AMD Radeon HD 7970
The Radeon HD 7970 has 7% of the performance compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
The Radeon HD 7970 has 9% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.
Summary
About the AMD Radeon HD 7970 GPU
The Radeon HD 7970 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card by AMD. It launched in Q1 2012 with a suggested retail price of $549. Its Tahiti chip that powers the GPU uses the GCN 1.0 architecture and is fabricated on the 28 nm process.
This GPU is paired with 3 GB of GDDR5 VRAM. Its 1,375 MHz memory clock and 384 bit interface gives it a bandwidth of 264 Gb/s. This impacts how much data it can store, and how fast it transfers the data to and from memory.
The HD 7970 is a dual slot graphics card, taking up 2 PCIe slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2 display ports. This desktop card has a TDP of 250 W. AMD recommends using a power supply of at least 600 W with this card. A power supply lower than this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
The Radeon HD 7970 has the 208th highest 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 540 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 7.40% 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 90th 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.
| Info | Value |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | AMD |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 |
| Market Segment | Desktop |
| Release Date | Q1 2012 |
| Launch Price (MSRP) | $549 |
| Production Status | End-of-life |
| Shop | Check Price |
Gaming Performance
Select a game to compare FPS metrics
FPS Benchmarks
This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved by the Radeon HD 7970 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.
BioShock Infinite | Frames Per SecondHigher is better | Cost Per FrameLower is better |
|---|---|---|
| Low - 720p | 199 FPS | $2.76 CPF |
| Medium - 768p | 170 FPS | $3.23 CPF |
| High - 768p | 151 FPS | $3.64 CPF |
| Ultra - 1080p | 64 FPS | $8.54 CPF |
| QHD - 1440p | -- | -- |
| 4K UHD - 2160p | -- | -- |
Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)
Radeon HD 7970's average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.
| GPU | Frames Per Second | |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon R9 380 | 80.8 | +26% |
| GeForce GTX 1050 Ti | 78 | +21% |
| Radeon R9 280X | 76.3 | +19% |
| GeForce GTX 960 | 75.8 | +18% |
| GeForce GTX 760 | 65.3 | +2% |
| Radeon HD 7970 | 64.3 | |
| GeForce GTX 950 | 63.2 | -2% |
| GeForce GTX 1050 | 63 | -2% |
| GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 62.9 | -2% |
| GeForce GTX 680 | 62 | -4% |
Compare Cost Per Frame
Radeon HD 7970's 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.
| GPU | Cost Per Frame | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 4.75 | -44% |
| Radeon R9 Nano | 4.92 | -42% |
| GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 6.01 | -30% |
| Radeon HD 7770 (GHz Edition) | 6.44 | -25% |
| GeForce GTX 680 | 8.05 | -6% |
| Radeon HD 7970 | 8.54 | |
| GeForce GTX 470 | 10.64 | +25% |
Benchmark Performance
The Radeon HD 7970 has 7% of the performance compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
The Radeon HD 7970 is ranked 208th with a score of 7,770.
The Radeon HD 7970 has 9% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.
The Radeon HD 7970 is ranked 90th with a performance per dollar of 14.15.
Compare Performance
Radeon HD 7970's average score in the benchmark can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, more powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.
| GPU | Benchmark Performance | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 1050 | 8,571 | +10% |
| Radeon R7 370 | 8,518.5 | +10% |
| GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 8,415 | +8% |
| GeForce GTX 950 | 8,351 | +7% |
| GeForce GTX 760 | 7,962 | +2% |
| Radeon HD 7970 | 7,770 | |
| Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) | 6,194 | -20% |
| GeForce GTX 750 Ti | 5,378 | -31% |
| GeForce GTX 480 | 5,014 | -35% |
| GeForce GT 1030 | 4,727.5 | -39% |
Compare Value For Money
Radeon HD 7970's average performance per dollar in the benchmark can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score generally implies better value for your money.
| GPU | Performance Per Dollar | |
|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 22.34 | +58% |
| GeForce GTX 680 | 20.47 | +45% |
| Radeon HD 7770 (GHz Edition) | 19.48 | +38% |
| Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) | 17.75 | +25% |
| Radeon HD 6870 | 17.65 | +25% |
| Radeon HD 7970 | 14.15 | |
| GeForce GTX 590 | 13.11 | -7% |
| GeForce GTX 470 | 12.44 | -12% |
| Radeon HD 6450 | 11.33 | -20% |
| GeForce GTX 480 | 10.05 | -29% |
Benchmark Scores
This table showcases the Radeon HD 7970's average performance scores across industry-standard GPU benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.
- Popular
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics | 43,795 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics | 6,862 |
| 3DMark 11 Performance Score | 7,323 |
| PassMark G3D Mark | 5,248 |
| PassMark G2D Mark | 727 |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 | 77.8 |
Technical Specs
Processor Details
General information about the graphics processing unit like its architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Codename | Tahiti |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 |
| Process Size | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 4,313 million |
Board Compatibility
Compatibility information like its slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Slots | 2 slots |
| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Thermal Design Power (TDP) | 250 W |
| Suggested PSU | 600 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Outputs | DVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |
Memory Details
Memory specifications like its 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.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Memory Size | 3 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 264 Gb/s |
| Memory Clock | 1,375 MHz |
| Memory Interface | 384 bit |
| L1 Cache | 16 KB |
| L2 Cache | 768 KB |
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.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Stream Processors (SP) | 2,048 |
| Compute Units (CU) | 32 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMU) | 128 |
| Render Output Units (ROP) | 32 |
| Core Clock Speed | 925 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.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Pixel Fill Rate | 29.6 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 118.4 GTexel/s |
| FP32 Performance | 3.79 TFLOPS |
| FP64 Performance | 947.2 GFLOPS |
API Support
Graphics API versions supported by this graphics card. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (11_1) |
| OpenCL | 2.1 (1.2) |
| OpenGL | 4.6 |
| Shader Model | 6.5 (5.1) |
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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.