Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire vs RX 5500 XT

Place in the ranking	233	334
Place by popularity	96	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	48.63	no data
Power efficiency	12.70	5.58
Architecture	RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020)	GCN (2012−2015)
GPU code name	Navi 14	Wimbledon XT
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	12 December 2019 (4 years ago)	1 May 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$169	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	1408	2560
Core clock speed	1607 MHz	850 MHz
Boost clock speed	1845 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	6,400 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	200 Watt
Texture fill rate	162.4	no data
Floating-point processing power	5.196 TFLOPS	no data
ROPs	32	no data
TMUs	88	no data

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	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x8	no data
Length	180 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-pin	no data

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	GDDR6	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	no data
Memory bus width	128 Bit	2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed	14000 MHz	4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224.0 GB/s	no data
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 HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	no data
HDMI	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	11.1
Shader Model	6.5	no data
OpenGL	4.6	no data
OpenCL	2.0	no data
Vulkan	1.2.131	-

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.

RX 5500 XT 23.68
+47.9%

HD 7970M Crossfire 16.01

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.

RX 5500 XT 19499
+75.4%

HD 7970M Crossfire 11119

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.

RX 5500 XT 68429
+120%

HD 7970M Crossfire 31127

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	190−200 +43.9%	132 −43.9%
Full HD	76 −32.9%	101 +32.9%
1440p	42 +55.6%	27−30 −55.6%
4K	24 +50%	16−18 −50%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.22	no data
1440p	4.02	no data
4K	7.04	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

78
+212%

24−27

−212%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	50−55 +44.4%	35−40 −44.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	72 +177%	24−27 −177%
Battlefield 5	75−80 +47.2%	50−55 −47.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45−50 +50%	30−35 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	61 +144%	24−27 −144%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +44.7%	35−40 −44.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	60−65 +40.9%	40−45 −40.9%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +35.9%	100−110 −35.9%
Hitman 3	64 +106%	30−35 −106%
Horizon Zero Dawn	110−120 +35.8%	80−85 −35.8%
Metro Exodus	132 +140%	55−60 −140%
Red Dead Redemption 2	108 +145%	40−45 −145%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	80−85 +50.9%	50−55 −50.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion	202 +149%	80−85 −149%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	66 +83.3%	35−40 −83.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	58 +123%	24−27 −123%
Battlefield 5	75−80 +47.2%	50−55 −47.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45−50 +50%	30−35 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	45 +80%	24−27 −80%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +44.7%	35−40 −44.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	60−65 +40.9%	40−45 −40.9%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +35.9%	100−110 −35.9%
Hitman 3	62 +100%	30−35 −100%
Horizon Zero Dawn	110−120 +35.8%	80−85 −35.8%
Metro Exodus	94 +70.9%	55−60 −70.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	60−65 +40.9%	40−45 −40.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	108 +104%	50−55 −104%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	50−55 +36.8%	35−40 −36.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	202 +149%	80−85 −149%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	50−55 +44.4%	35−40 −44.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	49 +88.5%	24−27 −88.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45−50 +50%	30−35 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	40 +60%	24−27 −60%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +44.7%	35−40 −44.7%
Forza Horizon 4	56 −83.9%	100−110 +83.9%
Hitman 3	55 +77.4%	30−35 −77.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	87 +7.4%	80−85 −7.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	95 +79.2%	50−55 −79.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	58 +52.6%	35−40 −52.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion	36 −125%	80−85 +125%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

76
+72.7%

40−45

−72.7%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +45.2%	30−35 −45.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	35−40 +44%	24−27 −44%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +56.3%	16−18 −56.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	37 +185%	12−14 −185%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 +58.8%	16−18 −58.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	20 +122%	9−10 −122%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +42.1%	18−20 −42.1%
Forza Horizon 4	130−140 +57%	85−90 −57%
Hitman 3	36 +89.5%	18−20 −89.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn	65 +97%	30−35 −97%
Metro Exodus	60 +107%	27−30 −107%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	66 +120%	30−33 −120%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 +70.6%	16−18 −70.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion	184 +87.8%	95−100 −87.8%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

49
+88.5%

24−27

−88.5%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	21−24 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Hitman 3	26 +117%	12−14 −117%
Horizon Zero Dawn	120−130 +50.6%	80−85 −50.6%
Metro Exodus	37 +131%	16−18 −131%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	31 +107%	14−16 −107%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +55.6%	9−10 −55.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	19 +138%	8−9 −138%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	12−14 +62.5%	8−9 −62.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	8 +167%	3−4 −167%
Far Cry 5	12−14 +44.4%	9−10 −44.4%
Forza Horizon 4	21 −4.8%	21−24 +4.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	38 +138%	16−18 −138%
Watch Dogs: Legion	14 +133%	6−7 −133%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24
+71.4%

14−16

−71.4%

This is how RX 5500 XT and HD 7970M Crossfire compete in popular games:

RX 5500 XT is 44% faster in 900p
HD 7970M Crossfire is 33% faster in 1080p
RX 5500 XT is 56% faster in 1440p
RX 5500 XT is 50% faster in 4K

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

in Cyberpunk 2077, with 1080p resolution and the Low Preset, the RX 5500 XT is 212% faster.
in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7970M Crossfire is 125% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 5500 XT is ahead in 69 tests (96%)
HD 7970M Crossfire is ahead in 3 tests (4%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	23.68	16.01
Recency	12 December 2019	1 May 2012
Chip lithography	7 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	200 Watt

RX 5500 XT has a 47.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 300% more advanced lithography process, and 53.8% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 5500 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 5500 XT is a desktop card while Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire is a notebook one.

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