Radeon HD 6970 vs R9 295X2

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 295X2 and Radeon HD 6970, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 295X2
2014
8 GB GDDR5, 500 Watt
22.37
+203%

R9 295X2 outperforms HD 6970 by a whopping 203% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking259548
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.431.07
Power efficiency3.072.02
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)TeraScale 3 (2010−2013)
GPU code nameVesuviusCayman
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferencereference
Release date29 April 2014 (10 years ago)14 December 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$1,499 $369

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

R9 295X2 has 127% better value for money than HD 6970.

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 cores2816 ×21536
Boost clock speed1018 MHz880 MHz
Number of transistors6,200 million2,640 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)500 Watt550 Watt
Texture fill rate179.2 ×284.48
Floating-point processing power5.733 TFLOPS ×22.703 TFLOPS
ROPs64 ×232
TMUs176 ×296

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 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
Length307 mm267 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2 x 8-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount8 GB ×22 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit ×2256 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth640 GB/s ×2no data

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, 4x mini-DisplayPort2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity++
HDMI++

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire++
FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
LiquidVR+-
TressFX+-
UVD+-
DDMA audio+no data

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 12DirectX® 11
Shader Model6.35.0
OpenGL4.64.4
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan+-

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.

R9 295X2 22.37
+203%
HD 6970 7.38

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.

R9 295X2 8598
+203%
HD 6970 2835

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.

R9 295X2 21197
+511%
HD 6970 3470

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Battlefield 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Fortnite 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Valorant 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Battlefield 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Dota 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Fortnite 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Valorant 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Dota 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Valorant 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Valorant 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Far Cry 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Valorant 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Dota 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 67 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 22.37 7.38
Recency 29 April 2014 14 December 2010
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 500 Watt 550 Watt

R9 295X2 has a 203.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 10% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 295X2 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6970 in performance tests.

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AMD Radeon R9 295X2
Radeon R9 295X2
AMD Radeon HD 6970
Radeon HD 6970

Other comparisons

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.


3.8 96 votes

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3.7 158 votes

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