GeForce GTX 970M vs Radeon RX 5500

Place in the ranking	251	355
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	14.28	12.62
Architecture	RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020)	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code name	Navi 14	GM204
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	7 October 2019 (5 years ago)	7 October 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$2,560.89

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	1408	1280
Core clock speed	no data	924 MHz
Boost clock speed	1845 MHz	1038 MHz
Number of transistors	6,400 million	5,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	110 Watt	unknown
Texture fill rate	162.4	83.04
Floating-point processing power	5.196 TFLOPS	2.657 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	48
TMUs	88	80

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 size	no data	large
Bus support	no data	PCI Express 3.0
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x16	MXM-B (3.0)
Length	180 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-pin	None
SLI options	-	+

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	GDDR6	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	3 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	14000 MHz	2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224.0 GB/s	120 GB/s
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 Connectors	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	No outputs
VGA аnalog display support	no data	+
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	no data	+
HDMI	+	+
G-SYNC support	-	+

Supported technologies

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

GameStream	-	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	-	+
GPU Boost	no data	2.0
GameWorks	-	+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	-	+
Optimus	-	+
BatteryBoost	-	+
Ansel	-	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12.0 (12_1)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	no data	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.5
OpenCL	no data	1.1
Vulkan	-	1.1.126
CUDA	-	+

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.

RX 5500 22.82
+53.7%

GTX 970M 14.85

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.

RX 5500 8772
+53.6%

GTX 970M 5710

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

RX 5500 42307
+122%

GTX 970M 19029

GeekBench 5 Vulkan

RX 5500 28910
+70.7%

GTX 970M 16936

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	200−210 +47.1%	136 −47.1%
Full HD	85−90 +51.8%	56 −51.8%
1440p	35−40 +40%	25 −40%
4K	30−35 +36.4%	22 −36.4%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	no data	45.73
1440p	no data	102.44
4K	no data	116.40

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Elden Ring	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	46 +0%	46 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Metro Exodus	41 +0%	41 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Valorant	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	46 +0%	46 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Dota 2	33 +0%	33 +0%
Elden Ring	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Fortnite	59 +0%	59 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	49 +0%	49 +0%
Metro Exodus	29 +0%	29 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	149 +0%	149 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	44 +0%	44 +0%
Valorant	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
World of Tanks	190−200 +0%	190−200 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	40 +0%	40 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Dota 2	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	38 +0%	38 +0%
Valorant	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Elden Ring	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
World of Tanks	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	27 +0%	27 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Metro Exodus	25 +0%	25 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Valorant	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Dota 2	33 +0%	33 +0%
Elden Ring	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	33 +0%	33 +0%
Metro Exodus	7 +0%	7 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	38 +0%	38 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	33 +0%	33 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	13 +0%	13 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Dota 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Fortnite	15 +0%	15 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Valorant	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

This is how RX 5500 and GTX 970M compete in popular games:

RX 5500 is 47% faster in 900p
RX 5500 is 52% faster in 1080p
RX 5500 is 40% faster in 1440p
RX 5500 is 36% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	22.82	14.85
Recency	7 October 2019	7 October 2014
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	3 GB
Chip lithography	7 nm	28 nm

RX 5500 has a 53.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 300% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 5500 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 970M in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 5500 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 970M is a notebook one.

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