Maxwell GPU Surface Book vs Radeon HD 6990M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6990M and Maxwell GPU Surface Book, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 6990M
2011
2 GB GDDR5, 100 Watt
5.25
+41.9%

HD 6990M outperforms Maxwell GPU Surface Book by a considerable 42% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking619714
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency3.61no data
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code nameBlackcombSurface Book
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date12 July 2011 (13 years ago)1 October 2015 (9 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 cores1120384
Core clock speed715 MHz954 MHz
Boost clock speedno data993 MHz
Number of transistors1,700 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology40 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Wattno data
Texture fill rate40.04no data
Floating-point processing power1.602 TFLOPSno data
ROPs32no data
TMUs56no 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 sizelargeno data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)no data
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno data

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 amount2 GB1 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed900 MHz5012 MHz
Memory bandwidth115.2 GB/sno data
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 ConnectorsNo outputsno data

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.

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (FL 11_0)
Shader Model5.0no data
OpenGL4.4no data
OpenCL1.2no data
VulkanN/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. 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 6990M 5.25
+41.9%
Maxwell GPU Surface Book 3.70

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.

HD 6990M 3227
+25.2%
Maxwell GPU Surface Book 2577

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:

900p54
+54.3%
35−40
−54.3%
Full HD59
+146%
24
−146%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+18.2%
10−12
−18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Elden Ring 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+18.2%
10−12
−18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+37.5%
16−18
−37.5%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+33.3%
12−14
−33.3%
Valorant 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+18.2%
10−12
−18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Dota 2 16−18
+54.5%
10−12
−54.5%
Elden Ring 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+25%
20−22
−25%
Fortnite 30−35
+47.6%
21−24
−47.6%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+37.5%
16−18
−37.5%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+54.5%
10−12
−54.5%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+33.3%
30−35
−33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+33.3%
12−14
−33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+30.8%
12−14
−30.8%
Valorant 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%
World of Tanks 85−90
+32.8%
60−65
−32.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+18.2%
10−12
−18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Dota 2 16−18
+54.5%
10−12
−54.5%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+25%
20−22
−25%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+37.5%
16−18
−37.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+33.3%
30−35
−33.3%
Valorant 12−14
+160%
5−6
−160%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Elden Ring 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Grand Theft Auto V 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 30−35
+30.8%
24−27
−30.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
World of Tanks 35−40
+46.2%
24−27
−46.2%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 8−9
+100%
4−5
−100%
Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
+167%
3−4
−167%
Metro Exodus 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%
Valorant 14−16
+27.3%
10−12
−27.3%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Elden Ring 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 1−2 0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 14−16
+50%
10−11
−50%
Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Dota 2 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Fortnite 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Valorant 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%

This is how HD 6990M and Maxwell GPU Surface Book compete in popular games:

  • HD 6990M is 54% faster in 900p
  • HD 6990M is 146% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6990M is 300% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 6990M is ahead in 56 tests (95%)
  • there's a draw in 3 tests (5%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.25 3.70
Recency 12 July 2011 1 October 2015
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 1 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 28 nm

HD 6990M has a 41.9% higher aggregate performance score, and a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount.

Maxwell GPU Surface Book, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 years, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon HD 6990M is our recommended choice as it beats the Maxwell GPU Surface Book 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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AMD Radeon HD 6990M
Radeon HD 6990M
NVIDIA Maxwell GPU Surface Book
Maxwell GPU Surface Book

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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


3.6 14 votes

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3.2 6 votes

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Questions & comments

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