GeForce GTX 860M SLI vs Radeon HD 5970

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 860M SLI and Radeon HD 5970. 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 860M SLI and Radeon HD 5970. 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.

GeForce GTX 860M SLI is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 860M SLI 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 GeForce GTX 860M SLI here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 860M SLI Radeon HD 5970
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 294 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2x 4 GB 1 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 5970 has 145% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 860M SLI.
  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 5970.
  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 5970 - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon HD 5970 - with TeraScale 2.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 860M SLI is 304 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 5970.
  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 5970 - by 40 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 860M SLI is 1000 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 5970.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 21−24 10−12
ultra / 1080p 14−16 6−7
QHD / 1440p 8−9 1−2
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 40−45 24−27
medium / 1080p 27−30 14−16
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 860M SLI in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 109% more, than Radeon HD 5970.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 860M SLI Radeon HD 5970
Architecture Maxwell TeraScale 2
Code name Hemlock
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 12 March 2014 18 November 2009
Pipelines 1280 1600
Core clock speed 1029 MHz 725 MHz
Transistor count 2x 1870 Million 2,154 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 40 nm
Texture fill rate 58.00
Floating-point performance 2x 2,320.0 gflops
Length 305 mm
Memory bus width 2x 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 5000 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 128.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX DirectX 12 (FL 11_0), Shader 5.0 11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model 5.0
OpenGL 4.4
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan N/A
CUDA +
SLI options +
Laptop size large
Optimus +
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