Radeon R9 M395X vs HD 8970M Crossfire

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire and Radeon R9 M395X, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 8970M Crossfire
2012
200 Watt
18.72
+39.1%

HD 8970M Crossfire outperforms R9 M395X by a substantial 39% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking292380
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency6.5212.51
ArchitectureGCN (2012−2015)GCN 3.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code nameNeptune CFAmethyst
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date1 May 2012 (12 years ago)5 May 2015 (9 years ago)

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 cores25602048
Core clock speed850 MHz723 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHzno data
Number of transistorsno data5,000 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)200 Watt250 Watt
Texture fill rateno data92.54
Floating-point processing powerno data2.961 TFLOPS
ROPsno data32
TMUsno 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).

Laptop sizelargelarge
Bus supportno dataPCIe 3.0
Interfaceno dataPCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectorsno dataNone

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 amountno data4 GB
Memory bus width2x 256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed4800 MHz1250 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data160.0 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 Connectorsno dataNo outputs
Eyefinity-+

Supported technologies

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

FreeSync-+
HD3D-+
PowerTune-+
DualGraphics-+
TrueAudio-+
ZeroCore-+
Switchable graphics-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX11.1DirectX® 12
Shader Modelno data6.3
OpenGLno data4.4
OpenCLno dataNot Listed
Mantle-+

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 8970M Crossfire 18.72
+39.1%
R9 M395X 13.46

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 8970M Crossfire 10354
+30.7%
R9 M395X 7921

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 HD68
+51.1%
45−50
−51.1%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+42.9%
21−24
−42.9%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+38.7%
30−35
−38.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+52.4%
21−24
−52.4%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+46.5%
40−45
−46.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+44.4%
27−30
−44.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+42.9%
21−24
−42.9%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+45.2%
30−35
−45.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+37.8%
35−40
−37.8%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+35.2%
85−90
−35.2%
Hitman 3 35−40
+48%
24−27
−48%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+32.9%
70−75
−32.9%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+46.7%
45−50
−46.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+37.8%
35−40
−37.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+43.2%
40−45
−43.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 85−90
+20.3%
70−75
−20.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+38.7%
30−35
−38.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+52.4%
21−24
−52.4%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+46.5%
40−45
−46.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+44.4%
27−30
−44.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+42.9%
21−24
−42.9%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+45.2%
30−35
−45.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
+37.8%
35−40
−37.8%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+35.2%
85−90
−35.2%
Hitman 3 35−40
+48%
24−27
−48%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+32.9%
70−75
−32.9%
Metro Exodus 65−70
+46.7%
45−50
−46.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+37.8%
35−40
−37.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+43.2%
40−45
−43.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+30.3%
30−35
−30.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 85−90
+20.3%
70−75
−20.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 40−45
+38.7%
30−35
−38.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
+52.4%
21−24
−52.4%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 35−40
+44.4%
27−30
−44.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
+42.9%
21−24
−42.9%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+45.2%
30−35
−45.2%
Forza Horizon 4 110−120
+35.2%
85−90
−35.2%
Hitman 3 35−40
+48%
24−27
−48%
Horizon Zero Dawn 90−95
+32.9%
70−75
−32.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 60−65
+43.2%
40−45
−43.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+30.3%
30−35
−30.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 85−90
+20.3%
70−75
−20.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+37.8%
35−40
−37.8%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+42.3%
24−27
−42.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
+38.1%
21−24
−38.1%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 18−20
+46.2%
12−14
−46.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
+70%
10−11
−70%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
+50%
14−16
−50%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+37.5%
16−18
−37.5%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+54.4%
65−70
−54.4%
Hitman 3 21−24
+37.5%
16−18
−37.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn 35−40
+44.4%
27−30
−44.4%
Metro Exodus 35−40
+52.2%
21−24
−52.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 35−40
+65.2%
21−24
−65.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
+57.1%
14−16
−57.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 110−120
+35.7%
80−85
−35.7%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+45.5%
21−24
−45.5%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+46.2%
12−14
−46.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 14−16
+40%
10−11
−40%
Hitman 3 14−16
+55.6%
9−10
−55.6%
Horizon Zero Dawn 95−100
+50.8%
65−70
−50.8%
Metro Exodus 20−22
+53.8%
12−14
−53.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+58.3%
12−14
−58.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−11
+66.7%
6−7
−66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Far Cry 5 10−11
+42.9%
7−8
−42.9%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+44.4%
18−20
−44.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+75%
12−14
−75%
Watch Dogs: Legion 8−9
+60%
5−6
−60%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%

This is how HD 8970M Crossfire and R9 M395X compete in popular games:

  • HD 8970M Crossfire is 51% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 8970M Crossfire is 100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, HD 8970M Crossfire surpassed R9 M395X in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 18.72 13.46
Recency 1 May 2012 5 May 2015
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 250 Watt

HD 8970M Crossfire has a 39.1% higher aggregate performance score, and 25% lower power consumption.

R9 M395X, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 years.

The Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 M395X 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

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire
Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire
AMD Radeon R9 M395X
Radeon R9 M395X

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.


4.8 4 votes

Rate Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.3 15 votes

Rate Radeon R9 M395X on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

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