Radeon HD 7970 vs RX 5500
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon RX 5500 and Radeon HD 7970, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
RX 5500 outperforms HD 7970 by an impressive 67% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 259 | 390 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 2.12 |
| Power efficiency | 14.21 | 3.73 |
| Architecture | RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) | GCN 1.0 (2011−2020) |
| GPU code name | Navi 14 | Tahiti |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Design | no data | reference |
| Release date | 7 October 2019 (5 years ago) | 22 December 2011 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $549 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.
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 | 2048 |
| Boost clock speed | 1845 MHz | 925 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 6,400 million | 4,313 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 7 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 110 Watt | 300 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 162.4 | 118.4 |
| Floating-point processing power | 5.196 TFLOPS | 3.789 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 |
| TMUs | 88 | 128 |
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).
| Bus support | no data | PCIe 2.1 x16 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 180 mm | 274 mm |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 8-pin | 1x 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 type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 14000 MHz | 1375 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 264 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
| Resizable BAR | + | - |
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 | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort |
| 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 compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12.0 (12_1) | DirectX® 11 |
| Shader Model | no data | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | no data | 1.2 |
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.
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.
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 | 170−180
+61.9%
| 105
−61.9%
|
| Full HD | 150−160
+61.3%
| 93
−61.3%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | no data | 5.90 |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Atomic Heart | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Atomic Heart | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Atomic Heart | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 212
+0%
|
212
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 80−85
+0%
|
80−85
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 55−60
+0%
|
55−60
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 80−85
+0%
|
80−85
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Valorant | 110−120
+0%
|
110−120
+0%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 70−75
+0%
|
70−75
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 95−100
+0%
|
95−100
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 100−110
+0%
|
100−110
+0%
|
| Valorant | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 20−22
+0%
|
20−22
+0%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Atomic Heart | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Valorant | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 45−50
+0%
|
45−50
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
This is how RX 5500 and HD 7970 compete in popular games:
- RX 5500 is 62% faster in 900p
- RX 5500 is 61% faster in 1080p
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 19.65 | 11.74 |
| Recency | 7 October 2019 | 22 December 2011 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 110 Watt | 300 Watt |
RX 5500 has a 67.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 300% more advanced lithography process, and 172.7% lower power consumption.
HD 7970, on the other hand, has a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount.
The Radeon RX 5500 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7970 in performance tests.
Other comparisons
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