Radeon HD 5970 vs Radeon R9 280

In this comparison between Radeon HD 5970 and Radeon R9 280 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people Radeon HD 5970 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 280 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon HD 5970

Radeon R9 280 Check Price

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R9 280
Power consumption (TDP)	294 Watt	200 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	3 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x mini-DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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Radeon HD 5970 has 47% more power consumption, than Radeon R9 280.
Radeon HD 5970 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 280 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon R9 280 has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 5970.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
Radeon HD 5970 is build with TeraScale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 280 - with GCN 1.0.
Radeon HD 5970 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 280 - by 28 nm process technology.
Radeon HD 5970 is 30 mm longer, than Radeon R9 280.
Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 5970 is 2750 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 280.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	10−12	35−40
ultra / 1080p	6−7	21−24
QHD / 1440p	1−2	16−18
4K / 2160p	−	10−11
low / 720p	24−27	60−65
medium / 1080p	14−16	40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 227% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	18−20	55−60
ultra / 1080p	16−18	45−50
QHD / 1440p	1−2	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	18−20
low / 720p	35−40	100−110
medium / 1080p	20−22	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Battlefield 5 is 226% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	180−190	250−260
medium / 768p	150−160	220−230
ultra / 1080p	75−80	180−190
QHD / 1440p	45−50	110−120
4K / 2160p	30−33	70−75
high / 768p	110−120	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 75% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	30−33	−
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 15% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	95−100	120−130
medium / 768p	80−85	110−120
ultra / 1080p	50−55	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Dota 2 is 49% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	12−14	45−50
ultra / 1080p	12−14	40−45
QHD / 1440p	−	27−30
4K / 2160p	5−6	14−16
low / 720p	30−33	80−85
medium / 1080p	14−16	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Far Cry 5 is 213% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	20−22	60−65
ultra / 1080p	14−16	45−50
QHD / 1440p	−	27−30
4K / 2160p	−	27−30
low / 720p	80−85	180−190
medium / 1080p	35−40	110−120
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Fortnite is 161% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	18−20	60−65
ultra / 1080p	16−18	45−50
QHD / 1440p	5−6	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	24−27
low / 720p	40−45	100−110
medium / 1080p	21−24	65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Forza Horizon 4 is 200% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	70−75	140−150
medium / 768p	60−65	120−130
high / 1080p	21−24	70−75
ultra / 1080p	9−10	30−35
QHD / 1440p	0−1	21−24
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Grand Theft Auto V is 126% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	7−8	24−27
ultra / 1080p	5−6	20−22
QHD / 1440p	−	16−18
4K / 2160p	1−2	8−9
low / 720p	21−24	65−70
medium / 1080p	10−11	30−35
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Metro Exodus is 244% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	100−110	130−140
ultra / 1080p	95−100	−
medium / 1080p	100−105	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Minecraft is 26% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	20−22	−
ultra / 1080p	16−18	14−16
low / 720p	45−50	100−110
medium / 1080p	21−24	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 58% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
high / 1080p	12−14	24−27
ultra / 1080p	8−9	16−18
QHD / 1440p	0−1	10−11
4K / 2160p	−	7−8
low / 720p	21−24	65−70
medium / 1080p	12−14	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 157% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	40−45	130−140
medium / 768p	24−27	85−90
high / 1080p	14−16	45−50
ultra / 1080p	8−9	24−27
4K / 2160p	7−8	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 226% more, than Radeon HD 5970.
low / 768p	95−100	90−95
medium / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	27−30	50−55
high / 768p	45−50	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in World of Tanks is 17% more, than Radeon HD 5970.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R9 280
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN 1.0
Code name	Hemlock	Tahiti
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	18 November 2009	4 March 2014
Pipelines	1600	1792
Core clock speed	725 MHz
Boost Clock		933 MHz
Transistor count	2,154 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	58.00	104.5
Floating-point performance	2x 2,320.0 gflops	3,344 gflops
Length	305 mm	275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	4000 MHz	1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	128.0 GB/s	240 GB/s
DirectX	11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model	5.0	5.1
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	N/A	+
FreeSync		+
Bus support		PCIe 3.0
HDMI		+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)		408 Mh/s
Eyefinity		+
HD3D		+
TrueAudio		+
Design		reference
CrossFire		+
DDMA audio		+
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)		21.5 Mh/s
LiquidVR		+
TressFX		+
UVD		+
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Radeon HD 5970 vs Radeon R9 280

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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