GeForce GTX 680MX vs Radeon HD 8970M

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 8970M and GeForce GTX 680MX, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 8970M
2013
4 GB GDDR5, 100 Watt
9.70

GTX 680MX outperforms HD 8970M by a small 7% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking452431
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency6.946.07
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)Kepler (2012−2018)
GPU code nameNeptuneno data
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date14 May 2013 (11 years ago)23 October 2012 (12 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 cores12801536
Core clock speed850 MHz720 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,800 million3540 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Watt122 Watt
Texture fill rate72.0092.2 billion/sec
Floating-point processing power2.304 TFLOPSno data
ROPs32no data
TMUs80no 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 sizelargelarge
Bus supportno dataPCI Express 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
SLI options-+

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 amount4 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1200 MHz2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth153.6 GB/s160 GB/s
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.

3D Vision-+
Optimus-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12 API
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.64.5
OpenCL1.21.1
Vulkan1.2.131-
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 8970M 9.70
GTX 680MX 10.35
+6.7%

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 8970M 3876
GTX 680MX 4138
+6.8%

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 8970M 6818
+1.2%
GTX 680MX 6736

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.

HD 8970M 18667
GTX 680MX 25501
+36.6%

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 HD51
−9.8%
56
+9.8%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 18−20
−5.3%
20−22
+5.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
−6.1%
35−40
+6.1%
Counter-Strike 2 18−20
−5.3%
20−22
+5.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
−7.5%
40−45
+7.5%
Forza Horizon 5 24−27
−8%
27−30
+8%
Metro Exodus 27−30
−7.4%
27−30
+7.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2 27−30
−3.7%
27−30
+3.7%
Valorant 35−40
−7.7%
40−45
+7.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
−6.1%
35−40
+6.1%
Counter-Strike 2 18−20
−5.3%
20−22
+5.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Dota 2 26
−50%
35−40
+50%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−4.9%
40−45
+4.9%
Fortnite 55−60
−5.1%
60−65
+5.1%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
−7.5%
40−45
+7.5%
Forza Horizon 5 24−27
−8%
27−30
+8%
Grand Theft Auto V 39
+0%
35−40
+0%
Metro Exodus 27−30
−7.4%
27−30
+7.4%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
−5.1%
80−85
+5.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2 27−30
−3.7%
27−30
+3.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−33
−6.7%
30−35
+6.7%
Valorant 35−40
−7.7%
40−45
+7.7%
World of Tanks 148
−3.4%
150−160
+3.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
−6.1%
35−40
+6.1%
Counter-Strike 2 18−20
−5.3%
20−22
+5.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Dota 2 35−40
−8.3%
35−40
+8.3%
Far Cry 5 40−45
−4.9%
40−45
+4.9%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
−7.5%
40−45
+7.5%
Forza Horizon 5 24−27
−8%
27−30
+8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 75−80
−5.1%
80−85
+5.1%
Valorant 35−40
−7.7%
40−45
+7.7%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Grand Theft Auto V 14−16
−7.1%
14−16
+7.1%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
−6.3%
50−55
+6.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
World of Tanks 70−75
−6.9%
75−80
+6.9%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
Counter-Strike 2 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
−9.1%
24−27
+9.1%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%
Forza Horizon 5 14−16
−6.7%
16−18
+6.7%
Metro Exodus 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Valorant 24−27
−8%
27−30
+8%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Dota 2 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Grand Theft Auto V 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Metro Exodus 5−6
−20%
6−7
+20%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 27−30
−6.9%
30−35
+6.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 9−10
−11.1%
10−11
+11.1%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Dota 2 20−22
−5%
21−24
+5%
Far Cry 5 12−14
−8.3%
12−14
+8.3%
Fortnite 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Forza Horizon 5 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Valorant 10−11
−10%
10−12
+10%

This is how HD 8970M and GTX 680MX compete in popular games:

  • GTX 680MX is 10% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Dota 2, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 680MX is 50% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • GTX 680MX is ahead in 57 tests (89%)
  • there's a draw in 7 tests (11%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 9.70 10.35
Recency 14 May 2013 23 October 2012
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 2 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 122 Watt

HD 8970M has an age advantage of 6 months, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 22% lower power consumption.

GTX 680MX, on the other hand, has a 6.7% higher aggregate performance score.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 8970M and GeForce GTX 680MX.


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 8970M
Radeon HD 8970M
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX
GeForce GTX 680MX

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.


4.4 46 votes

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3.6 24 votes

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Questions & comments

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