NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q vs AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire

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Combined performance score

HD 8970M Crossfire
18.98

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q outperforms Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire by 20% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking272226
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money32.1115.87
ArchitectureGCN (2011−2017)Turing (2018−2021)
GPU code nameNeptune CFN18E-G0
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date1 May 2012 (11 years old)23 April 2019 (4 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$229
Current price$170 $1037 (4.5x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 8970M Crossfire has 102% better value for money than GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q.

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 cores25601536
Core clock speed850 MHz1140 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHz1335 MHz
Number of transistorsno data6,600 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)200 Watt60 Watt
Texture fill rateno data128.2

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire and GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. 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 sizelargemedium sized
Interfaceno dataPCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectorsno dataNone

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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amountno data6 GB
Memory bus width2x 256 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed4800 MHz12000 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data288.0 GB/s
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 Connectorsno dataNo outputs

API support

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

DirectX11.112 (12_1)
Shader Modelno data6.5
OpenGLno data4.6
OpenCLno data1.2
Vulkanno data1.2.131
CUDAno data7.5

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.

HD 8970M Crossfire 18.98
GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q 22.74
+19.8%

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q outperforms Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire by 20% in our combined 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%

HD 8970M Crossfire 34215
+7.4%
GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q 31845

Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q by 7% 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%

HD 8970M Crossfire 12424
GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q 17439
+40.4%

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q outperforms Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire by 40% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

HD 8970M Crossfire 10354
GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q 13355
+29%

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q outperforms Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire by 29% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

HD 8970M Crossfire 70114
+11.1%
GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q 63086

Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q by 11% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 8%

HD 8970M Crossfire 269832
GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q 306910
+13.7%

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q outperforms Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire by 14% in 3DMark Ice Storm 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:

Full HD70
−12.9%
79
+12.9%
4K27−30
−22.2%
33
+22.2%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−23.3%
35−40
+23.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
−43.6%
56
+43.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
−21.2%
40−45
+21.2%
Battlefield 5 60−65
−29.7%
83
+29.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
−79.6%
88
+79.6%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−23.3%
35−40
+23.3%
Far Cry 5 50−55
−38%
69
+38%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
−55.8%
81
+55.8%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
−16.7%
75−80
+16.7%
Hitman 3 55−60
−21.8%
65−70
+21.8%
Horizon Zero Dawn 40−45
−95%
78
+95%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
−132%
72
+132%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
−70.7%
70
+70.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
−18.9%
40−45
+18.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
−30.8%
51
+30.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
−21.2%
40−45
+21.2%
Battlefield 5 60−65
−21.9%
78
+21.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 45−50
−38.8%
68
+38.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−23.3%
35−40
+23.3%
Far Cry 5 50−55
−32%
66
+32%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
−50%
78
+50%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
−16.7%
75−80
+16.7%
Hitman 3 55−60
−21.8%
65−70
+21.8%
Horizon Zero Dawn 40−45
−45%
58
+45%
Metro Exodus 30−35
−54.8%
48
+54.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
−22.6%
38
+22.6%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
−46.3%
60
+46.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
−124%
92
+124%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
−18.9%
40−45
+18.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 35−40
−7.7%
42
+7.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 30−35
−21.2%
40−45
+21.2%
Battlefield 5 60−65
−14.1%
73
+14.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−23.3%
35−40
+23.3%
Far Cry 5 50−55
−24%
62
+24%
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55
−36.5%
71
+36.5%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
−16.7%
75−80
+16.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 40−45
−24.4%
51
+24.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
−18.9%
40−45
+18.9%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
−25%
35−40
+25%
Hitman 3 30−35
−19.4%
35−40
+19.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
−20%
30−33
+20%
Metro Exodus 18−20
−22.2%
21−24
+22.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
−21.4%
16−18
+21.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
−25%
30−33
+25%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 20−22
−25%
24−27
+25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 16−18
−29.4%
21−24
+29.4%
Battlefield 5 40−45
−21.4%
50−55
+21.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Far Cry 5 30−35
−21.9%
35−40
+21.9%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
−22.2%
40−45
+22.2%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
−21.1%
45−50
+21.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
−23.8%
24−27
+23.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion 12−14
−30.8%
16−18
+30.8%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
−21.4%
16−18
+21.4%
Hitman 3 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 12−14
−25%
14−16
+25%
Metro Exodus 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
−20%
12−14
+20%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
−33.3%
16−18
+33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
−63.2%
31
+63.2%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 12−14
−16.7%
14−16
+16.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−11
−20%
12−14
+20%
Battlefield 5 21−24
−72.7%
38
+72.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Far Cry 5 14−16
−100%
30
+100%
Far Cry New Dawn 18−20
−22.2%
21−24
+22.2%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
−18.5%
30−35
+18.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion 8−9
−25%
10−11
+25%

This is how HD 8970M Crossfire and GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q is 12.9% faster than HD 8970M Crossfire

4K resolution:

  • GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q is 22.2% faster than HD 8970M Crossfire

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

  • in Red Dead Redemption 2, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q is 132% faster than the HD 8970M Crossfire.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q surpassed HD 8970M Crossfire in all 68 of our tests.

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 18.98 22.74
Recency 1 May 2012 23 April 2019
Chip lithography 28 nm 12 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 200 Watt 60 Watt

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire in performance tests.


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

User ratings

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AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire
Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q

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Questions and comments

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