Radeon HD 8790M vs Radeon HD 8970M

When choosing between Radeon HD 8790M 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 8790M and Radeon HD 8970M.

Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon HD 8970M are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: Radeon HD 8790M 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 Radeon HD 8790M or Radeon HD 8970M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 8790M Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt
Interface MXM-A (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 8790M is connected by MXM-A (3.0), and Radeon HD 8970M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon HD 8970M has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 8790M.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon HD 8970M are build with GCN architecture.
  • Both graphics cards have the same core clock speed.
  • Radeon HD 8790M and Radeon HD 8970M are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 300 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8790M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 20−22
ultra / 1080p 1−2 12−14
QHD / 1440p 0−1 6−7
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 14−16 35−40
medium / 1080p 6−7 24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 300% more, than Radeon HD 8790M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8790M Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture GCN GCN
Code name Mars XTX Neptune
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 16 November 2012 15 May 2013
Pipelines 384 1280
Core clock speed 850 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz 900 MHz
Transistor count 950 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 21.60 72.00
Floating-point performance 691.2 gflops 2,304 gflops
Memory bus width 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4500 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 64 GB/s 153.6 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_1) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131 1.2.131
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 80 Mh/s 273 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized large
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