Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire vs R9 280X

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 280X with Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire, including specs and performance data.

R9 280X
2013
3 GB GDDR5, 250 Watt
15.18

HD 7970M Crossfire outperforms R9 280X by a small 6% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking352338
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation5.51no data
Power efficiency4.185.52
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)GCN (2012−2015)
GPU code nameTahitiWimbledon XT
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Designreferenceno data
Release date8 October 2013 (11 years ago)1 May 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$299 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores20482560
Core clock speedno data850 MHz
Boost clock speed1000 MHzno data
Number of transistors4,313 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)250 Watt200 Watt
Texture fill rate128.0no data
Floating-point processing power4.096 TFLOPSno data
ROPs32no data
TMUs128no 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 sizeno datalarge
Bus supportPCIe 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Length275 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pinno data

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 amount3 GBno data
Memory bus width384 Bit2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speedno data4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth288 GB/sno data
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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPortno data
Eyefinity+-
HDMI+-
DisplayPort support+-

Supported technologies

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

AppAcceleration+-
CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
LiquidVR+-
TressFX+-
TrueAudio+-
UVD+-
DDMA audio+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1211.1
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan+-

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.

R9 280X 15.18
HD 7970M Crossfire 16.04
+5.7%

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.

R9 280X 10792
HD 7970M Crossfire 11119
+3%

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.

R9 280X 33045
+6.2%
HD 7970M Crossfire 31127

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:

900p120−130
−10%
132
+10%
Full HD64
−57.8%
101
+57.8%
4K33
+10%
30−35
−10%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.67no data
4K9.06no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 27−30
−3.7%
27−30
+3.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−6.7%
30−35
+6.7%
Elden Ring 45−50
−6.5%
45−50
+6.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
−6.1%
50−55
+6.1%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
−3.7%
27−30
+3.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−6.7%
30−35
+6.7%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
−6.5%
65−70
+6.5%
Metro Exodus 40−45
−7.3%
40−45
+7.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
−5.4%
35−40
+5.4%
Valorant 60−65
−4.9%
60−65
+4.9%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
−6.1%
50−55
+6.1%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
−3.7%
27−30
+3.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−6.7%
30−35
+6.7%
Dota 2 36
−58.3%
55−60
+58.3%
Elden Ring 45−50
−6.5%
45−50
+6.5%
Far Cry 5 55−60
−5.5%
55−60
+5.5%
Fortnite 80−85
−4.8%
85−90
+4.8%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
−6.5%
65−70
+6.5%
Grand Theft Auto V 54
−5.6%
55−60
+5.6%
Metro Exodus 40−45
−7.3%
40−45
+7.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−110
−4.6%
110−120
+4.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
−5.4%
35−40
+5.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 52
+6.1%
45−50
−6.1%
Valorant 60−65
−4.9%
60−65
+4.9%
World of Tanks 190−200
−4.1%
200−210
+4.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
−6.1%
50−55
+6.1%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
−3.7%
27−30
+3.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−33
−6.7%
30−35
+6.7%
Dota 2 137
+140%
55−60
−140%
Far Cry 5 55−60
−5.5%
55−60
+5.5%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
−6.5%
65−70
+6.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 100−110
−4.6%
110−120
+4.6%
Valorant 60−65
−4.9%
60−65
+4.9%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 21−24
−9.1%
24−27
+9.1%
Elden Ring 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Grand Theft Auto V 21−24
−4.3%
24−27
+4.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 130−140
−8.8%
140−150
+8.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
World of Tanks 100−110
−4.7%
110−120
+4.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−35
−3.2%
30−35
+3.2%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−9.1%
12−14
+9.1%
Far Cry 5 35−40
−8.1%
40−45
+8.1%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
−8.1%
40−45
+8.1%
Metro Exodus 30−35
−6.1%
35−40
+6.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
Valorant 35−40
−5.3%
40−45
+5.3%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 10−12
−9.1%
12−14
+9.1%
Dota 2 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%
Elden Ring 10−11
−10%
10−12
+10%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
−3.8%
27−30
+3.8%
Metro Exodus 10−11
−10%
10−12
+10%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 45−50
−6.7%
45−50
+6.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
−3.8%
27−30
+3.8%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 14−16
−7.1%
14−16
+7.1%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
−9.1%
12−14
+9.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Dota 2 68
+143%
27−30
−143%
Far Cry 5 18−20
−5.3%
20−22
+5.3%
Fortnite 16−18
−5.9%
18−20
+5.9%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−9.5%
21−24
+9.5%
Valorant 16−18
−5.9%
18−20
+5.9%

This is how R9 280X and HD 7970M Crossfire compete in popular games:

  • HD 7970M Crossfire is 10% faster in 900p
  • HD 7970M Crossfire is 58% faster in 1080p
  • R9 280X is 10% faster in 4K

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

  • in Dota 2, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 280X is 143% faster.
  • in Dota 2, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the HD 7970M Crossfire is 58% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • R9 280X is ahead in 3 tests (5%)
  • HD 7970M Crossfire is ahead in 58 tests (92%)
  • there's a draw in 2 tests (3%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 15.18 16.04
Recency 8 October 2013 1 May 2012
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 200 Watt

R9 280X has an age advantage of 1 year.

HD 7970M Crossfire, on the other hand, has a 5.7% higher aggregate performance score, and 25% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon R9 280X and Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire.

Be aware that Radeon R9 280X is a desktop card while Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire is a notebook one.


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 R9 280X
Radeon R9 280X
AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire

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.


4.1 703 votes

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2.1 19 votes

Rate Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

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