AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

VS
Performance
Radeon HD 7970
7,7707% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 2060250% better
27,162.526% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 2060 has 250% 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
GeForce RTX 2060450% better
77.8348% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 2060 has 450% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon HD 7970
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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 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q1 2019 with a MSRP of $349. It is built on the Turing GPU microarchitecture (codename TU106) and is manufactured on a 12 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 1,750 MHz memory clock and a 192 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 336 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 RTX 2060 includes 1,920 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,365 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 1,680 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 120 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 240 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 30 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 2060 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a, USB Type-C display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 160 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 2060 has the 88th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 25.97% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 27,162.5 score and $349 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 77.83. This is the 39th 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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
ManufacturerAMDNVIDIA
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Turing
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ1 2012Q1 2019
Launch Price (MSRP)$549$349
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Crysis Remastered
Crysis Remastered
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Display FPS for DIRT 5
DIRT 5
Display FPS for Watch Dogs: Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion
Display FPS for FIFA 21
FIFA 21

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 Crysis Remastered
Crysis Remastered
Radeon HD 7970GeForce RTX 2060
Low - 720p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
--
138 FPS
High - 1080p
--
71 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
50 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
28 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
18 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 orGeForce RTX 2060

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 orGeForce RTX 2060
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 5700 XT14.25-28%
GeForce RTX 306014.49-27%
Radeon RX 570015.17-23%
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER16.22-18%
GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER17.51-12%
GeForce RTX 206019.83
Radeon RX Vega 6421.32+8%
GeForce RTX 207022.28+12%
Radeon VII22.77+15%
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER22.84+15%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon HD 7970
7,7707% of 104,598
GeForce RTX 2060250% better
27,162.526% of 104,598

The GeForce RTX 2060 has 250% 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 GeForce RTX 2060 is ranked 88th with a score of 27,162.5.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 7970
14.159% of 161.45
GeForce RTX 2060450% better
77.8348% of 161.45

The GeForce RTX 2060 has 450% 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 GeForce RTX 2060 is ranked 39th with a performance per dollar of 77.83.

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
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 306028,375+265%
GeForce GTX 1070 Ti27,503+254%
GeForce RTX 206027,162.5+250%
GeForce GTX 107024,652+217%
Radeon RX 59023,362.5+201%
GeForce GTX 9508,351+7%
GeForce GTX 7607,962+2%
Radeon HD 79707,770
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)6,194-20%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti5,378-31%

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

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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
7,732
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
7,878
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
43,795
107,083
(+144.51%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
6,862
19,338
(+181.81%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
7,323
22,982
(+213.83%)
PassMark G3D Mark
5,248
14,147
(+169.57%)
PassMark G2D Mark
738
740
(+0.27%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
77.8
--
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
CodenameTahitiTU106
ArchitectureGCN 1.0Turing
Process Size28 nm12 nm
Transistors4,313 million10,800 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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
Memory Size3 GB6 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth264 Gb/s336 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,375 MHz1,750 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit192 bit
L1 Cache16 KB64 KB
L2 Cache768 KB3 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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W160 W
Suggested PSU600 W450 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a, USB Type-C

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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
Stream Processors (SP)2,048--
CUDA Cores--1,920
Compute Units (CU)32--
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)--30
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)128120
Render Output Units (ROP)3248
Tensor Cores--240
Ray Tracing Cores--30
Core Clock Speed925 MHz1,365 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--1,680 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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
Pixel Fill Rate29.6 GPixel/s80.64 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate118.4 GTexel/s201.6 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance3.79 TFLOPS6.45 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance947.2 GFLOPS201.6 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 7970GeForce RTX 2060
DirectX12 (11_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)3.0
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.