AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 7970M and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT represent two very different eras of GPU design, and the benchmark data reflects a fascinating split between legacy compute performance and modern graphics capabilities. The HD 7970M, a 2012 mobile part, actually wins the only direct head-to-head benchmark available, delivering a Geekbench OpenCL score of 17,019 against the RX 5700 XT’s 9,524 — a 78.7% advantage. However, the RX 5700 XT is a vastly more capable modern GPU, with a much richer benchmark suite, higher memory bandwidth, and significantly newer architecture. The data shows that while the older card holds a niche lead in one specific compute test, the newer card is the clear choice for any modern workload, offering a broader feature set and far more consistent performance across diverse tests.

The Verdict

From the data, the AMD Radeon HD 7970M is a specialist, not a generalist. Its sole Geekbench OpenCL score of 17,019 places it at the 60th percentile of all GPUs, and it edges out the NVIDIA RTX 3070 by 1.1% while trailing the GTX 690 by just 0.1%. If a user’s sole priority is that particular OpenCL workload, the HD 7970M is demonstrably competitive with much newer hardware. However, this is the only data point available for this card, making it a risky purchase for anything else. The RX 5700 XT, by contrast, presents a comprehensive profile. Its average benchmark score of 16,361 sits at the 59th percentile, and it trades blows with the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (0.1% ahead) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (0.3% behind). With a full suite of scores covering DirectX 9 through 12, Vulkan, and Metal, the RX 5700 XT is the only sensible pick for a system that needs to handle varied modern applications, despite its loss in the single direct comparison. The verdict is clear: pick the HD 7970M only for legacy OpenCL compute tasks; pick the RX 5700 XT for everything else.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The HD 7970M uses the "Wimbledon" chip based on GCN 1.0, manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It packs 2,800 million transistors into a 212 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². In contrast, the RX 5700 XT uses the "Navi 10" chip based on RDNA 1.0, built on a 7 nm process, also at TSMC. This newer process allows it to cram 10,300 million transistors into a 251 mm² die, achieving a density of 41.0M per mm² — more than three times the density of the older chip. This fundamental shift in manufacturing is the root of most performance differences.

The memory subsystems also diverge sharply. The HD 7970M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth at an effective 4.8 Gbps. The RX 5700 XT offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, also on a 256-bit bus, but with a much higher effective speed of 14 Gbps, resulting in 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth — nearly three times the older card’s throughput. Core configurations differ as well: the HD 7970M has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, while the RX 5700 XT doubles those numbers to 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 5700 XT also has explicit clock speeds (base 1605 MHz, game 1755 MHz, boost 1905 MHz), whereas the HD 7970M’s clocks are not specified in the data. API support differs too: the HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the RX 5700 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, along with FP16 compute at 19.51 TFLOPS (2:1) — a feature the older card lacks entirely.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has a higher average benchmark score of 16,361, compared to the AMD Radeon HD 7970M’s average of 17,019. However, this is misleading because the HD 7970M only has a single benchmark result, while the RX 5700 XT has eleven.

Q: Does the older HD 7970M beat the RX 5700 XT in any test?

A: Yes. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the HD 7970M scores 17,019 against the RX 5700 XT’s 9,524, giving the older card a 78.7% lead. This is the only head-to-head benchmark recorded between the two.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RX 5700 XT has 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its GDDR6 memory, while the HD 7970M has 153.6 GB/s from GDDR5. This represents a 194% improvement in memory throughput for the newer card.

Q: How do they compare on process technology?

A: The HD 7970M uses a 28 nm process, while the RX 5700 XT uses a 7 nm process. The newer process allows the RX 5700 XT to fit 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, versus 2,800 million on a 212 mm² die for the HD 7970M.

Q: What is the DirectX support level for each card?

A: The HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the RX 5700 XT supports DirectX 12 (12_1). The RX 5700 XT also supports a newer Vulkan version (1.4) compared to the HD 7970M (1.2.170).

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX 5700 XT has 2,560 shading units, exactly double the 1,280 shading units found in the HD 7970M. It also doubles the TMU count (160 vs 80) and ROP count (64 vs 32).

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every measurable specification. The most striking difference is in process node: 28 nm for the HD 7970M versus 7 nm for the RX 5700 XT. Transistor count jumps from 2,800 million to 10,300 million, and die size grows from 212 mm² to 251 mm², while transistor density improves from 13.2M / mm² to 41.0M / mm². Memory capacity quadruples from 2 GB to 8 GB, and memory type changes from GDDR5 to GDDR6, with effective speed rising from 4.8 Gbps to 14 Gbps, and bandwidth from 153.6 GB/s to 448.0 GB/s.

Core configurations are uniformly doubled: shading units go from 1,280 to 2,560, TMUs from 80 to 160, and ROPs from 32 to 64. The RX 5700 XT specifies its clocks (1605 MHz base, 1755 MHz game, 1905 MHz boost), while the HD 7970M’s base and boost clocks are unlisted. The HD 7970M outputs 2.176 TFLOPS FP32, while the RX 5700 XT outputs 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 — a 4.5x increase. The RX 5700 XT also has a listed FP16 performance of 19.51 TFLOPS, which the HD 7970M lacks entirely. Pixel rate rises from 27.20 GPixel/s to 121.9 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 68.00 GTexel/s to 304.8 GTexel/s.

Power and physical specs diverge completely: the HD 7970M is a 100 W MXM module with no power connectors, while the RX 5700 XT is a 225 W dual-slot card requiring 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin connectors and a 550 W suggested PSU. The bus interface changes from MXM-B (3.0) to PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs differ: the HD 7970M’s are "Portable Device Dependent," while the RX 5700 XT offers 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The RX 5700 XT measures 272 mm in length, 111 mm in height, and 36 mm in width, while the HD 7970M has no listed dimensions. The RX 5700 XT has a launch MSRP of 399 USD; the HD 7970M has no MSRP listed. API support shows the newer card leading with DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 versus the older card’s DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it produces a surprising result. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17,019, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT scores 9,524, giving the 2012 mobile GPU a 78.7% victory. This is a significant margin, and it shows that the older GCN architecture has a distinct advantage in this specific compute workload. The HD 7970M’s score places it at the 60th percentile of all GPUs, and it sits remarkably close to its nearest rivals: it is only 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037) and 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083), while running 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M4 (16,932) and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (17,208). In this context, the HD 7970M is punching far above its weight class.

However, the broader picture from the RX 5700 XT’s own benchmark suite tells a different story. While it loses the OpenCL test, it shows robust performance across a wide range of modern APIs. Its Passmark G3D score is 16,277, which is close to the HD 7970M’s OpenCL score but achieved in a different test. The RX 5700 XT also posts strong scores in Geekbench Metal (74,647) and Geekbench Vulkan (68,310), neither of which the HD 7970M has data for. The RX 5700 XT’s average score of 16,361 is only 3.9% lower than the HD 7970M’s single result, but it is derived from eleven tests rather than one. The RX 5700 XT’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (0.1% ahead), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (0.3% behind), and the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 (0.3% behind). The data indicates that the RX 5700 XT is a well-rounded performer, while the HD 7970M is a one-trick pony with a very good trick. The 78.7% win for the HD 7970M in OpenCL is impressive, but it is the only game the older card can play.