Radeon HD 6990 vs Radeon HD 7970M

When comparing Radeon HD 6990 and Radeon HD 7970M, 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 6990 and Radeon HD 7970M is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

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

  Radeon HD 6990 Radeon HD 7970M
Power consumption (TDP) 375 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors 2x 8-pin None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
  Check Price Check Price
  • Radeon HD 6990 has 275% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7970M.
  • Radeon HD 6990 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7970M uses MXM-B (3.0) interface.
  • Radeon HD 6990 and Radeon HD 7970M have maximum RAM of 2 GB.
  • Radeon HD 6990 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7970M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 6990 is build with TeraScale 3 architecture, and Radeon HD 7970M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7970M is 20 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6990.
  • Radeon HD 6990 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7970M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 6990 is 200 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7970M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 14−16 18−20
ultra / 1080p 9−10 10−12
QHD / 1440p 3−4 5−6
4K / 2160p 4−5
low / 720p 30−35 35−40
medium / 1080p 18−20 21−24
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 26% more, than Radeon HD 6990.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6990 Radeon HD 7970M
Architecture TeraScale 3 GCN
Code name Antilles Wimbledon XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 8 March 2011 1 May 2012
Pipelines 1536 1280
Core clock speed 830 MHz 850 MHz
Transistor count 2,640 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 79.68 68.00
Floating-point performance 2x 2,549.8 gflops 2,176 gflops
Length 295 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 5000 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 160.0 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.2 (11_0) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.0 5.1
OpenGL 4.4 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 265 Mh/s 254 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 24 Mh/s
  Check Price Check Price