ATI Radeon HD 5850 vs HD 7970

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 5850, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 7970
2011
6 GB GDDR5, 300 Watt
13.62
+164%

HD 7970 outperforms ATI HD 5850 by a whopping 164% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking380621
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.450.64
Power efficiency3.732.34
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code nameTahitiCypress
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date22 December 2011 (13 years ago)30 September 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$549 $299

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7970 has 283% better value for money than ATI HD 5850.

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 cores20481440
Core clock speedno data725 MHz
Boost clock speed925 MHzno data
Number of transistors4,313 million2,154 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)300 Watt151 Watt
Texture fill rate118.452.20
Floating-point processing power3.789 TFLOPS2.088 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs12872

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).

Bus supportPCIe 2.1 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
Length274 mm241 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin2x 6-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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount6 GB1 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1375 MHz1000 MHz
Memory bandwidth264 GB/s128.0 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 Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x 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.

DirectXDirectX® 1111.2 (11_0)
Shader Model5.15.0
OpenGL4.64.4
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan-N/A

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.

HD 7970 13.62
+164%
ATI HD 5850 5.16

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.

HD 7970 5248
+164%
ATI HD 5850 1988

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.

HD 7970 7770
+128%
ATI HD 5850 3401

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.

HD 7970 24757
+86.6%
ATI HD 5850 13267

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:

900p105
+78%
59
−78%
Full HD91
+62.5%
56
−62.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p6.035.34

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+133%
9−10
−133%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
+121%
14−16
−121%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
+340%
5−6
−340%
Battlefield 5 40−45
+238%
12−14
−238%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+145%
10−12
−145%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+133%
9−10
−133%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+191%
10−12
−191%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+164%
14−16
−164%
Forza Horizon 4 85−90
+170%
30−35
−170%
Hitman 3 24−27
+136%
10−12
−136%
Horizon Zero Dawn 70−75
+112%
30−35
−112%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+283%
12−14
−283%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+171%
14−16
−171%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+144%
18−20
−144%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+57.4%
45−50
−57.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
+121%
14−16
−121%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
+340%
5−6
−340%
Battlefield 5 40−45
+238%
12−14
−238%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+145%
10−12
−145%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+133%
9−10
−133%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+191%
10−12
−191%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+164%
14−16
−164%
Forza Horizon 4 85−90
+170%
30−35
−170%
Hitman 3 24−27
+136%
10−12
−136%
Horizon Zero Dawn 70−75
+112%
30−35
−112%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+283%
12−14
−283%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+171%
14−16
−171%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+144%
18−20
−144%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+83.3%
18−20
−83.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+57.4%
45−50
−57.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 30−35
+121%
14−16
−121%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 21−24
+340%
5−6
−340%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+145%
10−12
−145%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+133%
9−10
−133%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+191%
10−12
−191%
Forza Horizon 4 85−90
+170%
30−35
−170%
Hitman 3 24−27
+136%
10−12
−136%
Horizon Zero Dawn 70−75
+112%
30−35
−112%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+144%
18−20
−144%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+83.3%
18−20
−83.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+57.4%
45−50
−57.4%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+171%
14−16
−171%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+160%
10−11
−160%
Far Cry New Dawn 21−24
+163%
8−9
−163%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+180%
5−6
−180%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−11 0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+250%
4−5
−250%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+250%
2−3
−250%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+167%
6−7
−167%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+475%
12−14
−475%
Hitman 3 16−18
+77.8%
9−10
−77.8%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
+133%
12−14
−133%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+667%
3−4
−667%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+188%
8−9
−188%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+250%
4−5
−250%
Watch Dogs: Legion 80−85
+163%
30−35
−163%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+144%
9−10
−144%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+225%
4−5
−225%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
+233%
3−4
−233%
Hitman 3 9−10
+800%
1−2
−800%
Horizon Zero Dawn 65−70
+725%
8−9
−725%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+550%
2−3
−550%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
+1100%
1−2
−1100%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 8−9
+167%
3−4
−167%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+200%
2−3
−200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+250%
2−3
−250%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3 0−1
Far Cry 5 7−8
+133%
3−4
−133%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+350%
4−5
−350%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
+200%
4−5
−200%
Watch Dogs: Legion 5−6
+400%
1−2
−400%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+100%
6−7
−100%

This is how HD 7970 and ATI HD 5850 compete in popular games:

  • HD 7970 is 78% faster in 900p
  • HD 7970 is 63% faster in 1080p

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

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the HD 7970 is 1100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, HD 7970 surpassed ATI HD 5850 in all 68 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 13.62 5.16
Recency 22 December 2011 30 September 2009
Maximum RAM amount 6 GB 1 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 300 Watt 151 Watt

HD 7970 has a 164% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

ATI HD 5850, on the other hand, has 98.7% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 5850 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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AMD Radeon HD 7970
Radeon HD 7970
ATI Radeon HD 5850
Radeon HD 5850

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.


4.1 303 votes

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3.5 254 votes

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Questions & comments

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