Radeon HD 7970 vs RX 470

Place in performance ranking	242	352
Place by popularity	46	not in top-100
Value for money	5.32	4.00
Architecture	Polaris (2016−2019)	GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code name	Polaris 10 Pro	Tahiti XT
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	4 August 2016 (7 years old)	22 December 2011 (12 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$179	$549
Current price	$14.08 (0.1x MSRP)	$89 (0.2x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 470 has 33% better value for money than HD 7970.

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	2048	2048
Core clock speed	926 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1206 MHz	925 MHz
Number of transistors	5,700 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	300 Watt
Texture fill rate	154.4	118.4
Floating-point performance	4,940 gflops	3,789 gflops

Size and 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	no data	PCIe 2.1 x16
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	241 mm	274 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

Memory

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	8 GB	6 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	6600 MHz	1375 MHz
Memory bandwidth	211.2 GB/s	264 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Video outputs and ports

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	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	no data	+
HDMI	+	+
DisplayPort support	no data	-

Technologies

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

AppAcceleration	no data	-
CrossFire	no data	1
Enduro	no data	-
FreeSync	+	1
HD3D	no data	-
PowerTune	no data	-
TrueAudio	no data	-
ZeroCore	no data	-

API support

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

DirectX	12 (12_0)	DirectX® 11
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	2.0	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	no data
Mantle	no data	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance 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.

RX 470 20.90
+54.2%

HD 7970 13.55

RX 470 outperforms HD 7970 by 54% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

RX 470 8096
+54.3%

HD 7970 5248

RX 470 outperforms HD 7970 by 54% in Passmark.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

RX 470 17625
+127%

HD 7970 7770

RX 470 outperforms HD 7970 by 127% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 470 11885
+73.2%

HD 7970 6862

RX 470 outperforms HD 7970 by 73% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

RX 470 68475
+56.4%

HD 7970 43795

RX 470 outperforms HD 7970 by 56% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

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	160−170 +52.4%	105 −52.4%
Full HD	70 −32.9%	93 +32.9%
1440p	41 +70.8%	24−27 −70.8%
4K	36 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

30−35
+57.1%

21−24

−57.1%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +50%	27−30 −50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +68.2%	21−24 −68.2%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +52.2%	45−50 −52.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +54.3%	35−40 −54.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +57.1%	35−40 −57.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	74 +100%	35−40 −100%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +50%	45−50 −50%
Hitman 3	60−65 +64.9%	35−40 −64.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +60.7%	27−30 −60.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +47.8%	21−24 −47.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +60.7%	27−30 −60.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +60%	24−27 −60%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +50%	27−30 −50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +68.2%	21−24 −68.2%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +52.2%	45−50 −52.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +54.3%	35−40 −54.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +57.1%	35−40 −57.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	68 +83.8%	35−40 −83.8%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +50%	45−50 −50%
Hitman 3	60−65 +64.9%	35−40 −64.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +60.7%	27−30 −60.7%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +47.8%	21−24 −47.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +60.7%	27−30 −60.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	70 +150%	27−30 −150%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +60%	24−27 −60%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +50%	27−30 −50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +68.2%	21−24 −68.2%
Battlefield 5	70−75 +52.2%	45−50 −52.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +57.1%	21−24 −57.1%
Far Cry 5	61 +74.3%	35−40 −74.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	63 +70.3%	35−40 −70.3%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +50%	45−50 −50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	40 +42.9%	27−30 −42.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +60%	24−27 −60%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35 +55%	20−22 −55%
Hitman 3	30−35 +61.9%	21−24 −61.9%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 +47.4%	18−20 −47.4%
Metro Exodus	20−22 +66.7%	12−14 −66.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	16−18 +60%	10−11 −60%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +58.8%	16−18 −58.8%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +57.1%	14−16 −57.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	20−22 +100%	10−11 −100%
Battlefield 5	45−50 +70.4%	27−30 −70.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Far Cry 5	43 +95.5%	21−24 −95.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	46 +91.7%	24−27 −91.7%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +65.4%	24−27 −65.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +76.9%	12−14 −76.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion	14−16 +87.5%	8−9 −87.5%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +77.8%	9−10 −77.8%
Hitman 3	18−20 +58.3%	12−14 −58.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 +40%	10−11 −40%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +100%	6−7 −100%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−12 +57.1%	7−8 −57.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +75%	8−9 −75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 +62.5%	8−9 −62.5%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Battlefield 5	24−27 +71.4%	14−16 −71.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Far Cry 5	16−18 +54.5%	10−12 −54.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	24 +84.6%	12−14 −84.6%
Forza Horizon 4	30−33 +66.7%	18−20 −66.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%

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

900p resolution:

RX 470 is 52.4% faster than HD 7970

1080p resolution:

HD 7970 is 32.9% faster than RX 470

1440p resolution:

RX 470 is 70.8% faster than HD 7970

4K resolution:

RX 470 is 71.4% faster than HD 7970

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

in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 470 is 150% faster than the HD 7970.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, RX 470 surpassed HD 7970 in all 68 of our tests.

Advantages and disadvantages

Performance score	20.90	13.55
Recency	4 August 2016	22 December 2011
Cost	$179	$549
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	6 GB
Chip lithography	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	300 Watt