Radeon HD 4850 vs Radeon HD 5970

When comparing Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 5970, we look primarily at benchmarks and game tests. But it is not only about the numbers. Often you can find third-party models with higher clock speeds, better cooling, or a customizable RGB lighting. Not all of them will have all the features you need. Another thing to consider is the port selection. Most graphics cards have at least one DisplayPort and HDMI interface, but some monitors require DVI. Before you buy, check the TDP of the graphics card - this characteristic will help you estimate the consumption of the graphics card. You may even have to upgrade your PSU to meet its requirements. An important factor when choosing between Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 5970 is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 4850 Radeon HD 5970
Power consumption (TDP) 110 Watt 294 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 2.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 512 MB 1 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video 2x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 5970 has 167% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 4850.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 2.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon HD 4850 has 511 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 5970.
  • Both cards are used in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 4850 is build with Terascale 1 architecture, and Radeon HD 5970 - with TeraScale 2.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 5970 is 100 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 4850.
  • Radeon HD 4850 is manufactured by 55 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 5970 - by 40 nm process technology.
  • Radeon HD 5970 is 59 mm longer, than Radeon HD 4850.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 5970 is 3007 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 4850.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 1−2 10−12
ultra / 1080p 0−1 6−7
QHD / 1440p 0−1 1−2
low / 720p 12−14 24−27
medium / 1080p 3−4 14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 5970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 183% more, than Radeon HD 4850.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 4850 Radeon HD 5970
Architecture Terascale 1 TeraScale 2
Code name RV770 Hemlock
Type Desktop Desktop
Release date 25 June 2008 18 November 2009
Pipelines 800 1600
Core clock speed 625 MHz 725 MHz
Transistor count 956 million 2,154 million
Manufacturing process technology 55 nm 40 nm
Texture fill rate 25.00 58.00
Floating-point performance 1,000.0 gflops 2x 2,320.0 gflops
Length 246 mm 305 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 993 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 63.55 GB/s 128.0 GB/s
DirectX 10.1 (10_1) 11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model 4.1 5.0
OpenGL 3.3 4.4
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A N/A
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