Radeon RX 7900 XTX vs HD 7970

Place in the ranking	378	8
Place by popularity	not in top-100	61
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.38	34.64
Power efficiency	3.79	15.81
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	RDNA 3.0 (2022−2024)
GPU code name	Tahiti	Navi 31
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	22 December 2011 (12 years ago)	3 November 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$549	$999

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 7900 XTX has 1355% 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	2048	6144
Core clock speed	no data	1929 MHz
Boost clock speed	925 MHz	2498 MHz
Number of transistors	4,313 million	57,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	300 Watt	355 Watt
Texture fill rate	118.4	959.2
Floating-point processing power	3.789 TFLOPS	61.39 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	192
TMUs	128	384
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	96

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 support	PCIe 2.1 x16	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	274 mm	287 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin	2x 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	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	24 GB
Memory bus width	384 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	1375 MHz	2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	264 GB/s	960.0 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 Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x USB Type-C
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	DirectX® 11	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.7
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.2
Vulkan	-	1.3

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 13.60

RX 7900 XTX 80.52
+492%

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

RX 7900 XTX 31062
+492%

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

RX 7900 XTX 83322
+972%

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

RX 7900 XTX 148746
+501%

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.

HD 7970 6862

RX 7900 XTX 64680
+843%

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.

HD 7970 43795

RX 7900 XTX 211480
+383%

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	105 −471%	600−650 +471%
Full HD	92 −177%	255 +177%
1440p	27−30 −541%	173 +541%
4K	16−18 −563%	106 +563%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	5.97	3.92
1440p	20.33	5.77
4K	34.31	9.42

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

21−24

−1052%

242
+1052%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 −435%	166 +435%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 −1186%	283 +1186%
Battlefield 5	40−45 −455%	240−250 +455%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 −344%	120−130 +344%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 −1000%	231 +1000%
Far Cry 5	30−35 −269%	110−120 +269%
Far Cry New Dawn	35−40 −443%	200−210 +443%
Forza Horizon 4	85−90 −182%	250−260 +182%
Hitman 3	24−27 −396%	120−130 +396%
Horizon Zero Dawn	70−75 −307%	280−290 +307%
Metro Exodus	45−50 −237%	150−160 +237%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 −226%	120−130 +226%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 −695%	350−400 +695%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −108%	150−160 +108%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 −965%	330 +965%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 −995%	241 +995%
Battlefield 5	40−45 −455%	240−250 +455%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 −344%	120−130 +344%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 −890%	208 +890%
Far Cry 5	30−35 −269%	110−120 +269%
Far Cry New Dawn	35−40 −443%	200−210 +443%
Forza Horizon 4	85−90 −182%	250−260 +182%
Hitman 3	24−27 −396%	120−130 +396%
Horizon Zero Dawn	70−75 −307%	280−290 +307%
Metro Exodus	45−50 −237%	150−160 +237%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 −226%	120−130 +226%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 −1116%	535 +1116%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 −436%	170−180 +436%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −108%	150−160 +108%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 −332%	134 +332%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 −855%	210 +855%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 −344%	120−130 +344%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 −848%	199 +848%
Far Cry 5	30−35 −269%	110−120 +269%
Forza Horizon 4	85−90 −231%	295 +231%
Hitman 3	24−27 −396%	120−130 +396%
Horizon Zero Dawn	70−75 −480%	406 +480%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 −970%	471 +970%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 −803%	298 +803%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −114%	158 +114%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

35−40

−226%

120−130
+226%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 −538%	160−170 +538%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 −433%	110−120 +433%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 −843%	132 +843%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−11 −1610%	171 +1610%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 −486%	80−85 +486%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 −1914%	141 +1914%
Far Cry 5	16−18 −425%	80−85 +425%
Forza Horizon 4	65−70 −293%	270−280 +293%
Hitman 3	16−18 −638%	110−120 +638%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 −1071%	328 +1071%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −535%	146 +535%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	21−24 −1465%	360 +1465%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 −1600%	238 +1600%
Watch Dogs: Legion	80−85 −186%	240−250 +186%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

21−24

−464%

120−130
+464%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 −577%	85−90 +577%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−11 −590%	65−70 +590%
Hitman 3	9−10 −711%	70−75 +711%
Horizon Zero Dawn	65−70 −242%	220−230 +242%
Metro Exodus	12−14 −946%	130−140 +946%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 −1417%	182 +1417%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	8−9 −1275%	110 +1275%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	6−7 −1683%	107 +1683%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	7−8 −643%	50−55 +643%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −3450%	71 +3450%
Far Cry 5	7−8 −614%	50−55 +614%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 −1161%	227 +1161%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	12−14 −1542%	197 +1542%
Watch Dogs: Legion	5−6 −1960%	103 +1960%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

12−14

−692%

95−100
+692%

This is how HD 7970 and RX 7900 XTX compete in popular games:

RX 7900 XTX is 471% faster in 900p
RX 7900 XTX is 177% faster in 1080p
RX 7900 XTX is 541% faster in 1440p
RX 7900 XTX is 563% 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 RX 7900 XTX is 3450% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, RX 7900 XTX surpassed HD 7970 in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	13.60	80.52
Recency	22 December 2011	3 November 2022
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	24 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	5 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	300 Watt	355 Watt

HD 7970 has 18.3% lower power consumption.

RX 7900 XTX, on the other hand, has a 492.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 460% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 7900 XTX is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970 in performance tests.

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