GeForce GTX 480 vs Radeon HD 8970M

When choosing between GeForce GTX 480 and Radeon HD 8970M, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between GeForce GTX 480 and Radeon HD 8970M.

Radeon HD 8970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 8970M is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon HD 8970M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 480 Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 6-pin & 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1536 MB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 480 has 150% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 8970M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 480 has 1532 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 8970M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is build with Fermi architecture, and Radeon HD 8970M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 150 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 8970M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 2952 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 21−24 20−22
ultra / 1080p 12−14 12−14
QHD / 1440p 6−7 6−7
4K / 2160p 5−6 5−6
low / 720p 40−45 35−40
medium / 1080p 24−27 24−27
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 480 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 5% more, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 480 Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture Fermi GCN
Code name GF100 Neptune
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 7 December 2010 15 May 2013
Pipelines 480 1280
Core clock speed 700 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 3,100 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 42 billion/sec 72.00
Floating-point performance 1,345.0 gflops 2,304 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 384 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 1848 MHz (3696 data rate) 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 177.4 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_0) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.2 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
CUDA +
CUDA cores 480
Bus support 16x PCI-E 2.0
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support +
HDMI +
HDCP +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 117 Mh/s 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large
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