta between the two cards in any test, and it reflects the A1000's much higher FP32 throughput of 6.737 TFLOPS compared to 4.940 TFLOPS for the RX 470.

The Vulkan results narrow the gap somewhat but still favor the RTX A1000 decisively. The NVIDIA card records 49,574 points, while the AMD card manages 39,884, a 24.3% difference. This smaller margin in Vulkan compared to OpenCL suggests that the RX 470's GCN architecture holds up better under the driver-level abstractions of Vulkan, though it still cannot overcome the raw compute deficit.

In the modern DirectX 12 workload, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RTX A1000 posts 969 points versus 842 for the RX 470, a 15.1% win. This is the closest contest of the three benchmarks, indicating that the RX 470's 256-bit memory bus and 211.2 GB/s of bandwidth help it remain competitive in rasterization-heavy scenarios. The RTX A1000 counters with 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth over a 128-bit bus, but its newer Ampere architecture and higher pixel rate of 46.78 GPixel/s against 38.59 GPixel/s for the RX 470 carry the day.

Looking at overall averages, the RTX A1000 holds an average benchmark score of 34,207 across all recorded tests, while the RX 470 sits at 28,996. That is a 17.9% gap in aggregate performance. The A1000 also ranks in the 79th percentile among all GPUs in the database, versus the 74th percentile for the RX 470. While both cards sit in the mid-range of the distribution, the A1000's percentile placement is meaningfully higher.

The nearest rivals for each card put these scores into context. The RTX A1000's closest competitor is the NVIDIA TITAN V, which averages 34,355 points, just 0.4% ahead. The RTX A2000 12 GB trails by 0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 560 XT also sits 0.2% behind. The AMD Radeon RX 480 is 0.6% behind the A1000. This grouping shows the A1000 landing squarely in a dense performance cluster where small margins separate several very different architectures.

For the RX 470, the nearest rivals form a similar tight cluster. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M averages 28,874 points, 0.4% behind the RX 470. The Intel Arc A370M is 0.6% ahead, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH is 0.7% ahead, and the AMD FirePro W8000 is 0.7% ahead. The RX 470's position in this group suggests it remains competitive with much newer mobile and workstation parts, despite its age and 14 nm process node.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A1000 wins every measured category, but the nature of its victories varies by workload type. In compute-heavy applications that stress raw FP32 throughput and OpenCL execution, the A1000's 55.1% lead over the RX 470 is the clearest signal of its advantage. The A1000's 2,304 shading units, 72 tensor cores, and 18 RT cores provide hardware features that the RX 470 simply does not have, since the RX 470 lists no RT cores and no tensor cores. The A1000 also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, while the RX 470 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0).

In graphics workloads that lean on newer APIs, the A1000 again leads, but by smaller margins. The 24.3% Vulkan advantage and 15.1% DirectX 12 advantage show that the RX 470's older GCN 4.0 architecture can still put up respectable numbers when the workload is familiar. The RX 470's higher texture rate of 154.4 GTexel/s versus 105.3 GTexel/s for the A1000 is a notable counterpoint: in texture-bound scenes, the AMD card has the raw throughput advantage, even though the overall benchmark scores do not reflect a win.

Memory bandwidth is another area where the RX 470 has a hardware edge. Its 211.2 GB/s over a 256-bit bus exceeds the A1000's 192.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus. The RX 470 also uses GDDR5 memory at 6.6 Gbps effective, while the A1000 uses GDDR6 at 12 Gbps effective. The A1000 compensates with a newer memory type, but the RX 470's wider bus gives it a bandwidth advantage that likely helps in certain large-texture and framebuffer-heavy scenarios.

Power efficiency is a clear win for the A1000, though power figures are not directly benchmarked. The A1000 has a 50 W TDP against 120 W for the RX 470, and it draws power entirely through the PCIe slot with no auxiliary power connectors, while the RX 470 requires a single 6-pin connector. The A1000 also needs a 250 W suggested PSU versus 300 W for the RX 470. The A1000 is a single-slot card at 163 mm in length, while the RX 470 is a dual-slot card at 240 mm. These physical and electrical characteristics make the A1000 far easier to integrate into compact or dense systems.

The A1000's transistor density tells a similar story. It packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die on an 8 nm Samsung process, yielding 43.5 million transistors per mm². The RX 470 uses 5,700 million transistors across a 232 mm² die on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, for 24.6 million transistors per mm². The A1000's newer process node enables nearly double the transistor density, which explains how it achieves higher performance at less than half the power draw.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA RTX A1000 as the stronger card in every benchmark where both were measured. A 55.1% lead in OpenCL, a 24.3% lead in Vulkan, and a 15.1% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 leave no ambiguity about raw performance. The A1000 also ranks higher in the overall GPU distribution, sitting at the 79th percentile against the RX 470's 74th.

For users who prioritize compute performance, modern API support, and power efficiency, the A1000 is the clear choice from the recorded data. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory doubles the RX 470's 4 GB of GDDR5, which matters for larger datasets and higher-resolution textures. Its 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores open up ray tracing and AI acceleration capabilities that the RX 470 cannot offer. Its 50 W TDP and slot-powered operation make it suitable for systems where the RX 470's 120 W TDP and 6-pin connector would be problematic.

The RX 470 does retain some advantages in specific hardware characteristics. Its 256-bit memory bus and higher bandwidth, its higher texture rate, and its larger physical footprint all point to a card that was designed for traditional rasterization workloads. In the closest benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the RX 470 trails by only 15.1%, which suggests that in less compute-bound scenarios the gap would narrow further. However, the RX 470 did not win a single recorded test, and its end-of-life production status means it is no longer an active product.

The RTX A1000 is active in production, was released on April 15, 2024, and belongs to the Workstation Ampere generation. The RX 470 was released on August 3, 2016, and is now end-of-life. For anyone choosing between these two based on the database results, the A1000 wins on performance, features, efficiency, and longevity. The RX 470's only meaningful advantage in the recorded data is its higher memory bandwidth and texture rate, which do not translate into a benchmark win in any test.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A1000 averages 34,207 points across all recorded benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 470 averages 28,996 points.

Q: How much faster is the RTX A1000 in OpenCL compute?

A: The RTX A1000 scores 52,078 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 33,568 for the RX 470, a 55.1% advantage.

Q: Does the RX 470 win in any benchmark?

A: No, the RX 470 did not win any of the three recorded head-to-head tests. The closest result was in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where it trailed by 15.1%.

Q: What memory configurations do these cards use?

A: The RTX A1000 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 211.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has better power efficiency?

A: The RTX A1000 has a 50 W TDP and requires no auxiliary power connectors, while the RX 470 has a 120 W TDP and requires a single 6-pin connector. The A1000 also has a lower suggested PSU rating of 250 W versus 300 W.

Q: What are the architecture generations of each GPU?

A: The RTX A1000 uses the Ampere architecture on an 8 nm Samsung process with the GA107 chip. The RX 470 uses the GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process with the Ellesmere chip.

Architecture Differences

The RTX A1000 and RX 470 represent two very different design philosophies separated by roughly eight years of GPU architecture evolution. The A1000 is built on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture using the GA107 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. The RX 470 uses AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture with the Ellesmere chip, manufactured on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process. The process node difference alone, 8 nm versus 14 nm, explains much of the efficiency gap between the two cards.

Transistor counts tell a compelling story. The A1000 packs 8,700 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, resulting in a density of 43.5 million transistors per mm². The RX 470 contains 5,700 million transistors across a larger 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6 million transistors per mm². The A1000 achieves nearly double the transistor density while consuming less than half the power, a direct consequence of the more advanced manufacturing process.

The compute architectures differ fundamentally. The A1000 features 2,304 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, along with 18 RT cores and 72 tensor cores. The RX 470 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with no RT cores or tensor cores. The A1000's shading unit count is only 12.5% higher, but its FP32 throughput of 6.737 TFLOPS is 36.4% higher than the RX 470's 4.940 TFLOPS. Both cards list FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32.

Memory architectures take opposite approaches. The A1000 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, running at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed, for 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 470 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, running at 1650 MHz with 6.6 Gbps effective speed, for 211.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 470 has the wider bus and higher bandwidth, but the A1000 has twice the capacity and a newer memory type.

The A1000 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate with feature level 12_2, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 470 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The A1000's higher Vulkan version and DirectX feature level reflect its newer architecture and enable features like ray tracing and mesh shaders that the RX 470 cannot access.

Physical specifications diverge sharply. The A1000 is a single-slot card measuring 163 mm in length and 69 mm in height, with no power connectors and a 50 W TDP. The RX 470 is a dual-slot card measuring 240 mm in length, 95 mm in height, and 35 mm in width, with a single 6-pin connector and a 120 W TDP. The A1000 uses PCIe 4.0 x8, while the RX 470 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the A1000 offers four mini-DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, while the RX 470 offers one HDMI 2.0b and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

The A1000's release date of April 15, 2024, places it in the Workstation Ampere generation, succeeding Quadro Turing and preceding Workstation Ada. The RX 470's release date of August 3, 2016, places it in the Arctic Islands generation, succeeding Pirate Islands and preceding Polaris. The RX 470 launched with an MSRP of 179 USD, a figure that reflects its original market positioning, though the A1000's launch MSRP is not listed in the database. The A1000 remains Active in production, while the RX 470 is marked End-of-life.