Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) vs HD 6970

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6970 with Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), including specs and performance data.

HD 6970
2010
2 GB GDDR5, 550 Watt
7.34
+63.5%

HD 6970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) by an impressive 63% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking545667
Place by popularitynot in top-10033
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.07no data
Power efficiency2.0320.65
ArchitectureTeraScale 3 (2010−2013)Vega (2017−2020)
GPU code nameCaymanVega Raven Ridge
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Designreferenceno data
Release date14 December 2010 (14 years ago)26 October 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$369 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

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

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 cores1536512
Core clock speedno data300 MHz
Boost clock speed880 MHz1200 MHz
Number of transistors2,640 million9,800 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)550 Watt15 Watt
Texture fill rate84.4857.60
Floating-point processing power2.703 TFLOPS1.843 TFLOPS
ROPs328
TMUs9632

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 supportPCIe 2.0 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16IGP
Length267 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pinNone

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 typeGDDR5System Shared
Maximum RAM amount2 GBSystem Shared
Memory bus width256 BitSystem Shared
Memory clock speed1375 MHzSystem Shared
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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPortNo outputs
Eyefinity+-
HDMI+-

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.

DirectXDirectX® 1112 (12_1)
Shader Model5.06.4
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.22.1
Vulkan-1.2

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 7.34
+63.5%
RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) 4.49

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 2838
+63.4%
RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) 1737

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
+45.7%
RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) 2381

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 HD27−30
+50%
18
−50%
4K16−18
+60%
10
−60%

Cost per frame, $

1080p13.67no data
4K23.06no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+21.4%
14
−21.4%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+55.6%
9
−55.6%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+70%
10
−70%
Battlefield 5 30−33
+25%
24
−25%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+55.6%
9
−55.6%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+83.3%
12
−83.3%
Fortnite 40−45
+40%
30
−40%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+19.2%
26
−19.2%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+41.7%
12
−41.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 24−27
+47.1%
17
−47.1%
Valorant 75−80
+33.9%
55−60
−33.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 16−18
+70%
10−11
−70%
Battlefield 5 30−33
+36.4%
22
−36.4%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 110−120
+167%
42
−167%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+133%
6
−133%
Dota 2 50−55
+42.1%
38
−42.1%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+120%
10
−120%
Fortnite 40−45
+121%
19
−121%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+3.3%
30
−3.3%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+88.9%
9−10
−88.9%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
+92.3%
13
−92.3%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+85.7%
7
−85.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 24−27
+78.6%
14
−78.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+38.5%
13
−38.5%
Valorant 75−80
+33.9%
55−60
−33.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−33
+30.4%
23
−30.4%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+180%
5
−180%
Dota 2 50−55
+54.3%
35
−54.3%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+144%
9
−144%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+34.8%
23
−34.8%
Forza Horizon 5 16−18
+88.9%
9−10
−88.9%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 24−27
+78.6%
14
−78.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+125%
8
−125%
Valorant 75−80
+400%
15
−400%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 40−45
+320%
10
−320%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+80%
5−6
−80%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 50−55
+65.6%
30−35
−65.6%
Grand Theft Auto V 9−10
+125%
4−5
−125%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+133%
3−4
−133%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+30%
30−33
−30%
Valorant 75−80
+71.7%
45−50
−71.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+550%
2−3
−550%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+100%
3−4
−100%
Far Cry 5 14−16
+75%
8−9
−75%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+100%
6−7
−100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−12
+57.1%
7−8
−57.1%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 14−16
+75%
8−9
−75%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Counter-Strike 2 1−2 0−1
Grand Theft Auto V 18−20
+12.5%
16−18
−12.5%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
Valorant 35−40
+66.7%
21−24
−66.7%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 6−7
+0%
6
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 1−2 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Dota 2 24−27
+66.7%
15
−66.7%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+75%
4−5
−75%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+22.2%
9
−22.2%
Forza Horizon 5 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%

This is how HD 6970 and RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) compete in popular games:

  • HD 6970 is 50% faster in 1080p
  • HD 6970 is 60% faster in 4K

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

  • in Battlefield 5, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6970 is 550% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 6970 is ahead in 61 test (97%)
  • there's a draw in 2 tests (3%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 7.34 4.49
Recency 14 December 2010 26 October 2017
Chip lithography 40 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 550 Watt 15 Watt

HD 6970 has a 63.5% higher aggregate performance score.

RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), on the other hand, has an age advantage of 6 years, a 185.7% more advanced lithography process, and 3566.7% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 6970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6970 is a desktop card while Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) is a notebook one.

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AMD Radeon HD 6970
Radeon HD 6970
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000)
Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000)

Other comparisons

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

Community ratings

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