NVIDIA TITAN RTX vs NVIDIA TITAN V Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN V holds the higher average benchmark score at 34,355, while the NVIDIA TITAN RTX trails at 31,676. The TITAN V also sits higher in overall GPU percentile ranking at 79 compared to the TITAN RTX's 76.

Q: How do the two cards compare in raw compute performance?

A: The TITAN RTX leads in FP32 throughput with 16.31 TFLOPS versus the TITAN V's 14.90 TFLOPS. The TITAN RTX also edges ahead in FP16 with 32.62 TFLOPS (2:1) against the TITAN V's 29.80 TFLOPS (2:1).

Q: What are the memory configurations of each card?

A: The TITAN V uses 12 GB of HBM2 memory on a 3072-bit bus with 651.3 GB/s bandwidth. The TITAN RTX doubles capacity to 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus with slightly higher bandwidth at 672.0 GB/s.

Q: Which card has more shading units and texture mapping units?

A: The TITAN V has more shading units at 5,120 compared to the TITAN RTX's 4,608. The TITAN V also has more TMUs at 320 versus 288, while both cards have 96 ROPs.

Q: Do both cards support ray tracing?

A: No. The TITAN V, based on the Volta architecture with the GV100 chip, has no dedicated RT cores. The TITAN RTX, built on the Turing architecture with the TU102 chip, includes 72 RT cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the TITAN V supports only DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: What is the transistor count and die size difference?

A: The TITAN V packs 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die, while the TITAN RTX has 18,600 million transistors on a 754 mm² die. This gives the TITAN V a slightly higher transistor density at 25.9M / mm² versus 24.7M / mm².

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data splits the two cards into distinct use-case profiles. The TITAN V wins 4 of the 10 head-to-head tests, while the TITAN RTX wins 6. The TITAN V's victories are concentrated in compute-style workloads and legacy DirectX 10 rendering. Its 8.6% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 11.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan show a clear advantage in general-purpose and cross-API compute. It also takes PassMark G2D with a 9% margin, indicating stronger 2D rasterization performance.

The TITAN RTX, meanwhile, dominates in the more modern DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 paths. Its 19.6% lead in PassMark DirectX 11 is the single largest delta in the entire comparison. The TITAN RTX also wins the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test by 6%, PassMark DirectX 12 by 8%, and PassMark DirectX 9 by 4.5%. For overall 3D gaming rasterization, the TITAN RTX leads PassMark G3D by 3.3% and PassMark GPU Compute by 7.7%. The data suggests the TITAN RTX is the stronger choice for contemporary DirectX-based gaming workloads, while the TITAN V holds an edge in compute-focused tasks and Vulkan API environments.

Architecture Differences

The two cards represent two distinct NVIDIA architectures. The TITAN V is built on Volta with the GV100 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 12 nm process. The TITAN RTX uses the Turing architecture with the TU102 chip, also on TSMC's 12 nm process. Despite the same process node, the transistor budgets differ markedly: the TITAN V carries 21,100 million transistors on an 815 mm² die, while the TITAN RTX has 18,600 million on 754 mm². The TITAN V's higher transistor density of 25.9M / mm² versus 24.7M / mm² reflects the GV100's compute-heavy design.

The most significant architectural divergence is ray tracing support. The TITAN V has no RT cores at all, while the TITAN RTX includes 72 dedicated RT cores. This is reflected in the DirectX feature levels: the TITAN V supports DirectX 12 (12_1), whereas the TITAN RTX supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Tensor core counts also differ, with the TITAN V housing 640 tensor cores versus 576 on the TITAN RTX. Memory architecture is another major split — the TITAN V uses HBM2 on a 3072-bit bus, while the TITAN RTX uses GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus. The memory clock configuration shows 848 MHz (1696 Mbps effective) for the TITAN V versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the TITAN RTX.

The TITAN V has more shading units (5,120 vs 4,608) and more TMUs (320 vs 288), but the TITAN RTX compensates with higher clock speeds — a 1350 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost against the TITAN V's 1200 MHz base and 1455 MHz boost. The TITAN RTX also adds a USB Type-C display output alongside the shared HDMI 2.0 and three DisplayPort 1.4a outputs.

Specification Differences

The specification sheets diverge across nearly every major category. Clock speeds favor the TITAN RTX substantially: its base clock runs 150 MHz higher and its boost clock 315 MHz higher than the TITAN V. Memory capacity favors the TITAN RTX at 24 GB versus 12 GB, though the memory types are fundamentally different — HBM2 on the TITAN V versus GDDR6 on the TITAN RTX. Bus width heavily favors the TITAN V at 3072-bit versus 384-bit, yet bandwidth is nearly identical, with the TITAN RTX's 672.0 GB/s fractionally ahead of the TITAN V's 651.3 GB/s.

Shader resources split the cards: the TITAN V has 5,120 shading units and 320 TMUs, while the TITAN RTX has 4,608 shading units and 288 TMUs. Both share 96 ROPs. The TITAN V includes 640 tensor cores and no RT cores; the TITAN RTX has 576 tensor cores and 72 RT cores. Pixel rate favors the TITAN RTX at 169.9 GPixel/s versus 139.7 GPixel/s, and texture rate also favors it at 509.8 GTexel/s versus 465.6 GTexel/s.

Power draw differs by 30 W, with the TITAN RTX rated at 280 W versus 250 W for the TITAN V. Both are dual-slot cards with a 600 W suggested PSU. Power connectors differ: the TITAN V uses 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin, while the TITAN RTX uses 2x 8-pin. Physical dimensions are close, with the TITAN V measuring 267 mm x 112 mm x 40 mm and the TITAN RTX at 267 mm x 116 mm x 35 mm. The TITAN V released on 2017-12-06 with a launch MSRP of 2,999 USD; the TITAN RTX released on 2018-12-17 with a launch MSRP of 2,499 USD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The largest single margin belongs to the TITAN RTX in PassMark DirectX 11, where it scores 189 against the TITAN V's 152, a 19.6% advantage. This is a decisive win for the Turing card in the most common gaming API of its era. The TITAN RTX also leads in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with 3,794 versus 3,565, a 6% margin. PassMark DirectX 12 shows a similar pattern, with the TITAN RTX at 88 versus 81, an 8% lead. PassMark G3D gives the TITAN RTX a 3.3% edge (20,491 vs 19,805), and PassMark GPU Compute shows a 7.7% lead (10,034 vs 9,263).

The TITAN V's counters are equally clear. Its biggest win comes in Geekbench Vulkan, scoring 152,117 against the TITAN RTX's 136,073, an 11.8% margin. Geekbench OpenCL follows with 157,265 versus 144,858, an 8.6% lead. PassMark G2D gives the TITAN V a 9% win (937 vs 860), and PassMark DirectX 10 shows a 4.1% edge (153 vs 147). The TITAN RTX rounds out its wins with PassMark DirectX 9 at 223 versus 213, a 4.5% margin.

Interpreting these results, the TITAN V's compute-oriented architecture shines in OpenCL and Vulkan, where its higher shading unit count and HBM2 memory bandwidth appear to pay dividends. The TITAN RTX's higher clock speeds and dedicated RT cores give it the edge in DirectX workloads, particularly the newer 12_2 path. The average benchmark score gap — 34,355 for the TITAN V versus 31,676 for the TITAN RTX — is driven largely by the TITAN V's strong compute results, while the TITAN RTX's wins are concentrated in gaming-relevant tests.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split. For users prioritizing DirectX gaming performance, particularly in DirectX 11 and DirectX 12, the TITAN RTX is the stronger card. Its 19.6% lead in DirectX 11 and 8% lead in DirectX 12 are substantial, and its 6% edge in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 confirms the pattern. The TITAN RTX also wins the overall G3D rasterization test by 3.3%, making it the safer choice for modern game workloads.

For compute-focused tasks, the TITAN V is the better option. Its 8.6% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 11.8% lead in Geekbench Vulkan indicate superior performance in non-DirectX compute APIs. The TITAN V also holds a 9% advantage in G2D and wins the legacy DirectX 10 test by 4.1%. The TITAN V's higher average benchmark score of 34,355 and 79th percentile ranking versus the TITAN RTX's 31,676 and 76th percentile suggest that, across the full benchmark suite, the Volta card is the more balanced performer.

The TITAN RTX counters with a 7.7% lead in GPU compute and a 4.5% win in DirectX 9, showing it is not purely a gaming card. However, the TITAN V's compute wins are larger in magnitude than most of the TITAN RTX's gaming wins. The architecture differences explain this: the TITAN V's 640 tensor cores and 5,120 shading units serve compute workloads well, while the TITAN RTX's 72 RT cores and higher boost clock of 1770 MHz serve the DirectX 12 Ultimate path. The TITAN RTX's 24 GB memory capacity is double the TITAN V's 12 GB, which matters for large datasets, but the TITAN V's HBM2 memory on a 3072-bit bus provides comparable bandwidth. The verdict hinges on workload: DirectX gaming points to the TITAN RTX, compute and Vulkan point to the TITAN V.