Radeon RX 5500M vs ATI HD 5970

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 5970 with Radeon RX 5500M, including specs and performance data.

ATI HD 5970
2009
1 GB GDDR5, 294 Watt
5.91

RX 5500M outperforms ATI HD 5970 by a whopping 144% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking583357
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.33no data
Power efficiency1.3911.75
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020)
GPU code nameHemlockNavi 14
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date18 November 2009 (14 years ago)7 October 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$699 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 cores16001408
Core clock speed725 MHz1375 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1645 MHz
Number of transistors2,154 million6,400 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)294 Watt85 Watt
Texture fill rate58.00144.8
Floating-point processing power2.32 TFLOPS4.632 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs8088

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 sizeno datamedium sized
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x8
Length305 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinNone

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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount1 GB4 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth128.0 GB/s224.0 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPortNo outputs

API compatibility

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (12_1)
Shader Model5.06.5
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.22.0
VulkanN/A1.2.131

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
RX 5500M 14.42
+144%

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
RX 5500M 5563
+144%

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
RX 5500M 12276
+233%

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 HD21−24
−171%
57
+171%
1440p21−24
−167%
56
+167%
4K12−14
−158%
31
+158%

Cost per frame, $

1080p33.29no data
1440p33.29no data
4K58.25no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 55
+0%
55
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 43
+0%
43
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 56
+0%
56
+0%
Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 53
+0%
53
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 43
+0%
43
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Hitman 3 58
+0%
58
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 146
+0%
146
+0%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 57
+0%
57
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 169
+0%
169
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 26
+0%
26
+0%
Battlefield 5 34
+0%
34
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 48
+0%
48
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 33
+0%
33
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Hitman 3 58
+0%
58
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 144
+0%
144
+0%
Metro Exodus 36
+0%
36
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 52
+0%
52
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 82
+0%
82
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 168
+0%
168
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 31
+0%
31
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 14
+0%
14
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 26
+0%
26
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30
+0%
30
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Hitman 3 50
+0%
50
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 69
+0%
69
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 72
+0%
72
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 45
+0%
45
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 22
+0%
22
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 54
+0%
54
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 54
+0%
54
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10
+0%
10
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%
Hitman 3 33
+0%
33
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 55
+0%
55
+0%
Metro Exodus 47
+0%
47
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 163
+0%
163
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40
+0%
40
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 29
+0%
29
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Hitman 3 9
+0%
9
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 65
+0%
65
+0%
Metro Exodus 28
+0%
28
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 20
+0%
20
+0%

This is how ATI HD 5970 and RX 5500M compete in popular games:

  • RX 5500M is 171% faster in 1080p
  • RX 5500M is 167% faster in 1440p
  • RX 5500M is 158% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.91 14.42
Recency 18 November 2009 7 October 2019
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 4 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 294 Watt 85 Watt

RX 5500M has a 144% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 9 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 471.4% more advanced lithography process, and 245.9% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 5500M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 5970 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 5970 is a desktop card while Radeon RX 5500M is a notebook one.


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
AMD Radeon RX 5500M
Radeon RX 5500M

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

Rate Radeon HD 5970 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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3.9 351 vote

Rate Radeon RX 5500M on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.