Radeon HD 8970M vs Radeon Sky 500

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon Sky 500. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon Sky 500. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

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 8970M Radeon Sky 500
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 150 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon Sky 500 has 50% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon Sky 500 have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • Radeon HD 8970M is used in Laptops, and Radeon Sky 500 - in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 8970M is build with GCN architecture, and Radeon Sky 500 - with GCN 1.0.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon Sky 500 is 100 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8970M.
  • Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon Sky 500 are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon Sky 500 is 4800 MHz.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 20−22 35−40
ultra / 1080p 12−14 21−24
QHD / 1440p 6−7 16−18
4K / 2160p 5−6 10−11
low / 720p 35−40 60−65
medium / 1080p 24−27 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon Sky 500 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 77% more, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8970M Radeon Sky 500
Architecture GCN GCN 1.0
Code name Neptune Pitcairn
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 15 May 2013 27 March 2013
Pipelines 1280 1280
Core clock speed 850 MHz 950 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 2,800 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 72.00 76.00
Floating-point performance 2,304 gflops 2,432 gflops
Length 242 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 153.6 GB/s 154 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
Bus support PCIe 3.0
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Form factor full height / full length
DisplayPort count 1
Dual-link DVI support +
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