Radeon HD 8970M vs Radeon R9 M390X

When choosing between Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 M390X, 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 8970M and Radeon R9 M390X.

Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 M390X are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 M390X 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 8970M or Radeon R9 M390X here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 8970M Radeon R9 M390X
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • Both graphics cards have the same power consumption of 100 Watt.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 M390X have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 8970M is build with GCN architecture, and Radeon R9 M390X - with GCN 3.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 127 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M390X.
  • Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 M390X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 20−22 21−24
ultra / 1080p 12−14 12−14
QHD / 1440p 6−7 8−9
4K / 2160p 5−6 5−6
low / 720p 35−40 40−45
medium / 1080p 24−27 27−30
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M390X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 11% more, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8970M Radeon R9 M390X
Architecture GCN GCN 3
Code name Neptune Amethyst (XT) / Tonga
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 15 May 2013 9 June 2015
Pipelines 1280 2048
Core clock speed 850 MHz 723 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 2,800 million 5,000 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 72.00 92.54
Floating-point performance 2,304 gflops 2,961 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 153.6 GB/s 160.0 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 6.3
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan 1.2.131 +
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
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