Radeon HD 7970 vs Radeon HD 8970M

When choosing between Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 8970M, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 8970M.

Radeon HD 8970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 8970M 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 8970M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 7970 Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP) 300 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 7970 has 200% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon HD 8970M has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7970.
  • Radeon HD 7970 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 8970M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 8970M are build with GCN architecture.
  • Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 8970M are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 3425 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7970.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 20−22
ultra / 1080p 21−24 12−14
QHD / 1440p 16−18 6−7
4K / 2160p 10−11 5−6
low / 720p 60−65 35−40
medium / 1080p 40−45 24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 77% more, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 7970 Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture GCN GCN
Code name Tahiti XT Neptune
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 22 December 2011 15 May 2013
Pipelines 2048 1280
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 925 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 4,313 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 118.4 72.00
Floating-point performance 3,789 gflops 2,304 gflops
Length 274 mm
Memory bus width 384 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 1375 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 264 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 2.1 x16
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 485 Mh/s 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
Design reference
CrossFire +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 20.71 Mh/s
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