Radeon HD 6970 vs Radeon HD 8790M

When comparing Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 8790M, 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 8790M is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Radeon HD 8790M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 8790M 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 8790M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 6970 Radeon HD 8790M
Power consumption (TDP) 550 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 MXM-A (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin None
Memory type DDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 6970 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 8790M uses MXM-A (3.0) interface.
  • Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 8790M have maximum RAM of 2 GB.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 8790M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 8790M - with GCN.
  • Radeon HD 6970 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 8790M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8790M is 3125 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6970.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 14−16 3−4
ultra / 1080p 9−10 1−2
QHD / 1440p 3−4 0−1
low / 720p 30−35 14−16
medium / 1080p 18−20 6−7
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6970 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 216% more, than Radeon HD 8790M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6970 Radeon HD 8790M
Architecture Terascale 2 GCN
Code name Cayman Mars XTX
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 14 December 2010 16 November 2012
Pipelines 1536 384
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 880 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 2,640 million 950 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 84.48 21.60
Floating-point performance 2,703.4 gflops 691.2 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 1375 MHz 4500 MHz
Memory bandwidth 64 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.0 5.1
OpenGL 4.4 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
Bus support PCIe 2.0 x16
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 273 Mh/s 80 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized
Eyefinity +
Design reference
CrossFire +
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