GeForce 9800M GTX SLI vs Radeon HD 7970

In this comparison between GeForce 9800M GTX SLI and Radeon HD 7970 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce 9800M GTX SLI will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 7970 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

GeForce 9800M GTX SLI is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce 9800M GTX 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 9800M GTX SLI here:

Main Specs

  GeForce 9800M GTX SLI Radeon HD 7970
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 300 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 3 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 7970 has 100% more power consumption, than GeForce 9800M GTX SLI.
  • Radeon HD 7970 has 2 GB more memory, than GeForce 9800M GTX SLI.
  • GeForce 9800M GTX SLI is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 7970 - in Desktops.
  • GeForce 9800M GTX SLI is build with G9x architecture, and Radeon HD 7970 - with GCN.
  • GeForce 9800M GTX SLI is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7970 - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7970 is 575 MHz higher, than GeForce 9800M GTX SLI.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 10−11 35−40
ultra / 1080p 6−7 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 21−24 60−65
medium / 1080p 12−14 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 215% more, than GeForce 9800M GTX SLI.

Full Specs

  GeForce 9800M GTX SLI Radeon HD 7970
Architecture G9x GCN
Code name NB9E-GTX Tahiti XT
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 15 July 2008 22 December 2011
Pipelines 224 2048
Core clock speed 500 MHz
Boost Clock 925 MHz
Transistor count 3016 Million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 118.4
Floating-point performance 3,789 gflops
Length 274 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 384 Bit
Memory clock speed 800 MHz 1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth 264 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX DirectX 10, Shader 4.0
Shader Model 5.1
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 1.2
CUDA +
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 2.1 x16
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 485 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
Design reference
CrossFire +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 20.71 Mh/s
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