Radeon HD 6970M vs HD 7850

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HD 7850 HD 7870 HD 7870 XT HD 8870 OEM R7 265 R9 270 1024SP
VS
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6950M 6970M 6970M Crossfire 6970M Mac Edition 6970M Rebrand 6970M X2 6990M

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7850 with Radeon HD 6970M, including specs and performance data.

HD 7850
2012, $249
2 GB GDDR5, 130 Watt
9.37
+71.9%

HD 7850 outperforms HD 6970M by an impressive 72% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

Share:
HD 7850 HD 7850
HD 6970M HD 6970M

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking522673
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.66no data
Power efficiency5.585.62
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2012−2020)TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code namePitcairnBlackcomb
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Designreferenceno data
Release date5 March 2012 (14 years ago)4 January 2011 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$249 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

no data

Performance to price scatter graph

Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores1024960
Core clock speedno data680 MHz
Boost clock speed1000 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,800 million1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt75 Watt
Texture fill rate55.0432.64
Floating-point processing power1.761 TFLOPS1.306 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs6448
L1 Cache256 KB192 KB
L2 Cache512 KB512 KB

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop sizeno datalarge
Bus supportPCIe 2.1 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16MXM-B (3.0)
Length210 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pinNone

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB1 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1200 MHz900 MHz
Memory bandwidth153.6 GB/s115.2 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPortNo outputs
Eyefinity+-
HDMI+-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-

API and SDK support

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX1211.2 (11_0)
Shader Model5.15.0
OpenGL4.64.4
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan+N/A

Synthetic benchmarks

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

HD 7850 9.37
+71.9%
HD 6970M 5.45

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

HD 7850 3905
+72%
Samples: 11581
HD 6970M 2270
Samples: 3

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p85−90
+63.5%
52
−63.5%
Full HD85−90
+66.7%
51
−66.7%

Cost per frame, $

1080p2.93no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Atomic Heart 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

Full HD
Medium

Atomic Heart 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Fortnite 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Valorant 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

Full HD
High

Atomic Heart 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Dota 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Fortnite 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Metro Exodus 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Valorant 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Dota 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Valorant 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Metro Exodus 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Valorant 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

4K
High

Atomic Heart 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Valorant 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Dota 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Far Cry 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

This is how HD 7850 and HD 6970M compete in popular games:

  • HD 7850 is 63% faster in 900p
  • HD 7850 is 67% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 60 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 9.37 5.45
Recency 5 March 2012 4 January 2011
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 1 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 75 Watt

HD 7850 has a 72% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 43% more advanced lithography process.

HD 6970M, on the other hand, has 73% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7850 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6970M in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 7850 is a desktop graphics card while Radeon HD 6970M is a notebook one.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

HD 7850 Radeon HD 7850
vs
GTX 750 Ti GeForce GTX 750 Ti
HD 6970M Radeon HD 6970M
vs
RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000)
HD 7850 Radeon HD 7850
vs
GTX 570 GeForce GTX 570
HD 7970 GHz Edition HD 7970 GHz Edition
vs
HD 7560G IGP HD 7560G IGP
HD 7970 GHz Edition HD 7970 GHz Edition
vs
GTX 1050 3 GB Max-Q GTX 1050 3 GB Max-Q
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
GTX 775M GTX 775M
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
W5170M W5170M
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
HD 7400G HD 7400G
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
R5 240 OEM R5 240 OEM
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
W5000 DVI W5000 DVI
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
GRID K240Q GRID K240Q
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
RTX 2060 Mobile RTX 2060 Mobile
HD 7850 HD 7850
vs
GT 1010 GT 1010

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.

4 950 votes

Rate Radeon HD 7850 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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2.7 100 votes

Rate Radeon HD 6970M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
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  • 4
  • 5

Comments

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