AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the only direct benchmark recorded in the database?

A: The database contains one head-to-head benchmark result, Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 scores 65,014, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17,019. This gives the RTX 2060 a 73.8% advantage in that test.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each card?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970M has an average benchmark score of 17,019, derived from its single Geekbench OpenCL result. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has an average score of 15,290 across all its recorded benchmark entries.

Q: How does each card rank relative to all other GPUs in the database?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 7970M sits at the 60th percentile among all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile. Despite the RTX 2060's massive win in the direct benchmark, its overall percentile is slightly lower due to the broader mix of tests it has been subjected to.

Q: Which card has more shading units and what does that mean for compute work?

A: The RTX 2060 has 1,920 shading units, compared to 1,280 on the HD 7970M. The RTX 2060 also has 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, which the HD 7970M lacks entirely. This translates to a large gap in raw compute capability, reflected in the FP32 throughput figures.

Q: What are the memory specifications for each card?

A: The HD 7970M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2060 more than doubles the bandwidth despite a narrower bus.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 2060?

A: The RTX 2060 has a launch MSRP of 349 USD. The HD 7970M has no recorded launch MSRP in the database.

The Verdict

The data points to one clear conclusion: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the superior card for any modern workload. In the only direct comparison available, the RTX 2060 outperforms the HD 7970M by 73.8% in Geekbench OpenCL, a result that aligns with its generational advantages in architecture, memory, and feature set.

The RTX 2060 should be the choice for users who need current API support, high memory capacity, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing or tensor operations. Its 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 336 GB/s bandwidth make it suitable for texture-heavy applications and larger datasets, while its 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores open up feature sets that the HD 7970M cannot access at all.

The HD 7970M, by contrast, is a legacy mobile part. It has an end-of-life production status, a 2012 release date, and a 100 W TDP suited to MXM module form factors. It may still function for older 2D workloads or basic compute tasks, but the recorded data shows it is dramatically behind in every measurable category that matters. The HD 7970M is only viable for systems that require its specific MXM-B form factor and cannot accept a modern dual-slot card.

Given the RTX 2060's dominance in the head-to-head benchmark, its higher transistor density, and its far more capable memory subsystem, the verdict is straightforward: pick the RTX 2060 for any task where performance matters. The HD 7970M is only relevant in niche legacy systems.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records a single head-to-head benchmark between these two cards: Geekbench OpenCL. The results are decisive. The RTX 2060 scores 65,014, while the HD 7970M scores 17,019. The delta percentage of -73.8% indicates the HD 7970M trails by nearly three-quarters of the RTX 2060's score.

This result is consistent with the underlying compute specifications. The RTX 2060 delivers 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, nearly triple the 2.176 TFLOPS of the HD 7970M. The RTX 2060 also has 1,920 shading units versus 1,280, a 50% increase in core count. The texture rate shows an even larger gap: 201.6 GTexel/s versus 68.00 GTexel/s, a ratio of roughly 3:1. Pixel rate follows the same pattern, with the RTX 2060 hitting 80.64 GPixel/s compared to 27.20 GPixel/s.

Memory bandwidth also favors the RTX 2060 significantly. At 336.0 GB/s, it offers 2.19 times the bandwidth of the HD 7970M's 153.6 GB/s. This matters for OpenCL workloads that are memory-bound, and it explains why the RTX 2060's advantage in the benchmark is so pronounced.

The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15,290 is actually lower than its Geekbench OpenCL score, because it includes several other tests such as Passmark DirectX 9 (190), DirectX 10 (98), DirectX 11 (110), DirectX 12 (53), G2D (745), G3D (14,111), and GPU compute (5,488). These varied tests pull the average down. The HD 7970M, having only one benchmark result, has an average score identical to its Geekbench OpenCL score of 17,019.

When placed against nearest rivals, both cards sit in similar territory. The HD 7970M's closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, which scores 17,037, a delta of -0.1%. The RTX 2060's closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 at 15,283, a delta of 0%. This suggests that while the RTX 2060 wins against the HD 7970M, both cards occupy a similar mid-to-upper performance band compared to the broader GPU population.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification that defines performance. The HD 7970M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the RTX 2060 uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus. The RTX 2060's memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), versus 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) on the HD 7970M. Resulting bandwidth: 336.0 GB/s versus 153.6 GB/s.

The shading unit count stands at 1,280 for the HD 7970M and 1,920 for the RTX 2060. Texture mapping units: 80 versus 120. Raster output units: 32 versus 48. The RTX 2060 has 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores; the HD 7970M has none.

Clock behavior differs as well. The HD 7970M has no recorded base or boost clock in the database. The RTX 2060 has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz.

Power and form factor are also divergent. The HD 7970M is an MXM module with a 100 W TDP and no power connectors. The RTX 2060 is a dual-slot card with a 160 W TDP, requiring one 8-pin power connector and a suggested 450 W PSU. The RTX 2060 has physical dimensions of 229 mm length, 113 mm height, and 35 mm width; the HD 7970M has no recorded dimensions.

Bus interface: the HD 7970M uses MXM-B (3.0), while the RTX 2060 uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs differ completely: the HD 7970M is "portable device dependent," while the RTX 2060 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Architecture Differences

The HD 7970M is built on AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture, using the Wimbledon chip. The RTX 2060 uses NVIDIA's Turing architecture, based on the TU106 chip. These are two generations apart in design philosophy.

Process technology: the HD 7970M uses a 28 nm node from TSMC, while the RTX 2060 uses TSMC's 12 nm node. Transistor counts reflect this: the HD 7970M has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, yielding a density of 13.2M transistors per square millimeter. The RTX 2060 has 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die, yielding 24.3M per square millimeter. The RTX 2060 packs nearly four times more transistors into a die that is roughly twice as large.

API support shows the generational gap. The HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 2060 also has dedicated RT cores for ray tracing and tensor cores for AI workloads, features entirely absent from the GCN 1.0 design.

The HD 7970M's memory type is GDDR5, while the RTX 2060 uses GDDR6. The RTX 2060 supports FP16 compute at 12.90 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the HD 7970M has no recorded FP16 capability. The RTX 2060's FP32 output of 6.451 TFLOPS is exactly triple the HD 7970M's 2.176 TFLOPS.

The HD 7970M was released on 2012-04-23, with a predecessor of Vancouver and successor of Solar System. The RTX 2060 was released on 2019-01-06, with a predecessor of GeForce 10 and successor of GeForce 30. Both are end-of-life products, but the RTX 2060 benefits from seven additional years of architectural advancement, including a modern memory subsystem, hardware acceleration features, and significantly higher compute density.