Radeon HD 6970 vs Radeon HD 7970

When comparing Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 7970, 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 6970 and Radeon HD 7970 is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 6970 Radeon HD 7970
Power consumption (TDP) 550 Watt 300 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type DDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 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 6970 has 83% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7970.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7970 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon HD 7970 has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6970.
  • Both cards are used in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 7970 - with GCN.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7970 - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Radeon HD 7970 is 7 mm longer, than Radeon HD 6970.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 7970 is 1375 MHz.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 14−16 35−40
ultra / 1080p 9−10 21−24
QHD / 1440p 3−4 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 30−35 60−65
medium / 1080p 18−20 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 140% more, than Radeon HD 6970.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6970 Radeon HD 7970
Architecture Terascale 2 GCN
Code name Cayman Tahiti XT
Type Desktop Desktop
Release date 14 December 2010 22 December 2011
Pipelines 1536 2048
Boost Clock 880 MHz 925 MHz
Transistor count 2,640 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 84.48 118.4
Floating-point performance 2,703.4 gflops 3,789 gflops
Length 267 mm 274 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 384 Bit
Memory clock speed 1375 MHz 1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth 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) 273 Mh/s 485 Mh/s
Eyefinity + +
Design reference reference
CrossFire + +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 20.71 Mh/s
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