AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M

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Combined performance score

GTX 880M
9.87

Radeon HD 7970M outperforms GeForce GTX 880M by 1% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking417416
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money0.934.30
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code nameN15E-GX-A2Wimbledon XT
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date12 March 2014 (10 years old)1 May 2012 (11 years old)
Current price$1544 $338
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7970M has 362% better value for money than GTX 880M.

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 cores15361280
CUDA cores1536no data
Core clock speed954 MHz850 MHz
Boost clock speed993 MHzno data
Number of transistors3,540 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)122 Watt100 Watt
Texture fill rate127.168.00
Floating-point performance3,050 gflops2,176 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 880M and Radeon HD 7970M 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 sizelargelarge
Bus supportPCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectorsNoneNone
SLI options+no data

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount8 GB2 GB
Standard memory configurationGDDR5no data
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speedUp to 2500 MHz4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth160.0 GB/s153.6 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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs
eDP 1.2 signal supportUp to 3840x2160no data
LVDS signal supportUp to 1920x1200no data
VGA аnalog display supportUp to 2048x1536no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) supportUp to 3840x2160no data
HDMI+no data
HDCP content protection+no data
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI+no data
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming+no data

Technologies

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

H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+no data
Optimus+no data

API support

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

DirectX12 (11_0)12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL1.11.2
Vulkan1.1.1261.2.131
CUDA+no data

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.

GTX 880M 9.87
HD 7970M 9.92
+0.5%

Radeon HD 7970M outperforms GeForce GTX 880M by 1% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

GTX 880M 3826
HD 7970M 3846
+0.5%

Radeon HD 7970M outperforms GeForce GTX 880M by 1% in Passmark.

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 880M 28022
+27.7%
HD 7970M 21938

GeForce GTX 880M outperforms Radeon HD 7970M by 28% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

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%

GTX 880M 8578
+52%
HD 7970M 5645

GeForce GTX 880M outperforms Radeon HD 7970M by 52% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 880M 6101
+30%
HD 7970M 4694

GeForce GTX 880M outperforms Radeon HD 7970M by 30% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 880M 39891
+25.2%
HD 7970M 31869

GeForce GTX 880M outperforms Radeon HD 7970M by 25% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

Unigine Heaven 3.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark using Unigine, a 3D game engine by eponymous Russian company. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. Version 3.0 was released in 2012, and in 2013 it was superseded by Heaven 4.0, which introduced several slight improvements, including a newer version of Unigine.

Benchmark coverage: 4%

GTX 880M 81
+41.1%
HD 7970M 58

GeForce GTX 880M outperforms Radeon HD 7970M by 41% in Unigine Heaven 3.0.

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:

900p135
+60.7%
84
−60.7%
Full HD58
−3.4%
60
+3.4%
4K23
+9.5%
21−24
−9.5%

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 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
−3.8%
27−30
+3.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Hitman 3 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 16−18
−5.9%
18−20
+5.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
−3.8%
27−30
+3.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Hitman 3 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Metro Exodus 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 34
+70%
20−22
−70%
Watch Dogs: Legion 16−18
−5.9%
18−20
+5.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 19
−5.3%
20−22
+5.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 16−18
−5.9%
18−20
+5.9%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Hitman 3 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Battlefield 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Metro Exodus 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Battlefield 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

This is how GTX 880M and HD 7970M compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • GTX 880M is 60.7% faster than HD 7970M

1080p resolution:

  • HD 7970M is 3.4% faster than GTX 880M

4K resolution:

  • GTX 880M is 9.5% faster than HD 7970M

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 880M is 70% faster than the HD 7970M.
  • in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the HD 7970M is 5.9% faster than the GTX 880M.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 880M is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • HD 7970M is ahead in 6 tests (9%)
  • there's a draw in 61 test (90%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 9.87 9.92
Recency 12 March 2014 1 May 2012
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 122 Watt 100 Watt

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 880M and Radeon HD 7970M. The differences in performance seem too small.


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

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
GeForce GTX 880M
AMD Radeon HD 7970M
Radeon HD 7970M

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Questions and comments

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