Radeon HD 8970M vs Radeon R9 380X

When choosing between Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 380X, 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 380X.

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 R9 380X
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 190 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon R9 380X has 90% 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 R9 380X have maximum RAM of 4 GB.
  • Radeon HD 8970M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 380X - in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 8970M is build with GCN architecture, and Radeon R9 380X - with GCN 3.0.
  • Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon R9 380X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 3830 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 380X.

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 R9 380X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 77% more, than Radeon HD 8970M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8970M Radeon R9 380X
Architecture GCN GCN 3.0
Code name Neptune Antigua
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 15 May 2013 19 November 2015
Pipelines 1280 2048
Core clock speed 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz 970 MHz
Transistor count 2,800 million 5,000 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 72.00 124.2
Floating-point performance 2,304 gflops 3,973 gflops
Length 221 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz 970 MHz
Memory bandwidth 153.6 GB/s 182.4 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 6.3
OpenGL 4.6 4.5
OpenCL 1.2 2.0
Vulkan 1.2.131 +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.58 kh/s
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
PowerTune +
TrueAudio +
ZeroCore +
Mantle +
Design reference
Bridgeless CrossFire +
Number of Eyefinity displays 6
DisplayPort support +
CrossFire +
VCE +
DDMA audio +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 0.89 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 20.63 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 175 Sol/s
Compute units 32
Form factor full height / full length
High bandwidth memory (HBM) -
LiquidVR +
FRTC +
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