Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire vs R9 M290X

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 M290X and Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 M290X
2014
4 GB GDDR5, 100 Watt
8.45

HD 6970M Crossfire outperforms R9 M290X by a small 8% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking500478
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency5.79no data
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)Terascale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code nameNeptuneBlackcomb XT
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date9 January 2014 (10 years ago)6 January 2011 (13 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 cores12801920
Compute units20no data
Core clock speed850 MHz680 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,800 million2x1700 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Wattno data
Texture fill rate72.00no data
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 supportPCIe 3.0 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16no data
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno 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 amount4 GB2x2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1200 MHz900 MHz
Memory bandwidth153.6 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 ConnectorsNo outputsno data
Eyefinity+-

Supported technologies

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

FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
PowerTune+-
DualGraphics+-
ZeroCore+-
Switchable graphics+-

API compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1111
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.4no data
OpenCLNot Listedno data
Mantle+-

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 M290X 8.45
HD 6970M Crossfire 9.15
+8.3%

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 M290X 6817
+23%
HD 6970M Crossfire 5542

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 M290X 23961
+5.7%
HD 6970M Crossfire 22667

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:

900p85−90
−10.6%
94
+10.6%
Full HD46
−120%
101
+120%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
−4.8%
21−24
+4.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
−8.3%
12−14
+8.3%
Battlefield 5 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
−11.8%
18−20
+11.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Far Cry 5 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
−8.9%
60−65
+8.9%
Hitman 3 16−18
−6.3%
16−18
+6.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 45−50
−6.3%
50−55
+6.3%
Metro Exodus 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
−7.1%
30−33
+7.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 55−60
−3.4%
60−65
+3.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
−4.8%
21−24
+4.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
−8.3%
12−14
+8.3%
Battlefield 5 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
−11.8%
18−20
+11.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Far Cry 5 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
Far Cry New Dawn 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
−8.9%
60−65
+8.9%
Hitman 3 16−18
−6.3%
16−18
+6.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 45−50
−6.3%
50−55
+6.3%
Metro Exodus 24−27
−7.7%
27−30
+7.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
−7.1%
30−33
+7.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 55−60
−3.4%
60−65
+3.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
−4.8%
21−24
+4.8%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14
−8.3%
12−14
+8.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 16−18
−11.8%
18−20
+11.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Far Cry 5 18−20
−10.5%
21−24
+10.5%
Forza Horizon 4 55−60
−8.9%
60−65
+8.9%
Hitman 3 16−18
−6.3%
16−18
+6.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn 45−50
−6.3%
50−55
+6.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 27−30
−7.1%
30−33
+7.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion 55−60
−3.4%
60−65
+3.4%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
−8.7%
24−27
+8.7%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
−12.5%
18−20
+12.5%
Far Cry New Dawn 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
−14.7%
35−40
+14.7%
Hitman 3 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 18−20
−5.6%
18−20
+5.6%
Metro Exodus 10−12
−18.2%
12−14
+18.2%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 9−10
−11.1%
10−11
+11.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 50−55
−7.4%
55−60
+7.4%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
−7.1%
14−16
+7.1%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Hitman 3 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 30−35
−15.6%
35−40
+15.6%
Metro Exodus 6−7
−16.7%
7−8
+16.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
−20%
6−7
+20%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Forza Horizon 4 10−11
−10%
10−12
+10%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 4−5
−25%
5−6
+25%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
−12.5%
9−10
+12.5%

This is how R9 M290X and HD 6970M Crossfire compete in popular games:

  • HD 6970M Crossfire is 11% faster in 900p
  • HD 6970M Crossfire is 120% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6970M Crossfire is 25% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 6970M Crossfire is ahead in 60 tests (83%)
  • there's a draw in 12 tests (17%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 8.45 9.15
Recency 9 January 2014 6 January 2011
Chip lithography 28 nm 40 nm

R9 M290X has an age advantage of 3 years, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

HD 6970M Crossfire, on the other hand, has a 8.3% higher aggregate performance score.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon R9 M290X and Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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AMD Radeon R9 M290X
Radeon R9 M290X
AMD Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire
Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.2 12 votes

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2.7 3 votes

Rate Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

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