Radeon HD 7970 vs R9 FURY X
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon R9 FURY X and Radeon HD 7970, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
R9 FURY X outperforms HD 7970 by an impressive 79% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 285 | 435 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 5.79 | 2.14 |
| Power efficiency | 6.27 | 3.86 |
| Architecture | GCN 3.0 (2014−2019) | GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) |
| GPU code name | Fiji | Tahiti |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Design | reference | reference |
| Release date | 24 June 2015 (10 years ago) | 9 January 2012 (14 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $649 | $549 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
R9 FURY X has 171% better value for money than HD 7970.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 | 4096 | 2048 |
| Compute units | 64 | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 1050 MHz | 925 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 8,900 million | 4,313 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 275 Watt | 300 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 268.8 | 118.4 |
| Floating-point processing power | 8.602 TFLOPS | 3.789 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 64 | 32 |
| TMUs | 256 | 128 |
| L1 Cache | 1 MB | 512 KB |
| L2 Cache | 2 MB | 768 KB |
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).
| Bus support | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 2.1 x16 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 195 mm | 275 mm |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Bridgeless CrossFire | + | - |
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 | High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) | GDDR5 |
| High bandwidth memory (HBM) | + | no data |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory bus width | 4096 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1050 MHz | 1375 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 512 GB/s | 264 GB/s |
| Shared memory | no data | - |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x HDMI 1.4a, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |
| Eyefinity | + | + |
| Number of Eyefinity displays | 6 | no data |
| HDMI | + | + |
| DisplayPort support | + | - |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| AppAcceleration | + | - |
| CrossFire | + | + |
| FRTC | + | - |
| FreeSync | + | + |
| HD3D | + | - |
| LiquidVR | + | - |
| PowerTune | + | - |
| TressFX | + | - |
| TrueAudio | + | - |
| UVD | + | - |
| VCE | + | - |
| DDMA audio | + | no data |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | DirectX® 12 | DirectX® 11 |
| Shader Model | 6.5 | 6.5 (5.1) |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 2.0 | 2.1 (1.2) |
| Vulkan | + | - |
| Mantle | + | - |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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.
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.
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 | 180−190
+71.4%
| 105
−71.4%
|
| Full HD | 160−170
+72%
| 93
−72%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 4.06
+45.5%
| 5.90
−45.5%
|
- R9 FURY X has 46% lower cost per frame in 1080p
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Full HD
High
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 212
+0%
|
212
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 85−90
+0%
|
85−90
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 85−90
+0%
|
85−90
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Full HD
Epic
| Fortnite | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 95−100
+0%
|
95−100
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 100−110
+0%
|
100−110
+0%
|
| Valorant | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
4K
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Valorant | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
4K
Ultra
| Battlefield 5 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
This is how R9 FURY X and HD 7970 compete in popular games:
- R9 FURY X is 71% faster in 900p
- R9 FURY X is 72% faster in 1080p
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 66 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 22.42 | 12.55 |
| Recency | 24 June 2015 | 9 January 2012 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 275 Watt | 300 Watt |
R9 FURY X has a 78.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and 9.1% lower power consumption.
HD 7970, on the other hand, has a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount.
The Radeon R9 FURY X is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970 in performance tests.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
