AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs AMD Radeon RX 9060 Comparison

AMD Radeon HD 7970M and AMD Radeon RX 9060 represent two extremes of AMD’s mobile and desktop GPU heritage, separated by over a decade of architectural evolution. The benchmark data is unambiguous: the RX 9060 delivers roughly 5.2x the OpenCL compute performance of the HD 7970M, posting an 88,183 score against 17,019. This is not a close contest; the RX 9060 wins the only shared benchmark decisively, and its additional test suite shows a modern GPU designed for contemporary workloads. The HD 7970M, an end-of-life mobile part from 2012, remains competitive only in legacy contexts, while the RX 9060 is an active, current-generation product with a full range of DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 feature support.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 wins every measurable performance category in this comparison. In the sole head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9060 scores 88,183 against the HD 7970M’s 17,019, a delta of -80.7% from the RX 9060’s perspective. This means the HD 7970M delivers only about 19% of the RX 9060’s compute throughput in that test. The RX 9060 also demonstrates versatility across its own benchmark suite: it scores 17,631 in Passmark G3D, 9,919 in Passmark GPU Compute, and 3,322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, all of which are modern or demanding workloads that the HD 7970M cannot run or has no data for.

The HD 7970M’s only theoretical advantage lies in its form factor and power profile. As an MXM module with a 100 W TDP and no power connectors, it was designed for portable devices where space and cooling are constrained. The RX 9060, by contrast, is a dual-slot card requiring a 1x 8-pin power connector and a 300 W suggested PSU. However, in raw performance, the data shows no scenario where the HD 7970M wins. Even its percentile ranking versus all GPUs is nearly identical to the RX 9060 (60th vs 59th percentile), but that is misleading because the HD 7970M’s single benchmark is OpenCL, while the RX 9060’s average score of 16,014 across multiple tests reflects a broader workload profile.

For use-case splitting, the RX 9060 is the clear choice for any modern gaming, compute, or content creation task. The HD 7970M could only be considered for legacy applications or systems where its MXM form factor is a hard requirement, and even then, its 2 GB GDDR5 memory and GCN 1.0 architecture would bottleneck any modern workload. The data does not support any performance-based reason to choose the HD 7970M.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast. The HD 7970M uses the Wimbledon chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, built on TSMC’s 28 nm process with 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 13.2 million per mm². The RX 9060 uses the Navi 44 chip based on RDNA 4.0 architecture, built on TSMC’s 4 nm process with 29,700 million transistors on a 199 mm² die, yielding a density of 149.2 million per mm². That is over 11x higher transistor density, meaning the RX 9060 packs more than 10x the transistors into a slightly smaller die.

Core configuration differs substantially. The HD 7970M has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The RX 9060 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 9060 also introduces 28 ray tracing cores, a feature entirely absent from the HD 7970M. Clock speeds tell a similar story: the HD 7970M has no listed base or boost clock, but its memory runs at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective), while the RX 9060 has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, a boost clock of 2990 MHz, and memory at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The RX 9060’s pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s is 7x the HD 7970M’s 27.20 GPixel/s, and its texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s is nearly 5x the HD 7970M’s 68.00 GTexel/s.

Memory architecture is another clear divider. The HD 7970M offers 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 9060 offers 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite the narrower bus, the RX 9060 achieves nearly double the bandwidth due to faster memory. FP32 compute is stark: the RX 9060 delivers 21.43 TFLOPS versus the HD 7970M’s 2.176 TFLOPS, a 9.8x difference. The RX 9060 also supports FP16 at 21.43 TFLOPS (1:1), while the HD 7970M has no listed FP16 capability. API support differs as well: the HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the RX 9060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the result is decisive. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 88,183, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17,019. The delta is -80.7%, meaning the HD 7970M is 80.7% slower than the RX 9060 in this test. To put that in context, the RX 9060’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16,129, -0.7% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15,852, 1% delta). The HD 7970M’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037, -0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083, -0.4% delta). This shows that the HD 7970M’s OpenCL score is comparable to a GTX 690, which is a dual-GPU card from the same era, while the RX 9060’s performance in that specific test is an outlier compared to its average score, likely due to the test’s compute-heavy nature favoring the newer architecture.

In its own benchmark suite, the RX 9060 shows a mixed profile. It scores 17,631 in Passmark G3D, which is a general gaming-oriented test, and 9,919 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,322 is a modern ray-tracing-capable test, and its Vulkan score of 39,476 in Geekbench indicates strong API efficiency. The HD 7970M has no equivalent data for these tests, so no direct comparison is possible. The RX 9060’s Passmark DirectX scores (104 for DX10, 182 for DX11, 44 for DX12, 280 for DX9) show that it performs better in older DirectX versions relative to its G3D score, which is unusual but may reflect driver optimization for legacy titles.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060. Its FP32 throughput is 21.43 TFLOPS versus the HD 7970M’s 2.176 TFLOPS, a 9.8x difference. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9060 scores 88,183 against the HD 7970M’s 17,019.

Q: Does the HD 7970M support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7970M has no ray tracing cores listed, while the RX 9060 includes 28 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: How do memory capacities and bandwidth compare?

A: The HD 7970M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 9060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, nearly double despite the narrower bus.

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RX 9060 has a transistor density of 149.2M per mm² on a 4 nm process, versus 13.2M per mm² for the HD 7970M on a 28 nm process. The RX 9060 packs 29,700 million transistors, while the HD 7970M has 2,800 million.

Q: Which GPU has better API support?

A: The RX 9060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RX 9060 also supports OpenGL 4.6, same as the HD 7970M.

Q: Are these GPUs comparable in power consumption?

A: No. The HD 7970M has a 100 W TDP and no power connectors, suitable for MXM modules. The RX 9060 has a 132 W TDP, requires a 1x 8-pin power connector, and suggests a 300 W PSU.

The Verdict

The data is overwhelming: the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the superior GPU in every measurable benchmark. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 88,183 dwarfs the HD 7970M’s 17,019, and its additional benchmarks (17,631 in Passmark G3D, 9,919 in Passmark GPU Compute, 3,322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12) show a card that handles modern workloads with ease. The HD 7970M’s 60th percentile ranking versus all GPUs is misleading because it is based on a single legacy test; its nearest rivals, like the GTX 690, are also over a decade old.

For anyone building or upgrading a system today, the RX 9060 is the only rational choice. It offers 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, ray tracing support, and DirectX 12 Ultimate, all of which are essential for current games and applications. The HD 7970M, with its 2 GB GDDR5 memory and GCN 1.0 architecture, cannot run modern titles at acceptable settings and lacks the features required for DirectX 12 Ultimate content. Its only niche would be a legacy system requiring an MXM module, but even then, its performance is inadequate by modern standards. The verdict is clear: choose the RX 9060 for any performance-sensitive task, and avoid the HD 7970M unless absolute form-factor compatibility with an old laptop is the sole priority.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 7970M | AMD Radeon RX 9060 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | RDNA 4.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 2,800 million | 29,700 million |

| Die Size | 212 mm² | 199 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 13.2M / mm² | 149.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | None | 1700 MHz |

| Game Clock | None | 2400 MHz |

| Boost Clock | None | 2990 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) | 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 153.6 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1280 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 80 | 112 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| RT Cores | None | 28 |

| Pixel Rate | 27.20 GPixel/s | 191.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 68.00 GTexel/s | 334.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 2.176 TFLOPS | 21.43 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | None | 21.43 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 100 W | 132 W |

| Slot Width | MXM Module | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 8-pin |

| Suggested PSU | None | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | MXM-B (3.0) | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a |

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

| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2012-04-23 | 2025-08-04 |