Radeon RX 7900M vs HD 8970M Crossfire
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire and Radeon RX 7900M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
7900M outperforms HD 8970M Crossfire by a whopping 210% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 353 | 64 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Power efficiency | 6.56 | 22.62 |
| Architecture | GCN (2012−2015) | RDNA 3.0 (2022−2026) |
| GPU code name | Neptune CF | Navi 31 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Release date | 1 May 2012 (13 years ago) | 19 October 2023 (2 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 cores | 2560 | 4608 |
| Core clock speed | 850 MHz | 1825 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 900 MHz | 2090 MHz |
| Number of transistors | no data | 57,700 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 200 Watt | 180 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 601.9 |
| Floating-point processing power | no data | 38.52 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | no data | 192 |
| TMUs | no data | 288 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 72 |
| L0 Cache | no data | 2.3 MB |
| L1 Cache | no data | 3 MB |
| L2 Cache | no data | 6 MB |
| L3 Cache | no data | 64 MB |
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 size | large | large |
| Interface | no data | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | None |
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 | no data | 16 GB |
| Memory bus width | 2x 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 4800 MHz | 2250 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 576.0 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
| Resizable BAR | - | + |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | no data | Portable Device Dependent |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | no data | 6.8 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | no data | 2.2 |
| Vulkan | - | 1.3 |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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.
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.
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 HD | 69
−114%
| 148
+114%
|
| 1440p | 30−35
−257%
| 107
+257%
|
| 4K | 21−24
−248%
| 73
+248%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Counter-Strike 2 | 95−100
−181%
|
270−280
+181%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 35−40
−251%
|
130−140
+251%
|
| Resident Evil 4 Remake | 35−40
−311%
|
150−160
+311%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Battlefield 5 | 70−75
−116%
|
150−160
+116%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 95−100
−181%
|
270−280
+181%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 35−40
−251%
|
130−140
+251%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 55−60
−189%
|
160−170
+189%
|
| Fortnite | 90−95
−150%
|
230−240
+150%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 70−75
−190%
|
200−210
+190%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 50−55
−204%
|
160−170
+204%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 65−70
−168%
|
170−180
+168%
|
| Valorant | 130−140
−117%
|
290−300
+117%
|
Full HD
High
| Battlefield 5 | 70−75
−116%
|
150−160
+116%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 95−100
−181%
|
270−280
+181%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 128
−118%
|
270−280
+118%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 35−40
−251%
|
130−140
+251%
|
| Dota 2 | 100−110
−191%
|
300−310
+191%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 55−60
−189%
|
160−170
+189%
|
| Fortnite | 90−95
−150%
|
230−240
+150%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 70−75
−190%
|
200−210
+190%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 50−55
−204%
|
160−170
+204%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 65−70
−114%
|
139
+114%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
−259%
|
130−140
+259%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 65−70
−168%
|
170−180
+168%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 45−50
−346%
|
210−220
+346%
|
| Valorant | 130−140
−117%
|
290−300
+117%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 70−75
−116%
|
150−160
+116%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 35−40
−265%
|
135
+265%
|
| Dota 2 | 100−110
−191%
|
300−310
+191%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 55−60
−125%
|
128
+125%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 70−75
−190%
|
200−210
+190%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 65−70
−168%
|
170−180
+168%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 45−50
−250%
|
168
+250%
|
| Valorant | 130−140
−117%
|
290−300
+117%
|
Full HD
Epic
| Fortnite | 90−95
−150%
|
230−240
+150%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 30−35
−347%
|
150−160
+347%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 120−130
−207%
|
350−400
+207%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 27−30
−266%
|
106
+266%
|
| Metro Exodus | 21−24
−282%
|
80−85
+282%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 160−170
−6.1%
|
170−180
+6.1%
|
| Valorant | 160−170
−98.2%
|
300−350
+98.2%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
−165%
|
130−140
+165%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
−481%
|
93
+481%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
−224%
|
123
+224%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
−291%
|
160−170
+291%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 24−27
−346%
|
110−120
+346%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 40−45
−273%
|
140−150
+273%
|
4K
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 14−16
−353%
|
65−70
+353%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 30−35
−356%
|
146
+356%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
−279%
|
50−55
+279%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 24−27
−364%
|
116
+364%
|
| Valorant | 95−100
−212%
|
300−350
+212%
|
4K
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 24−27
−246%
|
90−95
+246%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 14−16
−353%
|
65−70
+353%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
−529%
|
44
+529%
|
| Dota 2 | 60−65
−195%
|
180−190
+195%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 18−20
−442%
|
103
+442%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−33
−297%
|
110−120
+297%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 16−18
−441%
|
90−95
+441%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 18−20
−333%
|
75−80
+333%
|
This is how HD 8970M Crossfire and RX 7900M compete in popular games:
- RX 7900M is 114% faster in 1080p
- RX 7900M is 257% faster in 1440p
- RX 7900M is 248% 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 7900M is 529% faster.
All in all, in popular games:
- Without exception, RX 7900M surpassed HD 8970M Crossfire in all 57 of our tests.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 17.04 | 52.87 |
| Recency | 1 May 2012 | 19 October 2023 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 200 Watt | 180 Watt |
RX 7900M has a 210% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, a 460% more advanced lithography process, and 11% lower power consumption.
The Radeon RX 7900M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
