HD 7970 vs R7 370

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Combined performance score

R7 370
11.66

HD 7970 outperforms R7 370 by 16% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking375350
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money1.364.00
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2012−2020)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code nameTrinidad (Pitcairn)Tahiti XT
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferencereference
Release date5 May 2015 (8 years old)22 December 2011 (12 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$149 $549
Current price$378 (2.5x MSRP)$89 (0.2x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7970 has 194% better value for money than R7 370.

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 cores10242048
Boost clock speed975 MHz925 MHz
Number of transistors2,800 million4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)110 Watt300 Watt
Texture fill rate62.40118.4
Floating-point performance1,997 gflops3,789 gflops

Size and 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 3.0PCIe 2.1 x16
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length152 mm274 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB6 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed975 MHz1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth179.2 GB/s264 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity++
Number of Eyefinity displays6no data
HDMI++
DisplayPort support+-

Technologies

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

AppAcceleration+-
CrossFire11
Enduro--
FreeSync11
HD3D--
PowerTune--
TrueAudio+-
ZeroCore--
VCE+no data
DDMA audio+no data

API support

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

DirectXDirectX® 12DirectX® 11
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan+no data
Mantle+-

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.

R7 370 11.66
HD 7970 13.54
+16.1%

HD 7970 outperforms R7 370 by 16% in our combined benchmark results.


Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

R7 370 4520
HD 7970 5248
+16.1%

HD 7970 outperforms R7 370 by 16% in Passmark.

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%

R7 370 28723
+16%
HD 7970 24757

R7 370 outperforms HD 7970 by 16% 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%

R7 370 8519
+9.6%
HD 7970 7770

R7 370 outperforms HD 7970 by 10% 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%

R7 370 5961
HD 7970 6862
+15.1%

HD 7970 outperforms R7 370 by 15% 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%

R7 370 39809
HD 7970 43795
+10%

HD 7970 outperforms R7 370 by 10% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

Unigine Heaven 4.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark, a newer version of Unigine 3.0 with relatively small differences. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. The benchmark is still sometimes used, despite its significant age, as it was released back in 2013.

Benchmark coverage: 1%

R7 370 702
HD 7970 985
+40.3%

HD 7970 outperforms R7 370 by 40% in Unigine Heaven 4.0.

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:

900p90−95
−16.7%
105
+16.7%
Full HD47
−97.9%
93
+97.9%
1440p41
−9.8%
45−50
+9.8%
4K20
−5%
21−24
+5%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
−12%
27−30
+12%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 18−20
−15.8%
21−24
+15.8%
Battlefield 5 40−45
−15%
45−50
+15%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
−12.9%
35−40
+12.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Far Cry 5 30−33
−16.7%
35−40
+16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−35
−15.6%
35−40
+15.6%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
−17.1%
45−50
+17.1%
Hitman 3 30−35
−19.4%
35−40
+19.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
−16.7%
27−30
+16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 20−22
−15%
21−24
+15%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
−12%
27−30
+12%
Watch Dogs: Legion 21−24
−19%
24−27
+19%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
−12%
27−30
+12%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 18−20
−15.8%
21−24
+15.8%
Battlefield 5 40−45
−15%
45−50
+15%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35
−12.9%
35−40
+12.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Far Cry 5 30−33
−16.7%
35−40
+16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−35
−15.6%
35−40
+15.6%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
−17.1%
45−50
+17.1%
Hitman 3 30−35
−19.4%
35−40
+19.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
−16.7%
27−30
+16.7%
Metro Exodus 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 20−22
−15%
21−24
+15%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 24−27
−12%
27−30
+12%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35
+25%
27−30
−25%
Watch Dogs: Legion 21−24
−19%
24−27
+19%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
−12%
27−30
+12%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 18−20
−15.8%
21−24
+15.8%
Battlefield 5 40−45
−15%
45−50
+15%
Cyberpunk 2077 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Far Cry 5 30−33
−16.7%
35−40
+16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 30−35
−15.6%
35−40
+15.6%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
−17.1%
45−50
+17.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 22
−27.3%
27−30
+27.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 21−24
−19%
24−27
+19%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
−17.6%
20−22
+17.6%
Hitman 3 18−20
−16.7%
21−24
+16.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
−11.8%
18−20
+11.8%
Metro Exodus 10−11
−20%
12−14
+20%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
−25%
10−11
+25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
−13.3%
16−18
+13.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 8−9
−25%
10−11
+25%
Battlefield 5 21−24
−22.7%
27−30
+22.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
Far Cry 5 18−20
−15.8%
21−24
+15.8%
Far Cry New Dawn 20−22
−20%
24−27
+20%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−18.2%
24−27
+18.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−12
−18.2%
12−14
+18.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 6−7
−33.3%
8−9
+33.3%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Hitman 3 10−12
−9.1%
12−14
+9.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
−11.1%
10−11
+11.1%
Metro Exodus 5−6
−20%
6−7
+20%
Red Dead Redemption 2 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 6−7
−33.3%
8−9
+33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−11
−20%
12−14
+20%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
−14.3%
8−9
+14.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 5−6
−20%
6−7
+20%
Battlefield 5 10−12
−27.3%
14−16
+27.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 9−10
−22.2%
10−12
+22.2%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
−8.3%
12−14
+8.3%
Forza Horizon 4 14−16
−20%
18−20
+20%
Watch Dogs: Legion 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%

This is how R7 370 and HD 7970 compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

  • HD 7970 is 16.7% faster than R7 370

1080p resolution:

  • HD 7970 is 97.9% faster than R7 370

1440p resolution:

  • HD 7970 is 9.8% faster than R7 370

4K resolution:

  • HD 7970 is 5% faster than R7 370

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 R7 370 is 25% faster than the HD 7970.
  • in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7970 is 33.3% faster than the R7 370.

All in all, in popular games:

  • R7 370 is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • HD 7970 is ahead in 66 tests (97%)
  • there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 11.66 13.54
Recency 5 May 2015 22 December 2011
Cost $149 $549
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 6 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 110 Watt 300 Watt

The Radeon HD 7970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R7 370 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 R7 370
Radeon R7 370
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Radeon HD 7970

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