AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT

VS
Performance
Radeon HD 7970
7,7707% of 104,598
Radeon RX 7800 XT744% better
65,610.563% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 7800 XT has 744% better performance than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 7970
14.159% of 161.45
Radeon RX 7800 XT829% better
131.4881% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 7800 XT has 829% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

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About the AMD Radeon HD 7970 GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 7970 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2012 with a MSRP of $549. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The HD 7970 has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,375 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 264 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The HD 7970 includes 2,048 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 925 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The HD 7970 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The HD 7970 has the 211th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 7.43% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 7,770 score and $549 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 14.15. This is the 92nd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q3 2023 with a MSRP of $499. It is built on the RDNA 3.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 32) and is manufactured on a 5 nm process.

Memory

The RX 7800 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,438 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 624.1 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The RX 7800 XT includes 3,840 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,295 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,430 MHz. It usually operates at 2,124 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 240 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 96 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 120 AI accelerators optimized for AI workloads and 60 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 7800 XT occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 263 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 7800 XT has the 13th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 62.73% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 65,610.5 score and $499 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 131.48. This is the 2nd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
ManufacturerAMDAMD
ArchitectureGCN 1.0RDNA 3.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2012Q3 2023
Launch Price (MSRP)$549$499
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Display FPS for Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2
Display FPS for Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West
Display FPS for Alone in the Dark (2024)
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for F1 24
F1 24
Radeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
Low - 1080p
--
484 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
422 FPS
High - 1080p
--
317 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
88 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
57 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
29 FPS
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 7970 orRadeon RX 7800 XT

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 7970 orRadeon RX 7800 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Arc A77015.52-11%
Arc A75017.2-1%
Radeon RX 7800 XT17.39
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti17.97+3%
GeForce RTX 3070 Ti21.24+22%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX21.44+23%
GeForce RTX 408021.8+25%
Radeon RX 7900 XT24.3+40%
Radeon RX 680028.11+62%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon HD 7970
7,7707% of 104,598
Radeon RX 7800 XT744% better
65,610.563% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 7800 XT has 744% better performance than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon HD 7970 is ranked 211th with a score of 7,770, and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is ranked 13th with a score of 65,610.5.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 7970
14.159% of 161.45
Radeon RX 7800 XT829% better
131.4881% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 7800 XT has 829% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon HD 7970 is ranked 92nd with a performance per dollar of 14.15, and the Radeon RX 7800 XT is ranked 2nd with a performance per dollar of 131.48.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 7970 or

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 7970 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Radeon RX 7600161.45+1,041%
Radeon RX 7800 XT131.48+829%
Arc A750129.02+812%
GeForce RTX 4060127.73+802%
Radeon RX 7700 XT127.71+802%
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)17.75+25%
Radeon HD 687017.65+25%
Radeon HD 797014.15
GeForce GTX 59013.11-7%
GeForce GTX 47012.44-12%

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
19,758
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
19,464.5
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
43,795
202,773
(+363%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
6,862
49,706.5
(+624.37%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
211,478
3DMark 11 Performance Score
7,323
48,888
(+567.6%)
PassMark G3D Mark
5,248
24,228
(+361.66%)
PassMark G2D Mark
738
1,129
(+52.98%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
77.8
--
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
CodenameTahitiNavi 32
ArchitectureGCN 1.0RDNA 3.0
Process Size28 nm5 nm
Transistors4,313 million28,100 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
Memory Size3 GB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth264 Gb/s624.1 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,375 MHz2,438 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit256 bit
L1 Cache16 KB128 KB
L2 Cache768 KB4 MB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W263 W
Suggested PSU600 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
Stream Processors (SP)2,0483,840
Compute Units (CU)3260
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128240
Render Output Units (ROP)3296
AI Accelerators--120
Ray Accelerators--60
Core Clock Speed925 MHz1,295 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--2,430 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,124 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
Pixel Fill Rate29.6 GPixel/s233.3 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate118.4 GTexel/s583.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance3.79 TFLOPS37.32 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance947.2 GFLOPS1,166 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecRadeon HD 7970Radeon RX 7800 XT
DirectX12 (11_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)2.2
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.5 (5.1)6.8

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.