Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire vs R9 280X

Place in the ranking	353	339
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.60	no data
Power efficiency	4.19	5.53
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	GCN (2012−2015)
GPU code name	Tahiti	Wimbledon XT
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Design	reference	no data
Release date	8 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 cores	2048	2560
Core clock speed	no data	850 MHz
Boost clock speed	1000 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	4,313 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	250 Watt	200 Watt
Texture fill rate	128.0	no data
Floating-point processing power	4.096 TFLOPS	no data
ROPs	32	no data
TMUs	128	no 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 size	no data	large
Bus support	PCIe 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	no data
Length	275 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin	no 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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	no data
Memory bus width	384 Bit	2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed	no data	4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	288 GB/s	no 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 Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	no 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.

DirectX	DirectX® 12	11.1
Shader Model	5.1	no data
OpenGL	4.6	no data
OpenCL	1.2	no 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 15.19

HD 7970M Crossfire 16.05
+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:

900p	120−130 −10%	132 +10%
Full HD	64 −57.8%	101 +57.8%
4K	33 +10%	30−35 −10%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	4.67	no data
4K	9.06	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	24−27 −7.7%	27−30 +7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −6.7%	30−35 +6.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 −6.1%	50−55 +6.1%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 −7.7%	27−30 +7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −6.7%	30−35 +6.7%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −6.5%	65−70 +6.5%
Forza Horizon 5	40−45 −7.5%	40−45 +7.5%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −4.8%	40−45 +4.8%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 −5.4%	35−40 +5.4%
Valorant	60−65 −6.6%	65−70 +6.6%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 −6.1%	50−55 +6.1%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 −7.7%	27−30 +7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −6.7%	30−35 +6.7%
Dota 2	36 −61.1%	55−60 +61.1%
Far Cry 5	55−60 −3.6%	55−60 +3.6%
Fortnite	80−85 −4.8%	85−90 +4.8%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −6.5%	65−70 +6.5%
Forza Horizon 5	40−45 −7.5%	40−45 +7.5%
Grand Theft Auto V	54 −5.6%	55−60 +5.6%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −4.8%	40−45 +4.8%
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 −6.6%	65−70 +6.6%
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	24−27 −7.7%	27−30 +7.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −6.7%	30−35 +6.7%
Dota 2	137 +136%	55−60 −136%
Far Cry 5	55−60 −3.6%	55−60 +3.6%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −6.5%	65−70 +6.5%
Forza Horizon 5	40−45 −7.5%	40−45 +7.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	100−110 −4.6%	110−120 +4.6%
Valorant	60−65 −6.6%	65−70 +6.6%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	21−24 −9.1%	24−27 +9.1%
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	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −8.1%	40−45 +8.1%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −5.3%	40−45 +5.3%
Forza Horizon 5	24−27 −4.2%	24−27 +4.2%
Metro Exodus	30−35 −6.1%	35−40 +6.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20−22 −10%	21−24 +10%
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%
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 −25%	5−6 +25%
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 −4.5%	21−24 +4.5%
Forza Horizon 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
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 61% faster.

All in all, in popular games: