GeForce GTX 860M SLI vs Radeon HD 8970M

When choosing between GeForce GTX 860M SLI 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 GeForce GTX 860M SLI and Radeon HD 8970M.

GeForce GTX 860M SLI and Radeon HD 8970M are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 860M SLI and Radeon HD 8970M are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 GTX 860M SLI or Radeon HD 8970M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 860M SLI Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2x 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI has 20% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • Radeon HD 8970M has 2 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 860M SLI.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon HD 8970M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 860M SLI is 179 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • GeForce GTX 860M SLI and Radeon HD 8970M are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 860M SLI is 200 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 21−24 20−22
ultra / 1080p 14−16 12−14
QHD / 1440p 8−9 6−7
4K / 2160p 5−6 5−6
low / 720p 40−45 35−40
medium / 1080p 27−30 24−27
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 860M SLI in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 11% more, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 860M SLI Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture Maxwell GCN
Code name Neptune
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 12 March 2014 15 May 2013
Pipelines 1280 1280
Core clock speed 1029 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 2x 1870 Million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 72.00
Floating-point performance 2,304 gflops
Memory bus width 2x 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 5000 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX DirectX 12 (FL 11_0), Shader 5.0 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
CUDA +
SLI options +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large large
Optimus +
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