GeForce RTX 4090 vs ATI Radeon HD 5970

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 5970 and GeForce RTX 4090, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

ATI HD 5970
2009
1 GB GDDR5, 294 Watt
5.91

RTX 4090 outperforms ATI HD 5970 by a whopping 1592% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking5831
Place by popularitynot in top-1006
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.3418.80
Power efficiency1.4015.45
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)Ada Lovelace (2022−2024)
GPU code nameHemlockAD102
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date18 November 2009 (14 years ago)20 September 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$699 $1,599

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 4090 has 5429% better value for money than ATI HD 5970.

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 cores160016384
Core clock speed725 MHz2235 MHz
Boost clock speedno data2520 MHz
Number of transistors2,154 million76,300 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)294 Watt450 Watt
Texture fill rate58.001,290
Floating-point processing power2.32 TFLOPS82.58 TFLOPS
ROPs32176
TMUs80512
Tensor Coresno data512
Ray Tracing Coresno data128

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).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Length305 mm304 mm
Width2-slot3-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 16-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 typeGDDR5GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount1 GB24 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz1313 MHz
Memory bandwidth128.0 GB/s1.01 TB/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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model5.06.8
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.23.0
VulkanN/A1.3
CUDA-8.9

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.

ATI HD 5970 5.91
RTX 4090 100.00
+1592%

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.

ATI HD 5970 2282
RTX 4090 38589
+1591%

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.

ATI HD 5970 3690
RTX 4090 73447
+1890%

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 HD14−16
−1814%
268
+1814%
1440p12−14
−1617%
206
+1617%
4K8−9
−1713%
145
+1713%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 225
+0%
225
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 235
+0%
235
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 287
+0%
287
+0%
Battlefield 5 240−250
+0%
240−250
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 222
+0%
222
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 290−300
+0%
290−300
+0%
Hitman 3 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 350−400
+0%
350−400
+0%
Metro Exodus 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 450−500
+0%
450−500
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 248
+0%
248
+0%
Battlefield 5 240−250
+0%
240−250
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 214
+0%
214
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 200−210
+0%
200−210
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 290−300
+0%
290−300
+0%
Hitman 3 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 350−400
+0%
350−400
+0%
Metro Exodus 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 548
+0%
548
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 240−250
+0%
240−250
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 179
+0%
179
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 220
+0%
220
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 210
+0%
210
+0%
Far Cry 5 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 290−300
+0%
290−300
+0%
Hitman 3 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 394
+0%
394
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 541
+0%
541
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 305
+0%
305
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 153
+0%
153
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 155
+0%
155
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 183
+0%
183
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 154
+0%
154
+0%
Far Cry 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 270−280
+0%
270−280
+0%
Hitman 3 130−140
+0%
130−140
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 388
+0%
388
+0%
Metro Exodus 152
+0%
152
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 504
+0%
504
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 268
+0%
268
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 240−250
+0%
240−250
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Hitman 3 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 105
+0%
105
+0%
Metro Exodus 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 281
+0%
281
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 120
+0%
120
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 120
+0%
120
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 80
+0%
80
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 250−260
+0%
250−260
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 282
+0%
282
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 117
+0%
117
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%

This is how ATI HD 5970 and RTX 4090 compete in popular games:

  • RTX 4090 is 1814% faster in 1080p
  • RTX 4090 is 1617% faster in 1440p
  • RTX 4090 is 1713% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.91 100.00
Recency 18 November 2009 20 September 2022
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 24 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 5 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 294 Watt 450 Watt

ATI HD 5970 has 53.1% lower power consumption.

RTX 4090, on the other hand, has a 1592% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 12 years, a 2300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 700% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 5970 in performance tests.


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

Vote for your favorite

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ATI Radeon HD 5970
Radeon HD 5970
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
GeForce RTX 4090

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.


3.6 43 votes

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Questions & comments

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