Radeon HD 7970 vs RX 470 Mobile

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon RX 470 Mobile with Radeon HD 7970, including specs and performance data.

RX 470 Mobile
2016, $550
8 GB GDDR5, 85 Watt
16.32
+30.7%

470 Mobile outperforms HD 7970 by a substantial 31% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking360431
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation3.652.14
Power efficiency14.803.85
ArchitectureGCN 4.0 (2016−2020)GCN 1.0 (2012−2020)
GPU code nameEllesmereTahiti
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Designno datareference
Release date4 August 2016 (9 years ago)9 January 2012 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$549.99 $549

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

RX 470 Mobile has 71% 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 cores20482048
Core clock speed926 MHzno data
Boost clock speed1074 MHz925 MHz
Number of transistors5,700 million4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology14 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)85 Watt300 Watt
Texture fill rate137.5118.4
Floating-point processing power4.399 TFLOPS3.789 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs128128
L1 Cache512 KB512 KB
L2 Cache2 MB768 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).

Laptop sizelargeno data
Bus supportno dataPCIe 2.1 x16
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Lengthno data275 mm
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

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 amount8 GB6 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed1750 MHz1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth224.0 GB/s264 GB/s
Shared memory--

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 ConnectorsNo outputs1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2
Eyefinity-+
HDMI-+

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire-+
FreeSync++

API and SDK support

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

DirectX12 (12_0)DirectX® 11
Shader Model6.46.5 (5.1)
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.02.1 (1.2)
Vulkan1.2.131-

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.

RX 470 Mobile 16.32
+30.7%
HD 7970 12.49

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.

RX 470 Mobile 10715
+56.1%
HD 7970 6862

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:

900p130−140
+23.8%
105
−23.8%
Full HD120−130
+29%
93
−29%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.58
+28.8%
5.90
−28.8%
  • RX 470 Mobile has 29% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 90−95
+32.4%
70−75
−32.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+34.6%
24−27
−34.6%

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 70−75
+26.8%
55−60
−26.8%
Counter-Strike 2 90−95
+32.4%
70−75
−32.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+34.6%
24−27
−34.6%
Escape from Tarkov 65−70
+30.8%
50−55
−30.8%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+31%
40−45
−31%
Fortnite 90−95
+23%
70−75
−23%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+27.8%
50−55
−27.8%
Forza Horizon 5 50−55
+33.3%
35−40
−33.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60−65
+34.8%
45−50
−34.8%
Valorant 130−140
+18.9%
110−120
−18.9%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 70−75
+26.8%
55−60
−26.8%
Counter-Strike 2 90−95
+32.4%
70−75
−32.4%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 210−220
+0.9%
212
−0.9%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+34.6%
24−27
−34.6%
Dota 2 100−110
+18.8%
85−90
−18.8%
Escape from Tarkov 65−70
+30.8%
50−55
−30.8%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+31%
40−45
−31%
Fortnite 90−95
+23%
70−75
−23%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+27.8%
50−55
−27.8%
Forza Horizon 5 50−55
+33.3%
35−40
−33.3%
Grand Theft Auto V 60−65
+31.3%
45−50
−31.3%
Metro Exodus 35−40
+34.6%
24−27
−34.6%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60−65
+34.8%
45−50
−34.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 45−50
+36.4%
30−35
−36.4%
Valorant 130−140
+18.9%
110−120
−18.9%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 70−75
+26.8%
55−60
−26.8%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+34.6%
24−27
−34.6%
Dota 2 100−110
+18.8%
85−90
−18.8%
Escape from Tarkov 65−70
+30.8%
50−55
−30.8%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+31%
40−45
−31%
Forza Horizon 4 65−70
+27.8%
50−55
−27.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 60−65
+34.8%
45−50
−34.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 45−50
+36.4%
30−35
−36.4%
Valorant 130−140
+18.9%
110−120
−18.9%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 90−95
+23%
70−75
−23%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+37.5%
24−27
−37.5%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 120−130
+27.1%
95−100
−27.1%
Grand Theft Auto V 27−30
+40%
20−22
−40%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+40%
14−16
−40%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 160−170
+52.4%
100−110
−52.4%
Valorant 160−170
+21.5%
130−140
−21.5%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 45−50
+34.3%
35−40
−34.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+36.4%
10−12
−36.4%
Escape from Tarkov 35−40
+40%
24−27
−40%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+37%
27−30
−37%
Forza Horizon 4 40−45
+32.3%
30−35
−32.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
+38.9%
18−20
−38.9%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 35−40
+35.7%
27−30
−35.7%

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+75%
8−9
−75%
Grand Theft Auto V 30−35
+29.2%
24−27
−29.2%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+44.4%
9−10
−44.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
+41.2%
16−18
−41.2%
Valorant 90−95
+34.8%
65−70
−34.8%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 24−27
+38.9%
18−20
−38.9%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+75%
8−9
−75%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Dota 2 55−60
+28.3%
45−50
−28.3%
Escape from Tarkov 16−18
+33.3%
12−14
−33.3%
Far Cry 5 18−20
+38.5%
12−14
−38.5%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+31.8%
21−24
−31.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 16−18
+33.3%
12−14
−33.3%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%

This is how RX 470 Mobile and HD 7970 compete in popular games:

  • RX 470 Mobile is 24% faster in 900p
  • RX 470 Mobile is 29% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Counter-Strike 2, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RX 470 Mobile is 75% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, RX 470 Mobile surpassed HD 7970 in all 64 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 16.32 12.49
Recency 4 August 2016 9 January 2012
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 6 GB
Chip lithography 14 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 85 Watt 300 Watt

RX 470 Mobile has a 30.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 252.9% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 470 Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 470 Mobile is a notebook graphics card while Radeon HD 7970 is a desktop one.

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AMD Radeon RX 470 Mobile
Radeon RX 470 Mobile
AMD Radeon HD 7970
Radeon HD 7970

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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4.1 32 votes

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