AMD Radeon HD 7970 vs AMD Radeon RX 9070 Comparison

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 and the AMD Radeon HD 7970 represent two distant generations of graphics hardware, yet the database places them in adjacent average-score territory. The RX 9070, built on RDNA 4.0 and released in 2025, carries a 4 nm process, 16 GB of GDDR6, and a full suite of modern APIs. The HD 7970, a GCN 1.0 part from 2012, uses a 28 nm process, 3 GB of GDDR5, and supports only legacy DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Despite their vast differences in age and technology, their average benchmark scores are nearly identical: the RX 9070 averages 34,780, while the HD 7970 averages 34,541—a difference of just 0.7%. That near-parity, however, is an artifact of sparse testing; the only direct head-to-head benchmark shows the RX 9070 delivering 287.2% higher performance.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more shader units?

A: The RX 9070 has 3,584 shading units, while the HD 7970 has 2,048.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 9070 offers 644.6 GB/s from 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, whereas the HD 7970 provides 264.0 GB/s from 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus.

Q: Does the HD 7970 support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7970 has no RT cores; the RX 9070 includes 56 RT cores.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel fill rate?

A: The RX 9070 achieves 322.6 GPixel/s, compared to 29.60 GPixel/s for the HD 7970.

Q: What are the release dates?

A: The RX 9070 was released on 2025-03-05, while the HD 7970 came out on 2012-01-08.

Q: Which card has a larger transistor count?

A: The RX 9070 packs 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die, while the HD 7970 has 4,313 million transistors on a 352 mm² die.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the available benchmark data, the RX 9070 wins the only direct head-to-head test—Geekbench OpenCL—by a margin of 287.2%. The HD 7970 has no recorded wins in the database; its sole benchmark entry is the same Geekbench OpenCL test, where it scores 34,541 against the RX 9070’s 133,741. The RX 9070 also holds a higher percentile ranking (79th vs 78th) and a slightly higher average score (34,780 vs 34,541). In practical terms, the RX 9070 is the clear winner for any workload that leverages modern compute or graphics features, as its architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6, whereas the HD 7970 is limited to DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The HD 7970’s only advantage lies in its legacy status—it is end-of-life and may be relevant for vintage systems that require its specific display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2). But from a performance standpoint, the data gives every win to the RX 9070.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on fundamentally different architectures. The RX 9070 uses RDNA 4.0, fabricated on a 4 nm TSMC process, while the HD 7970 uses GCN 1.0, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm node. This process shift yields a dramatic difference in transistor density: the RX 9070 packs 151.0 million transistors per square millimeter, versus 12.3 million for the HD 7970. Despite having a similar die size (357 mm² vs 352 mm²), the RX 9070 houses 53,900 million transistors compared to 4,313 million—a 12.5x increase. The RX 9070’s compute resources are also far more extensive: 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs, versus 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Additionally, the RX 9070 includes 56 dedicated RT cores, a feature entirely absent from the HD 7970. Memory technology differs as well: the RX 9070 uses GDDR6 with a 256-bit bus and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, while the HD 7970 uses GDDR5 with a 384-bit bus and 264.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 9070 also supports PCIe 5.0 x16, whereas the HD 7970 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16. API support is another major divergence: the RX 9070 offers DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6; the HD 7970 only reaches DirectX 12 (11_1), Vulkan 1.2.170, and OpenGL 4.6.

Specification Differences

The following table summarizes the key fields where the two cards differ, based on the provided data.

| Specification | RX 9070 | HD 7970 |

|---------------|---------|---------|

| Process node | 4 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 53,900 million | 4,313 million |

| Die size | 357 mm² | 352 mm² |

| Transistor density | 151.0M / mm² | 12.3M / mm² |

| Memory size | 16 GB | 3 GB |

| Memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory bus width | 256 bit | 384 bit |

| Memory bandwidth | 644.6 GB/s | 264.0 GB/s |

| Shading units | 3,584 | 2,048 |

| TMUs | 224 | 128 |

| ROPs | 128 | 32 |

| RT cores | 56 | None |

| Pixel rate | 322.6 GPixel/s | 29.60 GPixel/s |

| Texture rate | 564.5 GTexel/s | 118.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 36.13 TFLOPS | 3.789 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 72.25 TFLOPS (2:1) | Not specified |

| TDP | 220 W | 250 W |

| Power connectors | 2x 8-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 550 W | 600 W |

| Bus interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1a | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Production status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release date | 2025-03-05 | 2012-01-08 |

| Predecessor | Navi III | Northern Islands |

| Successor | Not specified | Sea Islands |

| Dimensions | Not specified | 275 mm × 111 mm × 38 mm |

The RX 9070 also has explicit base, boost, and game clock speeds (1330 MHz, 2520 MHz, and 2070 MHz respectively) and a memory clock of 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), while the HD 7970 only lists a memory clock of 1375 MHz (5.5 Gbps effective). The HD 7970 is a dual-slot card with a 250 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU; the RX 9070 is also dual-slot but has a lower 220 W TDP and a 550 W suggested PSU.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test. Here, the RX 9070 scores 133,741, while the HD 7970 scores 34,541. That represents a delta of 287.2% in favor of the RX 9070. This is a massive performance gap, reflecting the architectural and process advantages of the newer card. Notably, the average benchmark score for the RX 9070 is 34,780, which is only 0.7% higher than the HD 7970’s 34,541. This near-parity is misleading because the RX 9070 has nine additional benchmark results (including 3DMark Steel Nomad, PassMark DirectX 10/11/12/9, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute) that are not present for the HD 7970. Those extra tests—ranging from 74 to 25,381 points—pull the RX 9070’s average down relative to its OpenCL result. In contrast, the HD 7970’s average is based solely on its single OpenCL score. When comparing the two cards directly on the same workload, the RX 9070 is nearly four times faster.

The RX 9070’s nearest rival in the database is the NVIDIA A2, which has an average score of 34,866—just 0.2% higher than the RX 9070. The HD 7970’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon PRO W6400, with an average score of 34,511—0.1% higher. Both cards sit in the 78th–79th percentile of all GPUs, indicating they are mid-pack performers overall, but the RX 9070 achieves that standing with far more modern features and much higher peak compute.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the RX 9070 is the superior card in every measurable way. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark by 287.2%, offers more than five times the memory capacity, and delivers over nine times the FP32 compute (36.13 TFLOPS vs 3.789 TFLOPS). It also supports modern APIs, ray tracing, and PCIe 5.0, while the HD 7970 is stuck with legacy interfaces and an end-of-life production status. For any current or near-future workload—gaming, compute, or professional rendering—the RX 9070 is the only rational choice.

The HD 7970, however, retains a niche: it is a dual-slot card with a 250 W TDP and a 600 W suggested PSU, and it still supports OpenGL 4.6 and DirectX 12 (11_1). For a vintage build or a system that specifically requires its DVI and mini-DisplayPort outputs, it could serve as a functional, if slow, legacy component. But the benchmark data shows no scenario where the HD 7970 outperforms the RX 9070. Even in terms of average score, the RX 9070 edges ahead by 0.7%. If you are choosing between these two, the RX 9070 is the clear winner—unless you need a card that physically fits an older chassis and requires no modern features. In that case, the HD 7970’s dimensions (275 mm × 111 mm × 38 mm) and legacy connectors might be its only selling points. But for any performance-oriented task, the RX 9070 dominates.