GeForce GTX 870M vs Radeon HD 6970

Place in the ranking	534	485
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	1.00	no data
Power efficiency	2.03	6.19
Architecture	TeraScale 3 (2010−2013)	Kepler (2012−2018)
GPU code name	Cayman	GK104
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	14 December 2010 (13 years ago)	12 March 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$369	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	1536	1344
Core clock speed	no data	941 MHz
Boost clock speed	880 MHz	967 MHz
Number of transistors	2,640 million	3,540 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	550 Watt	100 Watt
Texture fill rate	84.48	108.3
Floating-point processing power	2.703 TFLOPS	2.599 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	24
TMUs	96	112

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
Bus support	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	MXM-B (3.0)
Length	267 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin	None
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	3 GB
Standard memory configuration	no data	GDDR5
Memory bus width	256 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	1375 MHz	Up to 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	no data	120.0 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	No outputs
Eyefinity	+	-
eDP 1.2 signal support	no data	Up to 3840x2160
LVDS signal support	no data	Up to 1920x1200
VGA аnalog display support	no data	Up to 2048x1536
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	no data	Up to 3840x2160
HDMI	+	+
HDCP content protection	-	+
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI	-	+
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming	-	+

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire	+	-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	-	+
Optimus	-	+

API 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	4.5
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	-	1.1.126
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.

HD 6970 7.34

GTX 870M 8.94
+21.8%

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 2831

GTX 870M 3449
+21.8%

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

GTX 870M 4694
+35.3%

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:

Full HD	35−40 −28.6%	45 +28.6%
4K	14−16 −35.7%	19 +35.7%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	10.54	no data
4K	26.36	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

12−14

−16.7%

14−16
+16.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 −22.2%	21−24 +22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−11 −30%	12−14 +30%
Battlefield 5	21−24 −22.7%	27−30 +22.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 −20%	18−20 +20%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 −16.7%	14−16 +16.7%
Far Cry 5	16−18 −17.6%	20−22 +17.6%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 −19%	24−27 +19%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 −22.4%	60−65 +22.4%
Hitman 3	14−16 −21.4%	16−18 +21.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 −16.3%	50−55 +16.3%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −33.3%	27−30 +33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 −25%	24−27 +25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 −16%	27−30 +16%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 −11.1%	60−65 +11.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 −22.2%	21−24 +22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−11 −30%	12−14 +30%
Battlefield 5	21−24 −22.7%	27−30 +22.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 −20%	18−20 +20%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 −16.7%	14−16 +16.7%
Far Cry 5	16−18 −17.6%	20−22 +17.6%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 −19%	24−27 +19%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 −22.4%	60−65 +22.4%
Hitman 3	14−16 −21.4%	16−18 +21.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 −16.3%	50−55 +16.3%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −33.3%	27−30 +33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 −25%	24−27 +25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 −16%	27−30 +16%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 −300%	88 +300%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 −11.1%	60−65 +11.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 −22.2%	21−24 +22.2%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−11 −30%	12−14 +30%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 −20%	18−20 +20%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 −16.7%	14−16 +16.7%
Far Cry 5	16−18 −17.6%	20−22 +17.6%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 −22.4%	60−65 +22.4%
Hitman 3	14−16 −21.4%	16−18 +21.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 −16.3%	50−55 +16.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 −16%	27−30 +16%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +46.7%	15 −46.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 −11.1%	60−65 +11.1%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

20−22

−25%

24−27
+25%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16 −21.4%	16−18 +21.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 −28.6%	9−10 +28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 −66.7%	5−6 +66.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	7−8 −28.6%	9−10 +28.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Far Cry 5	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 −37%	35−40 +37%
Hitman 3	10−12 −9.1%	12−14 +9.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	16−18 −18.8%	18−20 +18.8%
Metro Exodus	8−9 −50%	12−14 +50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	5−6 −100%	10−11 +100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	45−50 −21.3%	55−60 +21.3%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

12−14

−15.4%

14−16
+15.4%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	5−6 −20%	6−7 +20%
Hitman 3	3−4 −66.7%	5−6 +66.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	24−27 −50%	35−40 +50%
Metro Exodus	5−6 −40%	7−8 +40%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 −50%	6−7 +50%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 −25%	5−6 +25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 −25%	5−6 +25%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −37.5%	10−12 +37.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	2−3 −150%	5−6 +150%
Watch Dogs: Legion	2−3 −50%	3−4 +50%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

7−8

−28.6%

9−10
+28.6%

This is how HD 6970 and GTX 870M compete in popular games:

GTX 870M is 29% faster in 1080p
GTX 870M is 36% faster in 4K

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

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6970 is 47% faster.
in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 870M is 300% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

HD 6970 is ahead in 1 test (1%)
GTX 870M is ahead in 70 tests (97%)
there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	7.34	8.94
Recency	14 December 2010	12 March 2014
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	3 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	550 Watt	100 Watt

GTX 870M has a 21.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 450% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 870M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6970 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6970 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 870M is a notebook one.

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