Radeon HD 8970M vs GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB with Radeon HD 8970M, including specs and performance data.
GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms HD 8970M by a whopping 147% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 216 | 448 |
| Place by popularity | 26 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 22.30 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 14.31 | 6.95 |
| Architecture | Pascal (2016−2021) | GCN 1.0 (2011−2020) |
| GPU code name | GP106 | Neptune |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 18 August 2016 (8 years ago) | 14 May 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 1152 | 1280 |
| Core clock speed | 1506 MHz | 850 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1708 MHz | 900 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 4,400 million | 2,800 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 16 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 100 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 123.0 | 72.00 |
| Floating-point processing power | 3.935 TFLOPS | 2.304 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 48 | 32 |
| TMUs | 72 | 80 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Laptop size | no data | large |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 250 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin | no data |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 3 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory bus width | 192 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 2002 MHz | 1200 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 192.2 GB/s | 153.6 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort | No outputs |
| HDMI | + | - |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | + | 1.2.131 |
| CUDA | 6.1 | - |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| Full HD | 120−130
+135%
| 51
−135%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 1.66 | no data |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 82
+0%
|
82
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 18
+0%
|
18
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and HD 8970M compete in popular games:
- GTX 1060 3 GB is 135% faster in 1080p
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 24.85 | 10.05 |
| Recency | 18 August 2016 | 14 May 2013 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 3 GB | 4 GB |
| Chip lithography | 16 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 100 Watt |
GTX 1060 3 GB has a 147.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and a 75% more advanced lithography process.
HD 8970M, on the other hand, has a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 20% lower power consumption.
The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 8970M in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is a desktop card while Radeon HD 8970M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
