GeForce GTX 980 vs Radeon HD 7970M

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon HD 7970M. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon HD 7970M. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

Radeon HD 7970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 7970M 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 7970M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 980 Radeon HD 7970M
Power consumption (TDP) 165 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pins None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort No outputs
Recommended system power (PSU) 500 Watt
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  • GeForce GTX 980 has 65% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7970M.
  • GeForce GTX 980 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7970M uses MXM-B (3.0) interface.
  • GeForce GTX 980 has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7970M.
  • GeForce GTX 980 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7970M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 980 is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon HD 7970M - with GCN.
  • GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon HD 7970M are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7970M is 4793 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 55−60 18−20
ultra / 1080p 35−40 10−12
QHD / 1440p 30−35 5−6
4K / 2160p 18−20 4−5
low / 720p 80−85 35−40
medium / 1080p 65−70 21−24
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 206% more, than Radeon HD 7970M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 980 Radeon HD 7970M
Architecture Maxwell GCN
Code name GM204 Wimbledon XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 19 September 2014 1 May 2012
Pipelines 2048 1280
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 1216 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 144 billion/sec 68.00
Floating-point performance 4,981 gflops 2,176 gflops
Length 10.5" (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 7.0 GB/s 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 224 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.5 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.126 1.2.131
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.54 kh/s
CUDA cores 2048
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
Height 4.376" (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support 4 displays
HDMI +
HDCP +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 579 Mh/s 254 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.74 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 20.28 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 312.12 Sol/s
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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