Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire vs GeForce GTX 960

Place in performance ranking	315	309
Place by popularity	41	not in top-100
Value for money	2.14	30.83
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2018)	GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code name	GM206	Wimbledon XT
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	22 January 2015 (9 years old)	1 May 2012 (11 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data
Current price	$440 (2.2x MSRP)	$126

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7970M Crossfire has 1341% better value for money than GTX 960.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1024	2560
CUDA cores	1024	no data
Core clock speed	1127 MHz	850 MHz
Boost clock speed	1178 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	2,940 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	200 Watt
Texture fill rate	72 billion/sec	no data
Floating-point performance	2,413 gflops	no data

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 960 and Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop size	no data	large
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	no data
Length	9.5" (24.1 cm)	no data
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Recommended system power (PSU)	400 Watt	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pins	no data
SLI options	+	no data

Memory

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	4 GB	no data
Memory bus width	128 Bit	2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	112 GB/s	no data
Shared memory	-	-

Video outputs and ports

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	Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2	no data
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
HDMI	+	no data
HDCP	+	no data
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
G-SYNC support	+	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

Technologies

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

GameStream	+	no data
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	no data
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	no data

API support

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	11.1
Shader Model	6.4	no data
OpenGL	4.4	no data
OpenCL	1.2	no data
Vulkan	+	no data
CUDA	+	no data

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance 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.

GTX 960 15.66

HD 7970M Crossfire 15.97
+2%

Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 960 by 2% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 960 30751

HD 7970M Crossfire 31127
+1.2%

Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 960 by 1% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 960 10768

HD 7970M Crossfire 11119
+3.3%

Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 960 by 3% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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	120−130 −10%	132 +10%
Full HD	65 −56.9%	102 +56.9%
4K	29 +7.4%	27−30 −7.4%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

24−27

−4.2%

24−27
+4.2%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Battlefield 5	50−55 −1.9%	50−55 +1.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	40−45 −2.5%	40−45 +2.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 −4.2%	24−27 +4.2%
Far Cry 5	40−45 −2.4%	40−45 +2.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45 −2.3%	40−45 +2.3%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 −1.8%	55−60 +1.8%
Hitman 3	40−45 −2.3%	40−45 +2.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−35 −3%	30−35 +3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −3.8%	27−30 +3.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 −3%	30−35 +3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Battlefield 5	50−55 −1.9%	50−55 +1.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	40−45 −2.5%	40−45 +2.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 −4.2%	24−27 +4.2%
Far Cry 5	40−45 −2.4%	40−45 +2.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45 −2.3%	40−45 +2.3%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 −1.8%	55−60 +1.8%
Hitman 3	40−45 −2.3%	40−45 +2.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−35 −3%	30−35 +3%
Metro Exodus	24−27 −4.2%	24−27 +4.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −3.8%	27−30 +3.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 −3%	30−35 +3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	50 +47.1%	30−35 −47.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Battlefield 5	50−55 −1.9%	50−55 +1.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 −4.2%	24−27 +4.2%
Far Cry 5	40−45 −2.4%	40−45 +2.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45 −2.3%	40−45 +2.3%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 −1.8%	55−60 +1.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	28 −21.4%	30−35 +21.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Hitman 3	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−12 −9.1%	12−14 +9.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	16−18 −6.3%	16−18 +6.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Battlefield 5	30−35 −3%	30−35 +3%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −12.5%	9−10 +12.5%
Far Cry 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	27−30 −3.4%	30−33 +3.4%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 −3.2%	30−35 +3.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 −6.3%	16−18 +6.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Hitman 3	14−16 −7.1%	14−16 +7.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Metro Exodus	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	8−9 −12.5%	9−10 +12.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	9−10 −11.1%	10−11 +11.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Battlefield 5	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	12−14 −8.3%	12−14 +8.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	14−16 −6.7%	16−18 +6.7%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%

This is how GTX 960 and HD 7970M Crossfire compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

HD 7970M Crossfire is 10% faster than GTX 960

1080p resolution:

HD 7970M Crossfire is 56.9% faster than GTX 960

4K resolution:

GTX 960 is 7.4% faster than HD 7970M Crossfire

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

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 960 is 47.1% faster than the HD 7970M Crossfire.
in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7970M Crossfire is 21.4% faster than the GTX 960.

All in all, in popular games: