RX 550 Mobile vs HD 8970M

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Combined performance score

HD 8970M
10.00
+44.7%

HD 8970M outperforms RX 550 Mobile by 45% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking412520
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money10.945.17
ArchitectureGCN (2011−2017)Polaris (2016−2019)
GPU code nameNeptunePolaris 12
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date15 May 2013 (10 years old)21 March 2017 (7 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$79.99
Current price$135 $294 (3.7x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 8970M has 112% better value for money than RX 550 Mobile.

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 cores1280640
Core clock speed850 MHz1287 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHz1476 MHz
Number of transistors2,800 million2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Watt50 Watt
Texture fill rate72.0051.48
Floating-point performance2,304 gflops1,647 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon HD 8970M and Radeon RX 550 Mobile compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizelargelarge
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x8

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GB4 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed4800 MHz6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth153.6 GB/s96 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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs

Technologies

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

FreeSyncno data+

API support

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12 (12_0)
Shader Model5.16.4
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.22.0
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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.

HD 8970M 10.00
+44.7%
RX 550 Mobile 6.91

HD 8970M outperforms RX 550 Mobile by 45% in our combined benchmark results.


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%

HD 8970M 6818
+49.6%
RX 550 Mobile 4559

HD 8970M outperforms RX 550 Mobile by 50% 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%

HD 8970M 5039
+38.2%
RX 550 Mobile 3645

HD 8970M outperforms RX 550 Mobile by 38% 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%

HD 8970M 31027
+34.6%
RX 550 Mobile 23050

HD 8970M outperforms RX 550 Mobile by 35% 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:

Full HD53
+231%
16
−231%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+60%
10
−60%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+50%
14−16
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 14−16
+87.5%
8
−87.5%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+54.5%
21−24
−54.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+35%
20−22
−35%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+38.9%
18
−38.9%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+45.8%
24−27
−45.8%
Hitman 3 24−27
+85.7%
14
−85.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn 20−22
+122%
9
−122%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+31.3%
16−18
−31.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 18−20
+80%
10
−80%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+50%
14−16
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 14−16
+87.5%
8
−87.5%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+54.5%
21−24
−54.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+35%
20−22
−35%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+66.7%
15
−66.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+45.8%
24−27
−45.8%
Hitman 3 24−27
+160%
10
−160%
Horizon Zero Dawn 20−22
+42.9%
14−16
−42.9%
Metro Exodus 14−16
+275%
4
−275%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+41.7%
12−14
−41.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 21−24
+31.3%
16−18
−31.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 31
+82.4%
17
−82.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 18−20
+125%
8
−125%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 21−24
+50%
14−16
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 14−16
+66.7%
9−10
−66.7%
Battlefield 5 30−35
+54.5%
21−24
−54.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+92.3%
13
−92.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 27−30
+58.8%
16−18
−58.8%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+45.8%
24−27
−45.8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18
−33.3%
24
+33.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion 18−20
+350%
4
−350%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+50%
10−11
−50%
Hitman 3 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
+23.1%
12−14
−23.1%
Metro Exodus 8−9
+60%
5−6
−60%
Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 12−14
+30%
10−11
−30%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 9−10
+80%
5−6
−80%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+200%
2−3
−200%
Battlefield 5 16−18
+143%
7−8
−143%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+45.5%
10−12
−45.5%
Far Cry New Dawn 16−18
+77.8%
9−10
−77.8%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+63.6%
10−12
−63.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Watch Dogs: Legion 5−6
+150%
2−3
−150%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 7−8
+40%
5−6
−40%
Hitman 3 9−10
+50%
6−7
−50%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Metro Exodus 4−5
+300%
1−2
−300%
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
+100%
4−5
−100%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 6−7
+50%
4−5
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 4−5
+33.3%
3−4
−33.3%
Battlefield 5 8−9
+167%
3−4
−167%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+33.3%
6−7
−33.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−12
+37.5%
8−9
−37.5%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+71.4%
7−8
−71.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4
+200%
1−2
−200%

This is how HD 8970M and RX 550 Mobile compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

  • HD 8970M is 231% faster than RX 550 Mobile

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

  • in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 8970M is 350% faster than the RX 550 Mobile.
  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 550 Mobile is 33.3% faster than the HD 8970M.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 8970M is ahead in 66 tests (97%)
  • RX 550 Mobile is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 10.00 6.91
Recency 15 May 2013 21 March 2017
Chip lithography 28 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 50 Watt

The Radeon HD 8970M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 550 Mobile in performance tests.


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

User ratings

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AMD Radeon HD 8970M
Radeon HD 8970M
AMD Radeon RX 550 Mobile
Radeon RX 550 Mobile

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User ratings: view and submit

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4.3 41 vote

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3.7 21 vote

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Questions and comments

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