GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB vs Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
Aggregated performance score
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB by 5% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 309 | 324 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Value for money | 30.95 | 5.55 |
| Architecture | GCN (2011−2017) | Pascal (2016−2021) |
| GPU code name | Wimbledon XT | N17P-G1 Max-Q |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Release date | 1 May 2012 (11 years ago) | 30 May 2017 (6 years ago) |
| Current price | $126 | $1010 |
Value for money
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
HD 7970M Crossfire has 458% better value for money than GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB.
Technical specs
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 2560 | 1280 |
| Core clock speed | 850 MHz | 1063 - 1265 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 1341 - 1480 MHz |
| Number of transistors | no data | 4,400 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 16 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 200 Watt | 60 - 70 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 118.4 |
| Floating-point performance | no data | 3,789 gflops |
Size and compatibility
Information on Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire and GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | large | large |
| Interface | no data | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | None |
Memory
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 | no data | 6.144 MB |
| Memory bus width | 2x 256 Bit | 192 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 4800 MHz | 8000 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 192.2 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
Video outputs and ports
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 | no data | No outputs |
| G-SYNC support | no data | + |
Technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| VR Ready | no data | + |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 | 12.0 |
| Shader Model | no data | 5.0 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
| OpenCL | no data | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | no data | + |
| CUDA | no data | 6.1 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance 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.
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB by 5% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire by 20% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
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 | 132
+10%
| 120−130
−10%
|
| Full HD | 102
+24.4%
| 82
−24.4%
|
| 4K | 27−30
−3.7%
| 28
+3.7%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+4.2%
|
24−27
−4.2%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 30−35
+3.1%
|
30−35
−3.1%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 27−30
+3.8%
|
24−27
−3.8%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 50−55
+3.8%
|
50−55
−3.8%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 40−45
+5.1%
|
35−40
−5.1%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+4.2%
|
24−27
−4.2%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
−66.7%
|
70
+66.7%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 40−45
+7.3%
|
40−45
−7.3%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 55−60
+3.7%
|
50−55
−3.7%
|
| Hitman 3 | 40−45
+4.8%
|
40−45
−4.8%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 30−35
+6.3%
|
30−35
−6.3%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 27−30
+8%
|
24−27
−8%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+6.3%
|
30−35
−6.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 30−33
+3.4%
|
27−30
−3.4%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 30−35
+3.1%
|
30−35
−3.1%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 27−30
+3.8%
|
24−27
−3.8%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 50−55
+3.8%
|
50−55
−3.8%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 40−45
+5.1%
|
35−40
−5.1%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+4.2%
|
24−27
−4.2%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
−54.8%
|
65
+54.8%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 40−45
+7.3%
|
40−45
−7.3%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 55−60
+3.7%
|
50−55
−3.7%
|
| Hitman 3 | 40−45
+4.8%
|
40−45
−4.8%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 30−35
+6.3%
|
30−35
−6.3%
|
| Metro Exodus | 24−27
+4.2%
|
24−27
−4.2%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 27−30
+8%
|
24−27
−8%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+6.3%
|
30−35
−6.3%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
−94.1%
|
66
+94.1%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 30−33
+3.4%
|
27−30
−3.4%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 30−35
+3.1%
|
30−35
−3.1%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 27−30
+3.8%
|
24−27
−3.8%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 50−55
+3.8%
|
50−55
−3.8%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+4.2%
|
24−27
−4.2%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
−14.3%
|
48
+14.3%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 40−45
+7.3%
|
40−45
−7.3%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 55−60
+3.7%
|
50−55
−3.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
−2.9%
|
35
+2.9%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 30−33
+3.4%
|
27−30
−3.4%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 21−24
+4.5%
|
21−24
−4.5%
|
| Hitman 3 | 24−27
+4.2%
|
24−27
−4.2%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 21−24
+4.8%
|
21−24
−4.8%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
+7.1%
|
14−16
−7.1%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 12−14
+9.1%
|
10−12
−9.1%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 20−22
+5.3%
|
18−20
−5.3%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 16−18
+6.3%
|
16−18
−6.3%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 12−14
+8.3%
|
12−14
−8.3%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 30−35
+6.3%
|
30−35
−6.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 24−27
+4%
|
24−27
−4%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 30−33
+7.1%
|
27−30
−7.1%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
+6.7%
|
30−33
−6.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 16−18
+6.3%
|
16−18
−6.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Hitman 3 | 14−16
+7.1%
|
14−16
−7.1%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 10−12
+10%
|
10−11
−10%
|
| Metro Exodus | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 14−16
−60%
|
24
+60%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 16−18
+6.3%
|
16−18
−6.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 12−14
−53.8%
|
20
+53.8%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 16−18
+6.7%
|
14−16
−6.7%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+4.8%
|
21−24
−4.8%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
This is how HD 7970M Crossfire and GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compete in popular games:
- HD 7970M Crossfire is 10% faster than GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB in 900p
- HD 7970M Crossfire is 24.4% faster than GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB in 1080p
- GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 3.7% faster than HD 7970M Crossfire in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7970M Crossfire is 14.3% faster than the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB.
- in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 94.1% faster than the HD 7970M Crossfire.
All in all, in popular games:
- HD 7970M Crossfire is ahead in 57 tests (84%)
- GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is ahead in 7 tests (10%)
- there's a draw in 4 tests (6%)
Advantages and disadvantages
| Performance score | 15.98 | 15.21 |
| Recency | 1 May 2012 | 30 May 2017 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 16 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 200 Watt | 60 Watt |
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire and GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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