Radeon HD 7970 vs GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile

Place in the ranking	190	375
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	100.00	2.38
Power efficiency	25.20	3.78
Architecture	Turing (2018−2022)	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code name	TU116	Tahiti
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	23 April 2019 (5 years ago)	22 December 2011 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$229	$549

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile has 4102% better value for money than HD 7970.

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	1536	2048
Core clock speed	1455 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1590 MHz	925 MHz
Number of transistors	6,600 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	12 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	300 Watt
Texture fill rate	152.6	118.4
Floating-point processing power	4.884 TFLOPS	3.789 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	32
TMUs	96	128

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	medium sized	no data
Bus support	no data	PCIe 2.1 x16
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	no data	274 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

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	GDDR6	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	6 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	1500 MHz	1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth	288.0 GB/s	264 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	No outputs	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	-	+
HDMI	-	+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

CrossFire	-	+
FreeSync	-	+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (12_1)	DirectX® 11
Shader Model	6.5	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	-
CUDA	7.5	-

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.

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile 28.99
+113%

HD 7970 13.60

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile 20119
+159%

HD 7970 7770

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile 49309
+99.2%

HD 7970 24757

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile 14818
+116%

HD 7970 6862

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile 97517
+123%

HD 7970 43795

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:

900p	220−230 +110%	105 −110%
Full HD	86 −3.5%	89 +3.5%
1440p	56 +133%	24−27 −133%
4K	36 +125%	16−18 −125%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

86
+310%

21−24

−310%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	80 +158%	30−35 −158%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	66 +200%	21−24 −200%
Battlefield 5	129 +193%	40−45 −193%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	82 +204%	27−30 −204%
Cyberpunk 2077	68 +224%	21−24 −224%
Far Cry 5	98 +206%	30−35 −206%
Far Cry New Dawn	102 +176%	35−40 −176%
Forza Horizon 4	304 +242%	85−90 −242%
Hitman 3	77 +196%	24−27 −196%
Horizon Zero Dawn	209 +199%	70−75 −199%
Metro Exodus	126 +174%	45−50 −174%
Red Dead Redemption 2	99 +161%	35−40 −161%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	155 +252%	40−45 −252%
Watch Dogs: Legion	225 +204%	70−75 −204%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	125 +303%	30−35 −303%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	49 +123%	21−24 −123%
Battlefield 5	109 +148%	40−45 −148%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	73 +170%	27−30 −170%
Cyberpunk 2077	54 +157%	21−24 −157%
Far Cry 5	77 +141%	30−35 −141%
Far Cry New Dawn	70 +89.2%	35−40 −89.2%
Forza Horizon 4	256 +188%	85−90 −188%
Hitman 3	74 +185%	24−27 −185%
Horizon Zero Dawn	207 +196%	70−75 −196%
Metro Exodus	104 +126%	45−50 −126%
Red Dead Redemption 2	83 +118%	35−40 −118%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	118 +168%	40−45 −168%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	55−60 +69.7%	30−35 −69.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	214 +189%	70−75 −189%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	53 +71%	30−35 −71%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	42 +90.9%	21−24 −90.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	53 +96.3%	27−30 −96.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	52 +148%	21−24 −148%
Far Cry 5	57 +78.1%	30−35 −78.1%
Forza Horizon 4	99 +11.2%	85−90 −11.2%
Hitman 3	63 +142%	24−27 −142%
Horizon Zero Dawn	90 +28.6%	70−75 −28.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	101 +130%	40−45 −130%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	55 +66.7%	30−35 −66.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	33 −124%	70−75 +124%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

80
+111%

35−40

−111%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	66 +154%	24−27 −154%
Far Cry New Dawn	46 +119%	21−24 −119%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	36 +157%	14−16 −157%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	32 +220%	10−11 −220%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	38 +171%	14−16 −171%
Cyberpunk 2077	25 +257%	7−8 −257%
Far Cry 5	36 +125%	16−18 −125%
Forza Horizon 4	182 +164%	65−70 −164%
Hitman 3	41 +156%	16−18 −156%
Horizon Zero Dawn	65 +132%	27−30 −132%
Metro Exodus	60 +161%	21−24 −161%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	55−60 +152%	21−24 −152%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 +136%	14−16 −136%
Watch Dogs: Legion	203 +142%	80−85 −142%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

56
+155%

21−24

−155%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	31 +138%	12−14 −138%
Far Cry New Dawn	25 +150%	10−11 −150%
Hitman 3	25 +178%	9−10 −178%
Horizon Zero Dawn	76 +15.2%	65−70 −15.2%
Metro Exodus	41 +215%	12−14 −215%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35 +192%	12−14 −192%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	22 +175%	8−9 −175%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	13 +117%	6−7 −117%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	19 +171%	7−8 −171%
Cyberpunk 2077	10 +400%	2−3 −400%
Far Cry 5	18 +157%	7−8 −157%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +100%	18−20 −100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 +175%	12−14 −175%
Watch Dogs: Legion	13 +160%	5−6 −160%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

27
+125%

12−14

−125%

This is how GTX 1660 Ti Mobile and HD 7970 compete in popular games:

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is 110% faster in 900p
HD 7970 is 3% faster in 1080p
GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is 133% faster in 1440p
GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is 125% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is 400% faster.
in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7970 is 124% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is ahead in 71 test (99%)
HD 7970 is ahead in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	28.99	13.60
Recency	23 April 2019	22 December 2011
Chip lithography	12 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	300 Watt

GTX 1660 Ti Mobile has a 113.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 133.3% more advanced lithography process, and 275% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile is a notebook card while Radeon HD 7970 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.