GeForce GTX 470 vs Radeon HD 6970

Place in the ranking	579	556
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.89	1.14
Power efficiency	2.05	2.63
Architecture	TeraScale 3 (2010−2013)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	Cayman	GF100
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	14 December 2010 (14 years ago)	26 March 2010 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$369	$349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

GTX 470 has 28% better value for money than HD 6970.

Performance to price scatter graph

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	1536	448
Core clock speed	no data	607 MHz
Boost clock speed	880 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	2,640 million	3,100 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	550 Watt	215 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	84.48	34.05
Floating-point processing power	2.703 TFLOPS	1.089 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	40
TMUs	96	56

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).

Bus support	PCIe 2.0 x16	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	267 mm	241 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin	2x 6-pin
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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1280 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	320 Bit
Memory clock speed	1375 MHz	1674 MHz (3348 data rate)
Memory bandwidth	no data	133.9 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	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	Two Dual Link DVIMini HDMI
Multi monitor support	no data	+
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	Internal

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX	DirectX® 11	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	5.0	5.1
OpenGL	4.4	4.2
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	-	N/A
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.

HD 6970 6.58

GTX 470 7.27
+10.5%

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 6970 2842

GTX 470 3140
+10.5%

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.

HD 6970 3470
+25.8%

GTX 470 2758

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	45−50 −15.6%	52 +15.6%
Full HD	55−60 −18.2%	65 +18.2%
1200p	45−50 −17.8%	53 +17.8%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

6.71

−25%

5.37
+25%

GTX 470 has 25% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −14.7%	35−40 +14.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Sons of the Forest	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	30−33 −10%	30−35 +10%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −14.7%	35−40 +14.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Far Cry 5	21−24 −9.1%	24−27 +9.1%
Fortnite	40−45 −9.5%	45−50 +9.5%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 −9.7%	30−35 +9.7%
Forza Horizon 5	20−22 −10%	21−24 +10%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −12%	27−30 +12%
Sons of the Forest	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
Valorant	70−75 −6.8%	75−80 +6.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	30−33 −10%	30−35 +10%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 −14.7%	35−40 +14.7%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive	110−120 −8.2%	110−120 +8.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Dota 2	50−55 −7.4%	55−60 +7.4%
Far Cry 5	21−24 −9.1%	24−27 +9.1%
Fortnite	40−45 −9.5%	45−50 +9.5%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 −9.7%	30−35 +9.7%
Forza Horizon 5	20−22 −10%	21−24 +10%
Grand Theft Auto V	24−27 −12%	27−30 +12%
Metro Exodus	12−14 −15.4%	14−16 +15.4%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −12%	27−30 +12%
Sons of the Forest	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 −11.1%	20−22 +11.1%
Valorant	70−75 −6.8%	75−80 +6.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	30−33 −10%	30−35 +10%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Dota 2	50−55 −18.5%	64 +18.5%
Far Cry 5	21−24 −9.1%	24−27 +9.1%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 −9.7%	30−35 +9.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −12%	27−30 +12%
Sons of the Forest	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 −11.1%	20−22 +11.1%
Valorant	70−75 −6.8%	75−80 +6.8%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite

40−45

−9.5%

45−50
+9.5%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	12−14 −8.3%	12−14 +8.3%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive	50−55 −11.3%	55−60 +11.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −14.3%	8−9 +14.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 −5.1%	40−45 +5.1%
Valorant	75−80 −10.4%	85−90 +10.4%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 −23.1%	16−18 +23.1%
Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 −20%	6−7 +20%
Far Cry 5	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −12.5%	18−20 +12.5%
Sons of the Forest	6−7 −16.7%	7−8 +16.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	9−10 −11.1%	10−11 +11.1%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite

14−16

−14.3%

16−18
+14.3%

4K
High Preset

Grand Theft Auto V	18−20 −5.6%	18−20 +5.6%
Metro Exodus	2−3 −50%	3−4 +50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	5−6 −20%	6−7 +20%
Valorant	35−40 −11.4%	35−40 +11.4%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	24−27 −12%	27−30 +12%
Far Cry 5	6−7 −16.7%	7−8 +16.7%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 −9.1%	12−14 +9.1%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Sons of the Forest	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite

7−8

+0%

7−8

+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2

0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2

0−1

This is how HD 6970 and GTX 470 compete in popular games:

GTX 470 is 16% faster in 900p
GTX 470 is 18% faster in 1080p
GTX 470 is 18% faster in 1200p

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

in Metro Exodus, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 470 is 50% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 470 is ahead in 59 tests (94%)
there's a draw in 4 tests (6%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	6.58	7.27
Recency	14 December 2010	26 March 2010
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1280 MB
Power consumption (TDP)	550 Watt	215 Watt

HD 6970 has an age advantage of 8 months, and a 60% higher maximum VRAM amount.

GTX 470, on the other hand, has a 10.5% higher aggregate performance score, and 155.8% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 470 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6970 in performance tests.

Vote for your favorite

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

Radeon HD 6970

GeForce GTX 470

Other comparisons

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

Community ratings

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

3.7 162 votes

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

3.8 338 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 470 on a scale of 1 to 5:

Comments

Here you can give us your opinion about Radeon HD 6970 or GeForce GTX 470, agree or disagree with our ratings, or report errors or inaccuracies on the site.

GeForce GTX 470 vs Radeon HD 6970

Aggregate performance score

Contents

Primary details

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price scatter graph

Detailed specifications

Form factor & compatibility

VRAM capacity and type

Connectivity and outputs

Supported technologies

API and SDK compatibility

Synthetic benchmark performance

Combined synthetic benchmark score

Passmark

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Gaming performance

Average FPS across all PC games

Cost per frame, $

FPS performance in popular games

Pros & cons summary

Vote for your favorite

Other comparisons

Community ratings

Comments