AMD Radeon RX 470 vs NVIDIA TITAN RTX Comparison
AMD Radeon RX 470
TITAN RTX
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Analysis: AMD Radeon RX 470 vs NVIDIA TITAN RTX
The NVIDIA TITAN RTX and AMD Radeon RX 470 sit at opposite ends of the GPU spectrum, separated by two years of architecture development, a 12 nm versus 14 nm process gap, and a massive difference in intended workload. The recorded data shows the TITAN RTX dominates every shared benchmark, but the RX 470 still holds a percentile ranking that places it within striking distance of many modern cards. This analysis breaks down exactly where each GPU stands, what the architecture differences mean, and which user should pick which based solely on the measured results.
The Verdict
The NVIDIA TITAN RTX is the clear performance leader in every recorded head-to-head test. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 3794 against the RX 470's 842, a 350.6% advantage. In Geekbench OpenCL, the TITAN RTX posts 144858 versus 33568, a 331.5% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 136073 against 39884, a 241.2% margin. The TITAN RTX wins all three shared benchmarks, with zero wins for the RX 470. Anyone needing maximum compute throughput, ray tracing capability, or large memory capacity should choose the TITAN RTX. The RX 470, however, remains a functional entry-level card for older DirectX titles and light compute tasks, with a 74th percentile ranking versus the TITAN RTX's 76th percentile. The RX 470's average benchmark score of 28996 is surprisingly close to the TITAN RTX's 31676, but that average includes different test suites, so direct comparisons must rely on the head-to-head results.
Architecture Differences
The TITAN RTX uses the TU102 chip built on TSMC's 12 nm process, featuring 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die. The RX 470 uses the Ellesmere chip on GlobalFoundries' 14 nm process, with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. Transistor density is nearly identical: 24.7 million per mm² for the TITAN RTX and 24.6 million per mm² for the RX 470. The architectural generation gap is significant. The TITAN RTX runs on Turing architecture, part of the GeForce 20 generation, while the RX 470 runs on GCN 4.0, part of the Arctic Islands (RX 400) generation.
The TITAN RTX packs 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It also includes 72 ray tracing cores and 576 tensor cores, features completely absent from the RX 470. The RX 470 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Clock speeds differ substantially: the TITAN RTX has a base clock of 1350 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, while the RX 470 runs at 926 MHz base and 1206 MHz boost. The TITAN RTX delivers 16.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 32.62 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). The RX 470 delivers 4.940 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16, operating at a 1:1 ratio.
Memory configurations are worlds apart. The TITAN RTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with 211.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The TITAN RTX memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the RX 470 runs at 1650 MHz (6.6 Gbps effective). Pixel rate favors the TITAN RTX at 169.9 GPixel/s versus 38.59 GPixel/s. Texture rate favors it as well: 509.8 GTexel/s versus 154.4 GTexel/s.
Power and physical specifications also differ. The TITAN RTX has a 280 W TDP, requires two 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 600 W PSU. The RX 470 has a 120 W TDP, requires one 6-pin connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU. Both are dual-slot cards, but the TITAN RTX is longer at 267 mm versus 240 mm, and taller at 116 mm versus 95 mm. Both are 35 mm wide. The TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the RX 470 supports DirectX 12 (12_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the TITAN RTX supports Vulkan 1.4 versus the RX 470's Vulkan 1.3. The TITAN RTX also adds a USB Type-C output alongside one HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RX 470 has one HDMI 2.0b and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.
Head-to-Head Benchmarks
The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test shows the largest relative gap. The TITAN RTX scores 3794, which is 350.6% higher than the RX 470's 842. This test stresses modern DirectX 12 rendering paths, and the TITAN RTX's Turing architecture with dedicated ray tracing and tensor hardware clearly accelerates workloads that the GCN 4.0 architecture cannot handle efficiently. The RX 470's score of 842 places it far behind, but this test was released years after the RX 470's launch, so the comparison reflects generational progress rather than a fair launch-window matchup.
Geekbench OpenCL shows a 331.5% lead for the TITAN RTX, with a score of 144858 versus 33568. This compute-focused benchmark benefits from the TITAN RTX's 4608 shading units and 576 tensor cores, which accelerate parallel workloads far beyond the RX 470's 2048 shading units. The RX 470's FP16 performance is identical to its FP32 (4.940 TFLOPS), while the TITAN RTX doubles its FP32 output when using FP16 (32.62 TFLOPS), giving it a distinct advantage in mixed-precision compute tasks.
Geekbench Vulkan shows a 241.2% lead for the TITAN RTX, with a score of 136073 versus 39884. Vulkan is a low-overhead API that scales well with raw hardware resources. The TITAN RTX's higher clock speeds, more shading units, and larger memory bandwidth all contribute to this margin. The RX 470's Vulkan support (version 1.3) is newer than its DirectX support, but the hardware ceiling limits its performance.
The TITAN RTX also has additional benchmark results not shared with the RX 470. These include PassMark DirectX 10 (147), DirectX 11 (189), DirectX 12 (88), DirectX 9 (223), G2D (860), G3D (20491), and GPU Compute (10034). The RX 470 has a Geekbench Metal score of 41690, which the TITAN RTX cannot produce because Metal is Apple-specific and the TITAN RTX does not run on that platform. These non-overlapping results contribute to each card's average benchmark score but cannot be directly compared.
FAQ
Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?
A: The NVIDIA TITAN RTX has an average benchmark score of 31676, while the AMD Radeon RX 470 has an average of 28996. The TITAN RTX is 2680 points higher, but the averages include different test suites, so the head-to-head results provide a more accurate comparison.
Q: Does the RX 470 support ray tracing?
A: No. The RX 470 has no ray tracing cores listed in the database. The TITAN RTX has 72 ray tracing cores. This is a fundamental architectural difference between GCN 4.0 and Turing.
Q: What is the memory capacity difference?
A: The TITAN RTX has 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, while the RX 470 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus. The bandwidth difference is 672.0 GB/s versus 211.2 GB/s.
Q: Which card is more power efficient?
A: The RX 470 has a 120 W TDP and suggests a 300 W PSU, while the TITAN RTX has a 280 W TDP and suggests a 600 W PSU. The RX 470 draws less power, but the TITAN RTX delivers over three times the performance in shared benchmarks.
Q: How do their percentile rankings compare?
A: The TITAN RTX ranks in the 76th percentile of all GPUs, while the RX 470 ranks in the 74th percentile. Despite the massive performance gap in head-to-head tests, both cards sit near the same percentile because the rankings include different benchmark suites and a wide range of GPUs.
Q: What API level does each card support?
A: The TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 470 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.
Where Each One Wins
The TITAN RTX wins in every directly comparable scenario. For 3D rendering workloads that use DirectX 12, the 350.6% lead in Steel Nomad makes it the only choice for serious performance. For OpenCL compute tasks like scientific simulation or machine learning preprocessing, the 331.5% advantage is decisive. For Vulkan-based games or applications, the 241.2% margin ensures smoother frame rates and faster processing. The TITAN RTX also brings 24 GB of memory, which is essential for large datasets, high-resolution textures, or multi-model AI workloads that would exhaust the RX 470's 4 GB immediately. The ray tracing cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature the RX 470 lacks entirely. Tensor cores accelerate AI inference and training tasks, further widening the compute gap.
The RX 470 wins in scenarios where power consumption and physical footprint matter more than raw performance. Its 120 W TDP means it can run on a 300 W PSU, making it suitable for small form factor builds or systems with limited power delivery. Its 240 mm length fits in more compact cases than the TITAN RTX's 267 mm length. The RX 470 also has a Geekbench Metal score of 41690, which is relevant for macOS or other Metal-based environments where the TITAN RTX cannot operate. For users running older DirectX 9 or DirectX 10 applications, the RX 470's PassMark scores are not directly comparable to the TITAN RTX because those tests were not run on the TITAN RTX, but the RX 470 can still handle legacy workloads without issue. The RX 470's 74th percentile ranking shows it remains competitive with much newer cards in the overall database, and its 28996 average score indicates it is not obsolete for general-purpose tasks.
The production status for both cards is end-of-life, meaning neither is a future-proof purchase. The TITAN RTX launched with a 2,499 USD MSRP, while the RX 470 launched with a 179 USD MSRP, but pricing should not factor into a performance-based decision. The TITAN RTX's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (0.5% higher average score), Intel Arc Pro A30M (0.7% lower), NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q (1.5% higher), and NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (1.5% higher). The RX 470's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0.4% higher), Intel Arc A370M (0.6% lower), AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (0.7% lower), and AMD FirePro W8000 (0.7% lower). These rivalries show that both cards sit in competitive neighborhoods within the database, even though they are generations apart.
For a user deciding between these two, the choice depends entirely on workload. If the task requires maximum compute throughput, large memory capacity, ray tracing, or tensor acceleration, the TITAN RTX is the only viable option. If the task runs on Metal, requires minimal power draw, or fits within a compact chassis, the RX 470 remains a functional choice. The data does not support any scenario where the RX 470 outperforms the TITAN RTX in a shared benchmark, but the RX 470's lower power envelope and unique Metal support give it specific niches. The TITAN RTX's 76th percentile and 31676 average score reinforce its position as a high-end card, while the RX 470's 74th percentile and 28996 average score show that it punches above its weight for an older, lower-powered design.