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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 vs AMD Radeon HD 7970

NVIDIA
VS
AMD
Performance
GeForce RTX 5060507% better
47,201.536% of 129,772
Radeon HD 7970
7,7706% of 129,772

The GeForce RTX 5060 has 507% better performance than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 50601,015% better
157.8696% of 165.13
Radeon HD 7970
14.159% of 165.13

The GeForce RTX 5060 has 1,015% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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Summary

#

About the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q2 2025 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GB206) and is manufactured on a 5 nm process.

Memory

The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory, with a 1,750 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 448 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 5060 includes 3,840 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 2,280 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,497 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 120 tensor cores optimized for AI-accelerated workloads and 30 RT cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RTX 5060 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1b, DisplayPort 2.1b display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 300 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 145 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RTX 5060 has the 39th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 567 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 36.37% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. Its 47,201.5 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 157.86. This is the 3rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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 234th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 567 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 5.99% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. Its 7,770 score and $549 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 14.15. This is the 103rd 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.

InfoGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureBlackwell 2.0GCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ2 2025Q1 2012
Launch Price (MSRP)$299$549
Production StatusActiveEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for God of War Ragnarök
God of War Ragnarök
Display FPS for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Space Marine 2
Display FPS for Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Display FPS for Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong
Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Alone in the Dark (2024)
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Display FPS for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

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 God of War Ragnarök
God of War Ragnarök
GeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
Low - 1080p
186 FPS
--
Medium - 1080p
157 FPS
--
High - 1080p
138 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
127 FPS
--
QHD - 1440p
90 FPS
--
4K UHD - 2160p
37 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:GeForce RTX 5060 orRadeon HD 7970

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:GeForce RTX 5060 orRadeon HD 7970

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce RTX 5060507% better
47,201.536% of 129,772
Radeon HD 7970
7,7706% of 129,772

The GeForce RTX 5060 has 507% better performance than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 5060 is ranked 39th with a score of 47,201.5, and the Radeon HD 7970 is ranked 234th with a score of 7,770.

Performance per dollar
GeForce RTX 50601,015% better
157.8696% of 165.13
Radeon HD 7970
14.159% of 165.13

The GeForce RTX 5060 has 1,015% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7970 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce RTX 5060 is ranked 3rd with a performance per dollar of 157.86, and the Radeon HD 7970 is ranked 103rd with a performance per dollar of 14.15.

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:GeForce RTX 5060 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:GeForce RTX 5060 or
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Radeon RX 9070161.42+2%
GeForce RTX 5060157.86
Arc B580153.65-3%
Radeon RX 7600144.26-9%
Radeon RX 7800 XT131.48-17%
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)17.75-89%
Radeon HD 687017.65-89%
Radeon HD 797014.15-91%
GeForce GTX 59013.11-92%
GeForce GTX 47012.44-92%

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
BenchmarkGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
13,806
--
3DMark Time Spy Score
14,106.5
--
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
171,078
(+290.63%)
43,795
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
37,952
(+453.07%)
6,862
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
163,486
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
44,648.5
(+509.7%)
7,323
PassMark G3D Mark
20,707
(+294.57%)
5,248
PassMark G2D Mark
1,136
(+55.83%)
729
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.

SpecGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
CodenameGB206Tahiti
ArchitectureBlackwell 2.0GCN 1.0
Process Size5 nm28 nm
Transistors21,900 million4,313 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.

SpecGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
Memory Size8 GB3 GB
Memory TypeGDDR7GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth448 Gb/s264 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,750 MHz1,375 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit384 bit
L1 Cache128 KB16 KB
L2 Cache32 MB768 KB

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.

SpecGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 5.0 x8PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)145 W250 W
Suggested PSU300 W600 W
Power Connectors1x 8-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
OutputsHDMI 2.1b, DisplayPort 2.1bDVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2

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.

SpecGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
Stream Processors (SP)--2,048
CUDA Cores3,840--
Compute Units (CU)--32
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)30--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)120128
Render Output Units (ROP)4832
Tensor Cores120--
Ray Tracing Cores30--
Core Clock Speed2,280 MHz925 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)2,497 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.

SpecGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
Pixel Fill Rate119.9 GPixel/s29.6 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate299.6 GTexel/s118.4 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance19.18 TFLOPS3.79 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance299.6 GFLOPS947.2 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.

SpecGeForce RTX 5060Radeon HD 7970
DirectX12 Ultimate (12_2)12 (11_1)
OpenCL3.02.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.86.5 (5.1)

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