Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire vs GeForce GTX 970M SLI

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 970M SLI and Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 970M SLI
2014
2x 6 GB GDDR5, 162 Watt
24.43
+142%

GTX 970M SLI outperforms HD 6990M Crossfire by a whopping 142% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking230450
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency10.40no data
ArchitectureMaxwell (2014−2017)Terascale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code nameno dataBlackcomb XTX
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date7 October 2014 (10 years ago)12 July 2011 (13 years ago)

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 cores25602240
Core clock speed924 MHz715 MHz
Boost clock speed1038 MHzno data
Number of transistors2x 5200 Million2x1700 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)162 Wattno data

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 sizelargelarge
SLI options+-

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 amount2x 6 GB2x2 GB
Memory bus width2x 192 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed5000 MHz900 MHz
Shared memory--

Supported technologies

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

Optimus+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12_111
CUDA+-

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 970M SLI 24.43
+142%
HD 6990M Crossfire 10.08

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.

GTX 970M SLI 18870
+194%
HD 6990M Crossfire 6422

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.

GTX 970M SLI 36119
+40.2%
HD 6990M Crossfire 25759

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:

900p230−240
+132%
99
−132%
Full HD86
−23.3%
106
+23.3%
4K41
+156%
16−18
−156%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+137%
18−20
−137%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+145%
20−22
−145%
Elden Ring 80−85
+176%
27−30
−176%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+127%
30−35
−127%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+137%
18−20
−137%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+145%
20−22
−145%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+168%
40−45
−168%
Metro Exodus 60−65
+137%
27−30
−137%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+100%
27−30
−100%
Valorant 95−100
+158%
35−40
−158%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+127%
30−35
−127%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+137%
18−20
−137%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+145%
20−22
−145%
Dota 2 80−85
+133%
35−40
−133%
Elden Ring 80−85
+176%
27−30
−176%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+85.4%
40−45
−85.4%
Fortnite 120−130
+108%
55−60
−108%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+168%
40−45
−168%
Grand Theft Auto V 80−85
+133%
35−40
−133%
Metro Exodus 60−65
+137%
27−30
−137%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 150−160
+98.7%
75−80
−98.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 50−55
+100%
27−30
−100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 85
+183%
30−33
−183%
Valorant 95−100
+158%
35−40
−158%
World of Tanks 250−260
+75.9%
140−150
−75.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 75−80
+127%
30−35
−127%
Counter-Strike 2 45−50
+137%
18−20
−137%
Cyberpunk 2077 45−50
+145%
20−22
−145%
Dota 2 80−85
+133%
35−40
−133%
Far Cry 5 75−80
+85.4%
40−45
−85.4%
Forza Horizon 4 100−110
+168%
40−45
−168%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 150−160
+98.7%
75−80
−98.7%
Valorant 95−100
+158%
35−40
−158%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 40−45
+215%
12−14
−215%
Elden Ring 40−45
+207%
14−16
−207%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+215%
12−14
−215%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 170−180
+265%
45−50
−265%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+144%
9−10
−144%
World of Tanks 160−170
+125%
70−75
−125%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+158%
18−20
−158%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+90.9%
10−12
−90.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
+186%
7−8
−186%
Far Cry 5 70−75
+223%
21−24
−223%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+195%
21−24
−195%
Metro Exodus 55−60
+195%
18−20
−195%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35−40
+192%
12−14
−192%
Valorant 65−70
+164%
24−27
−164%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+450%
4−5
−450%
Dota 2 40−45
+110%
20−22
−110%
Elden Ring 18−20
+217%
6−7
−217%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+110%
20−22
−110%
Metro Exodus 18−20
+217%
6−7
−217%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 70−75
+155%
27−30
−155%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
+150%
6−7
−150%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
+110%
20−22
−110%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+178%
9−10
−178%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+450%
4−5
−450%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+167%
3−4
−167%
Dota 2 40−45
+110%
20−22
−110%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+167%
12−14
−167%
Fortnite 30−33
+173%
10−12
−173%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+185%
12−14
−185%
Valorant 30−35
+220%
10−11
−220%

This is how GTX 970M SLI and HD 6990M Crossfire compete in popular games:

  • GTX 970M SLI is 132% faster in 900p
  • HD 6990M Crossfire is 23% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 970M SLI is 156% faster in 4K

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

  • in Counter-Strike 2, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 970M SLI is 450% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 970M SLI surpassed HD 6990M Crossfire in all 63 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 24.43 10.08
Recency 7 October 2014 12 July 2011
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm

GTX 970M SLI has a 142.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 970M SLI is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire in performance tests.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M SLI
GeForce GTX 970M SLI
AMD Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire
Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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