Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire vs GeForce GTX 970M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 970M and Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 970M
2014
3 GB GDDR5
14.83
+43.6%

GTX 970M outperforms HD 6990M Crossfire by a considerable 44% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking351437
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency12.68no data
ArchitectureMaxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)Terascale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code nameGM204Blackcomb XTX
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date7 October 2014 (10 years ago)12 July 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$2,560.89 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores12802240
Core clock speed924 MHz715 MHz
Boost clock speed1038 MHzno data
Number of transistors5,200 million2x1700 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)unknownno data
Texture fill rate83.04no data
Floating-point processing power2.657 TFLOPSno data
ROPs48no data
TMUs80no data

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 sizelargelarge
Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)no data
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno data
SLI options+-

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB2x2 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed2500 MHz900 MHz
Memory bandwidth120 GB/sno data
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 ConnectorsNo outputsno data
VGA аnalog display support+no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support+no data
HDMI+-
G-SYNC support+-

Supported technologies

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

GameStream+-
GeForce ShadowPlay+-
GPU Boost2.0no data
GameWorks+-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+-
Optimus+-
BatteryBoost+-
Ansel+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)11
Shader Model6.4no data
OpenGL4.5no data
OpenCL1.1no data
Vulkan1.1.126-
CUDA+-

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 970M 14.83
+43.6%
HD 6990M Crossfire 10.33

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 970M 9878
+53.8%
HD 6990M Crossfire 6422

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 970M 28845
+12%
HD 6990M Crossfire 25759

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:

900p136
+37.4%
99
−37.4%
Full HD55
−87.3%
103
+87.3%
1440p25
+56.3%
16−18
−56.3%
4K21
+50%
14−16
−50%

Cost per frame, $

1080p46.56no data
1440p102.44no data
4K121.95no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+53.3%
14−16
−53.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 42
+75%
24−27
−75%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+60%
14−16
−60%
Battlefield 5 52
+67.7%
30−35
−67.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−33
+50%
20−22
−50%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+53.3%
14−16
−53.3%
Far Cry 5 50
+117%
21−24
−117%
Far Cry New Dawn 48
+77.8%
27−30
−77.8%
Forza Horizon 4 144
+122%
65−70
−122%
Hitman 3 27−30
+47.4%
18−20
−47.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+40.7%
50−55
−40.7%
Metro Exodus 53
+71%
30−35
−71%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+51.9%
27−30
−51.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 81
+153%
30−35
−153%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+23.8%
60−65
−23.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 53
+121%
24−27
−121%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+60%
14−16
−60%
Battlefield 5 44
+41.9%
30−35
−41.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−33
+50%
20−22
−50%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+53.3%
14−16
−53.3%
Far Cry 5 41
+78.3%
21−24
−78.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 37
+37%
27−30
−37%
Forza Horizon 4 131
+102%
65−70
−102%
Hitman 3 27−30
+47.4%
18−20
−47.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+40.7%
50−55
−40.7%
Metro Exodus 44
+41.9%
30−35
−41.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+51.9%
27−30
−51.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+50%
30−35
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 101
+288%
24−27
−288%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+23.8%
60−65
−23.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21
−14.3%
24−27
+14.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27
+60%
14−16
−60%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−33
+50%
20−22
−50%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+53.3%
14−16
−53.3%
Far Cry 5 29
+26.1%
21−24
−26.1%
Forza Horizon 4 36
−80.6%
65−70
+80.6%
Hitman 3 27−30
+47.4%
18−20
−47.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 75−80
+40.7%
50−55
−40.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+50%
30−35
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 26
+0%
24−27
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+23.8%
60−65
−23.8%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+51.9%
27−30
−51.9%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 26
+36.8%
18−20
−36.8%
Far Cry New Dawn 25
+66.7%
14−16
−66.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 17
+70%
10−11
−70%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
+100%
6−7
−100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+60%
5−6
−60%
Far Cry 5 19
+72.7%
10−12
−72.7%
Forza Horizon 4 80
+86%
40−45
−86%
Hitman 3 18−20
+38.5%
12−14
−38.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−33
+50%
20−22
−50%
Metro Exodus 25
+78.6%
14−16
−78.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
+125%
12−14
−125%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+77.8%
9−10
−77.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion 90−95
+46.8%
60−65
−46.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 24−27
+50%
16−18
−50%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 12
+33.3%
9−10
−33.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 13
+85.7%
7−8
−85.7%
Hitman 3 10−12
+83.3%
6−7
−83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 70−75
+76.2%
40−45
−76.2%
Metro Exodus 14
+75%
8−9
−75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16
+129%
7−8
−129%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Far Cry 5 8
+60%
5−6
−60%
Forza Horizon 4 6
−100%
12−14
+100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+133%
6−7
−133%
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+44.4%
9−10
−44.4%

This is how GTX 970M and HD 6990M Crossfire compete in popular games:

  • GTX 970M is 37% faster in 900p
  • HD 6990M Crossfire is 87% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 970M is 56% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 970M is 50% faster in 4K

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

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 970M is 288% faster.
  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6990M Crossfire is 100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 970M is ahead in 68 tests (94%)
  • HD 6990M Crossfire is ahead in 3 tests (4%)
  • there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 14.83 10.33
Recency 7 October 2014 12 July 2011
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm

GTX 970M has a 43.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 970M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire in performance tests.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
GeForce GTX 970M
AMD Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire
Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions & comments

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