Radeon HD 7970M vs GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB

Place in the ranking	217	474
Place by popularity	18	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	22.57	no data
Power efficiency	14.21	6.35
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code name	GP106	Wimbledon
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	18 August 2016 (8 years ago)	24 April 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

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

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1152	1280
Core clock speed	1506 MHz	850 MHz
Boost clock speed	1708 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	4,400 million	2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	100 Watt
Texture fill rate	123.0	68.00
Floating-point processing power	3.935 TFLOPS	2.176 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	32
TMUs	72	80

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 size	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	MXM-B (3.0)
Length	250 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	None

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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2002 MHz	1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	153.6 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	No outputs
HDMI	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (11_1)
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	+	1.2.131
CUDA	6.1	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

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. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 1060 3 GB 24.88
+169%

HD 7970M 9.26

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.

GTX 1060 3 GB 9588
+169%

HD 7970M 3568

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:

900p	220−230 +162%	84 −162%
Full HD	160−170 +167%	60 −167%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

1.24

no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

14−16

+0%

14−16

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Battlefield 5	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Hitman 3	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Metro Exodus	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Battlefield 5	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Hitman 3	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Metro Exodus	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Far Cry 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Hitman 3	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24−27

+0%

24−27

+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Far Cry 5	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Hitman 3	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

14−16

+0%

14−16

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Hitman 3	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Metro Exodus	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Far Cry 5	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

9−10

+0%

9−10

+0%

This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and HD 7970M compete in popular games:

GTX 1060 3 GB is 162% faster in 900p
GTX 1060 3 GB is 167% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.88	9.26
Recency	18 August 2016	24 April 2012
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	100 Watt

GTX 1060 3 GB has a 168.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 75% more advanced lithography process.

HD 7970M, on the other hand, has 20% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970M in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is a desktop card while Radeon HD 7970M is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.