Radeon HD 7970 vs RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000)
Aggregated performance score
HD 7970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by 50% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 444 | 352 |
| Place by popularity | 49 | not in top-100 |
| Value for money | no data | 4.00 |
| Architecture | Vega (2017−2021) | GCN (2011−2017) |
| GPU code name | Vega | Tahiti XT |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Design | no data | reference |
| Release date | 7 January 2020 (4 years ago) | 22 December 2011 (12 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $549 |
| Current price | no data | $89 (0.2x MSRP) |
Value for money
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
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 | 512 | 2048 |
| Boost clock speed | 2100 MHz | 925 MHz |
| Number of transistors | no data | 4,313 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 7 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 15 Watt | 300 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 118.4 |
| Floating-point performance | no data | 3,789 gflops |
Size and compatibility
Information on Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) and Radeon HD 7970 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). 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.
| Bus support | no data | PCIe 2.1 x16 |
| Interface | no data | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 274 mm |
| Width | no data | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 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 | no data | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | no data | 6 GB |
| Memory bus width | no data | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | no data | 1375 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 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 | no data | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort |
| Eyefinity | no data | + |
| HDMI | no data | + |
| 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 | no data | 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_1 | DirectX® 11 |
| Shader Model | no data | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | no data | 1.2 |
| 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.
HD 7970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by 50% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
3DMark Vantage Performance
3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
HD 7970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by 10% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
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 7970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by 32% 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 7970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by 83% 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 7970 outperforms RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by 61% 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 | 70−75
−50%
| 105
+50%
|
| Full HD | 22
−323%
| 93
+323%
|
| 1440p | 16
−31.3%
| 21−24
+31.3%
|
| 4K | 10
−40%
| 14−16
+40%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 19
−10.5%
|
21−24
+10.5%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 18−20
−47.4%
|
27−30
+47.4%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 20
−10%
|
21−24
+10%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 39
−17.9%
|
45−50
+17.9%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
−40%
|
35−40
+40%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 14
−50%
|
21−24
+50%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 22
−59.1%
|
35−40
+59.1%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 27
−37%
|
35−40
+37%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
−50%
|
45−50
+50%
|
| Hitman 3 | 25
−48%
|
35−40
+48%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 20
−40%
|
27−30
+40%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 22
−4.5%
|
21−24
+4.5%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 23
−21.7%
|
27−30
+21.7%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21
−19%
|
24−27
+19%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 18−20
−47.4%
|
27−30
+47.4%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 16
−37.5%
|
21−24
+37.5%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 33
−39.4%
|
45−50
+39.4%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
−40%
|
35−40
+40%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 10
−110%
|
21−24
+110%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 20
−75%
|
35−40
+75%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 25
−48%
|
35−40
+48%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
−50%
|
45−50
+50%
|
| Hitman 3 | 21
−76.2%
|
35−40
+76.2%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 16
−75%
|
27−30
+75%
|
| Metro Exodus | 16
−31.3%
|
21−24
+31.3%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 12
−91.7%
|
21−24
+91.7%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 20
−40%
|
27−30
+40%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 21
−33.3%
|
27−30
+33.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 17
−47.1%
|
24−27
+47.1%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 18−20
−47.4%
|
27−30
+47.4%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 14
−57.1%
|
21−24
+57.1%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 30
−53.3%
|
45−50
+53.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 9
−133%
|
21−24
+133%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 19
−84.2%
|
35−40
+84.2%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 24
−54.2%
|
35−40
+54.2%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 30−35
−50%
|
45−50
+50%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 14
−100%
|
27−30
+100%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 12
−108%
|
24−27
+108%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
−53.8%
|
20−22
+53.8%
|
| Hitman 3 | 15
−40%
|
21−24
+40%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12
−58.3%
|
18−20
+58.3%
|
| Metro Exodus | 10
−20%
|
12−14
+20%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
−66.7%
|
10−11
+66.7%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 12
−41.7%
|
16−18
+41.7%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 8−9
−75%
|
14−16
+75%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 11
+10%
|
10−11
−10%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 21
−28.6%
|
27−30
+28.6%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5
−40%
|
7−8
+40%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 16
−37.5%
|
21−24
+37.5%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 17
−41.2%
|
24−27
+41.2%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 16−18
−62.5%
|
24−27
+62.5%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 8−9
−62.5%
|
12−14
+62.5%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 8
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 6−7
−50%
|
9−10
+50%
|
| Hitman 3 | 8−9
−50%
|
12−14
+50%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
−25%
|
10−11
+25%
|
| Metro Exodus | 6
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 5−6
−40%
|
7−8
+40%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 6
−33.3%
|
8−9
+33.3%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 6−7
−100%
|
12−14
+100%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 5−6
−60%
|
8−9
+60%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 4−5
−50%
|
6−7
+50%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 7−8
−100%
|
14−16
+100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 8
−37.5%
|
10−12
+37.5%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 8
−62.5%
|
12−14
+62.5%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
−63.6%
|
18−20
+63.6%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 2−3
−150%
|
5−6
+150%
|
This is how RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) and HD 7970 compete in popular games:
- HD 7970 is 50% faster than RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) in 900p
- HD 7970 is 323% faster than RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) in 1080p
- HD 7970 is 31.3% faster than RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) in 1440p
- HD 7970 is 40% faster than RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) is 10% faster than the HD 7970.
- in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7970 is 150% faster than the RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000).
All in all, in popular games:
- RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) is ahead in 1 test (1%)
- HD 7970 is ahead in 65 tests (96%)
- there's a draw in 2 tests (3%)
Advantages and disadvantages
| Performance score | 9.06 | 13.55 |
| Recency | 7 January 2020 | 22 December 2011 |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 15 Watt | 300 Watt |
The Radeon HD 7970 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000/5000) is a notebook card while Radeon HD 7970 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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