Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon HD 7970
In this comparison between Radeon HD 6870 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 Radeon HD 6870 will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 7970 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.
Main Specs
Radeon HD 6870
Radeon HD 7970
Power consumption (TDP)
151 Watt
300 Watt
Interface
PCIe 2.0 x16
PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors
2x 6-pin
1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount
1 GB
3 GB
Display Connectors
2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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Radeon HD 7970 has 98% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 6870.
Radeon HD 6870 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7970 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon HD 7970 has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6870.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
Radeon HD 6870 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 7970 - with GCN.
Radeon HD 6870 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7970 - by 28 nm process technology.
Radeon HD 7970 is 54 mm longer, than Radeon HD 6870.
Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7970 is 325 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6870.
Game benchmarks
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Battlefield 5
Call of Duty: Warzone
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Cyberpunk 2077
Dota 2
Far Cry 5
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4
Grand Theft Auto V
Metro Exodus
Minecraft
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
World of Tanks
high / 1080p
10−12
35−40
ultra / 1080p
6−7
21−24
QHD / 1440p
1−2
16−18
4K / 2160p
−
10−11
low / 720p
24−27
60−65
medium / 1080p
12−14
40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 227% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
18−20
55−60
ultra / 1080p
14−16
45−50
QHD / 1440p
1−2
35−40
4K / 2160p
−
18−20
low / 720p
35−40
100−110
medium / 1080p
20−22
60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Battlefield 5 is 244% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
45−50
50−55
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
180−190
250−260
medium / 768p
140−150
220−230
ultra / 1080p
75−80
180−190
QHD / 1440p
40−45
110−120
4K / 2160p
30−33
70−75
high / 768p
110−120
210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 78% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
55−60
60−65
ultra / 1080p
30−33
−
medium / 1080p
45−50
55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 15% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
95−100
120−130
medium / 768p
75−80
110−120
ultra / 1080p
50−55
100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Dota 2 is 53% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
12−14
45−50
ultra / 1080p
12−14
40−45
QHD / 1440p
−
27−30
4K / 2160p
5−6
14−16
low / 720p
27−30
80−85
medium / 1080p
14−16
45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Far Cry 5 is 213% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
20−22
60−65
ultra / 1080p
14−16
45−50
QHD / 1440p
−
27−30
4K / 2160p
−
27−30
low / 720p
80−85
180−190
medium / 1080p
35−40
110−120
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Fortnite is 161% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
18−20
60−65
ultra / 1080p
14−16
45−50
QHD / 1440p
5−6
30−35
4K / 2160p
−
24−27
low / 720p
40−45
100−110
medium / 1080p
21−24
65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Forza Horizon 4 is 215% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
70−75
140−150
medium / 768p
60−65
120−130
high / 1080p
21−24
70−75
ultra / 1080p
9−10
30−35
QHD / 1440p
0−1
21−24
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Grand Theft Auto V is 126% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
7−8
24−27
ultra / 1080p
5−6
20−22
QHD / 1440p
−
16−18
4K / 2160p
1−2
8−9
low / 720p
21−24
65−70
medium / 1080p
9−10
30−35
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Metro Exodus is 244% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
100−110
130−140
ultra / 1080p
90−95
−
medium / 1080p
100−105
120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Minecraft is 26% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
18−20
−
ultra / 1080p
16−18
14−16
low / 720p
45−50
100−110
medium / 1080p
21−24
18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 58% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p
12−14
24−27
ultra / 1080p
8−9
16−18
QHD / 1440p
0−1
10−11
4K / 2160p
−
7−8
low / 720p
20−22
65−70
medium / 1080p
12−14
35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 176% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
40−45
130−140
medium / 768p
24−27
85−90
high / 1080p
14−16
45−50
ultra / 1080p
8−9
24−27
4K / 2160p
7−8
16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 226% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
95−100
90−95
medium / 768p
55−60
60−65
ultra / 1080p
27−30
50−55
high / 768p
45−50
60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in World of Tanks is 17% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
Full Specs
Radeon HD 6870
Radeon HD 7970
Architecture
Terascale 2
GCN
Code name
RV940 Barts
Tahiti XT
Type
Desktop
Desktop
Release date
22 October 2010
22 December 2011
Pipelines
1120
2048
Boost Clock
900 MHz
925 MHz
Transistor count
1,700 million
4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology
40 nm
28 nm
Texture fill rate
50.40
118.4
Floating-point performance
2,016.0 gflops
3,789 gflops
Length
220 mm
274 mm
Memory bus width
256 Bit
384 Bit
Memory clock speed
1050 MHz
1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth
134.4 GB/s
264 GB/s
Shared memory
-
-
Shader Model
5.0
5.1
OpenGL
4.4
4.6
OpenCL
1.2
1.2
FreeSync
+
Bus support
PCIe 2.0 x16
PCIe 2.1 x16
HDMI
+
+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)
213 Mh/s
485 Mh/s
Eyefinity
+
+
Design
reference
reference
CrossFire
+
+
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)
20.71 Mh/s
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