Radeon AI PRO R9700 vs HD 7970

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7970 with Radeon AI PRO R9700, including specs and performance data.

HD 7970
2012, $549
6 GB GDDR5, 300 Watt
12.68
AI PRO R9700
2025, $1,299
32 GB GDDR6, 300 Watt
65.78
+419%

AI PRO R9700 outperforms HD 7970 by a whopping 419% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking44229
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.1928.13
Power efficiency3.9016.87
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2012−2020)RDNA 4.0 (2025)
GPU code nameTahitiNavi 48
Market segmentDesktopWorkstation
Designreferenceno data
Release date9 January 2012 (14 years ago)23 July 2025 (less than a year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$549 $1,299

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

AI PRO R9700 has 1184% better value for money than HD 7970.

Performance to price scatter graph

Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores20484096
Core clock speedno data1660 MHz
Boost clock speed925 MHz2920 MHz
Number of transistors4,313 million53,900 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm4 nm
Power consumption (TDP)300 Watt300 Watt
Texture fill rate118.4747.5
Floating-point processing power3.789 TFLOPS47.84 TFLOPS
ROPs32128
TMUs128256
Tensor Coresno data128
Ray Tracing Coresno data64
L0 Cacheno data1 MB
L1 Cache512 KBno data
L2 Cache768 KB8 MB
L3 Cacheno data64 MB

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 2.1 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 5.0 x16
Length275 mm267 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin1x 16-pin

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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount6 GB32 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1375 MHz2518 MHz
Memory bandwidth264 GB/s644.6 GB/s
Shared memory--
Resizable BAR-+

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.21x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a
Eyefinity+-
HDMI++

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-

API and SDK support

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

DirectXDirectX® 1112 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model6.5 (5.1)6.8
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)2.2
Vulkan-1.3
DLSS-+

Synthetic benchmarks

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 7970 12.68
AI PRO R9700 65.78
+419%

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 7970 5248
Samples: 10419
AI PRO R9700 27227
+419%
Samples: 78

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:

900p105
−376%
500−550
+376%
Full HD93
−384%
450−500
+384%

Cost per frame, $

1080p5.90
−104%
2.89
+104%
  • AI PRO R9700 has 104% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 70−75
−400%
350−400
+400%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−400%
130−140
+400%
Resident Evil 4 Remake 24−27
−400%
130−140
+400%

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 55−60
−418%
290−300
+418%
Counter-Strike 2 70−75
−400%
350−400
+400%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−400%
130−140
+400%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−400%
210−220
+400%
Fortnite 70−75
−373%
350−400
+373%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
−419%
280−290
+419%
Forza Horizon 5 40−45
−400%
200−210
+400%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
−400%
230−240
+400%
Valorant 110−120
−400%
550−600
+400%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 55−60
−418%
290−300
+418%
Counter-Strike 2 70−75
−400%
350−400
+400%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 212
−395%
1050−1100
+395%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−400%
130−140
+400%
Dota 2 85−90
−371%
400−450
+371%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−400%
210−220
+400%
Fortnite 70−75
−373%
350−400
+373%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
−419%
280−290
+419%
Forza Horizon 5 40−45
−400%
200−210
+400%
Grand Theft Auto V 45−50
−400%
240−250
+400%
Metro Exodus 24−27
−400%
130−140
+400%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
−400%
230−240
+400%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
−415%
170−180
+415%
Valorant 110−120
−400%
550−600
+400%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 55−60
−418%
290−300
+418%
Cyberpunk 2077 24−27
−400%
130−140
+400%
Dota 2 85−90
−371%
400−450
+371%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−400%
210−220
+400%
Forza Horizon 4 50−55
−419%
280−290
+419%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
−400%
230−240
+400%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
−415%
170−180
+415%
Valorant 110−120
−400%
550−600
+400%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 70−75
−373%
350−400
+373%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 24−27
−400%
120−130
+400%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 95−100
−374%
450−500
+374%
Grand Theft Auto V 18−20
−400%
95−100
+400%
Metro Exodus 14−16
−400%
75−80
+400%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 85−90
−417%
450−500
+417%
Valorant 120−130
−384%
600−650
+384%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 35−40
−414%
180−190
+414%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−400%
55−60
+400%
Far Cry 5 27−30
−400%
140−150
+400%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
−416%
160−170
+416%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
−400%
90−95
+400%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 27−30
−400%
140−150
+400%

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−400%
45−50
+400%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
−400%
120−130
+400%
Metro Exodus 9−10
−400%
45−50
+400%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
−400%
85−90
+400%
Valorant 60−65
−400%
300−310
+400%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 18−20
−400%
90−95
+400%
Counter-Strike 2 9−10
−400%
45−50
+400%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−350%
18−20
+350%
Dota 2 45−50
−400%
230−240
+400%
Far Cry 5 12−14
−400%
65−70
+400%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−400%
110−120
+400%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 12−14
−400%
60−65
+400%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 12−14
−400%
60−65
+400%

This is how HD 7970 and AI PRO R9700 compete in popular games:

  • AI PRO R9700 is 376% faster in 900p
  • AI PRO R9700 is 384% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 12.68 65.78
Recency 9 January 2012 23 July 2025
Maximum RAM amount 6 GB 32 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 4 nm

AI PRO R9700 has a 419% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 13 years, a 433% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 600% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon AI PRO R9700 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 7970 is a desktop graphics card while Radeon AI PRO R9700 is a workstation one.

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.


3.9 346 votes

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4.4 35 votes

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