Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire vs Radeon R9 290X

When comparing Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire and Radeon R9 290X, we look primarily at benchmarks and game tests. But it is not only about the numbers. Often you can find third-party models with higher clock speeds, better cooling, or a customizable RGB lighting. Not all of them will have all the features you need. Another thing to consider is the port selection. Most graphics cards have at least one DisplayPort and HDMI interface, but some monitors require DVI. Before you buy, check the TDP of the graphics card - this characteristic will help you estimate the consumption of the graphics card. You may even have to upgrade your PSU to meet its requirements. An important factor when choosing between Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire and Radeon R9 290X is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire 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 7970M Crossfire here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 250 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
  Check Price Check Price
  • Radeon R9 290X has 25% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire.
  • Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 290X - in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire and Radeon R9 290X are build with GCN architecture.
  • Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire and Radeon R9 290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire is 3550 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 290X.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 35−40
ultra / 1080p 21−24 24−27
QHD / 1440p 16−18 18−20
4K / 2160p 10−11 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 60−65
medium / 1080p 40−45 45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 3% more, than Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire Radeon R9 290X
Architecture GCN GCN
Code name Wimbledon XT Hawaii XT
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 1 May 2012 24 October 2013
Pipelines 2560 2816
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 947 MHz
Transistor count 6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 176.0
Floating-point performance 5,632 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 2x 256 Bit 512 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz 1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth 320 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX DirectX 11.1, Shader 5.0
Shader Model 6.3
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 2.0
Vulkan +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.76 kh/s
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 623 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
DisplayPort support +
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 25.75 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 350 Sol/s
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
  Check Price Check Price