AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains only one directly comparable benchmark result between these two GPUs, and the outcome is decisive. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 scores 79,966 points against the AMD Radeon HD 7970M's 17,019 points. That represents a 369.9% advantage for the RTX 2070, meaning it delivers roughly 4.7 times the raw compute performance in this specific workload. The RTX 2070 wins the only head-to-head comparison, with a recorded wins tally of 1 against 0 for the HD 7970M.

This delta is far larger than what appears in either card's nearest-rival comparisons, which suggests the generational gap between these products is substantial. For context, the RTX 2070's closest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (0.9% ahead of the RTX 2070 on average), the NVIDIA Tesla K80 (0.4% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 XT (0.6% behind). The HD 7970M, by contrast, sits within 1.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and within 0.5% of the NVIDIA Tesla M4 on average score. Neither card's rival set comes close to explaining a 369.9% gap, which indicates that the RTX 2070 and HD 7970M occupy entirely different performance tiers.

Looking at the broader benchmark suite for the RTX 2070, its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 18,789. The HD 7970M has only one recorded benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL result, giving it an average of 17,019. Interestingly, despite the massive head-to-head delta, the overall average scores are somewhat closer on paper. This is because the RTX 2070's average is pulled down by several low-scoring DirectX tests: it records only 60 points in Passmark DirectX 12, 111 points in Passmark DirectX 10, and 129 points in Passmark DirectX 11. These legacy API tests appear to penalize the newer architecture disproportionately. Still, in compute-oriented OpenCL, the RTX 2070's dominance is unambiguous.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2070 wins in every category that involves modern compute or graphics workloads. Its OpenCL score of 79,966 dwarfs the HD 7970M's 17,019, which points to a massive advantage in general-purpose GPU compute, physics simulation, and any application that leverages OpenCL for acceleration. The RTX 2070 also posts a Geekbench Vulkan score of 82,521, which is not directly comparable to the HD 7970M but indicates strong modern API performance. In DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support, the RTX 2070 is fully compliant, while the HD 7970M only reaches DirectX 12 (11_1), meaning the older card cannot run the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate features at all.

The HD 7970M's only recorded win category is the absence of data: it simply has no results in Vulkan, DirectX 10, 11, 12, or the Passmark suite. Where the HD 7970M does have an edge is in power draw. Its TDP is 100 W compared to the RTX 2070's 175 W, and it requires no external power connectors (the RTX 2070 needs a single 8-pin). The HD 7970M also occupies a smaller form factor as an MXM module, which makes it suitable for portable devices, whereas the RTX 2070 is a dual-slot card measuring 229 mm in length. For use cases where power efficiency and compactness matter more than raw performance, the HD 7970M could be the more practical choice, but the performance trade-off is severe.

In terms of memory, the RTX 2070 offers 8 GB of GDDR6 with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the HD 7970M has 2 GB of GDDR5 with 153.6 GB/s. That is a 2.9x bandwidth advantage and a 4x capacity advantage for the RTX 2070, which directly impacts texture streaming, high-resolution rendering, and large dataset compute tasks. The RTX 2070's pixel rate of 103.7 GPixel/s versus 27.20 GPixel/s for the HD 7970M, and its texture rate of 233.3 GTexel/s versus 68.00 GTexel/s, further confirm that the newer card wins in every throughput metric recorded.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is fundamental. The RTX 2070 uses the TU106 chip built on Turing architecture with a 12 nm process at TSMC, while the HD 7970M uses the Wimbledon chip with GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process, also at TSMC. The transistor counts tell the story: the RTX 2070 packs 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die, giving a density of 24.3M per mm². The HD 7970M has 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, for a density of 13.2M per mm². That is a 3.9x increase in transistor count and a 1.8x increase in density for the RTX 2070.

The compute resources differ by similar margins. The RTX 2070 has 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. The HD 7970M has 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The RTX 2070 also introduces dedicated hardware that the HD 7970M lacks entirely: 36 ray tracing cores and 288 tensor cores. These enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-based features such as DLSS, neither of which the GCN 1.0 architecture can support. The FP32 throughput is 7.465 TFLOPS for the RTX 2070 versus 2.176 TFLOPS for the HD 7970M, a 3.4x advantage. The RTX 2070 also supports FP16 at 14.93 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the HD 7970M has no recorded FP16 capability.

Memory architecture also diverges. The RTX 2070 uses GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s. The HD 7970M uses GDDR5 at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) on the same 256-bit bus, yielding only 153.6 GB/s. Clock speeds are not directly comparable because the HD 7970M has no recorded base or boost clocks, but the RTX 2070 runs at 1410 MHz base and 1620 MHz boost. The RTX 2070 supports PCIe 3.0 x16, while the HD 7970M uses an MXM-B (3.0) interface designed for laptops and portable devices.

API support further separates them. The RTX 2070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The RTX 2070's display outputs include DVI, HDMI 2.0, two DisplayPort 1.4a, and USB Type-C, whereas the HD 7970M's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile origin. The release dates reinforce the generational split: the RTX 2070 launched on 2018-10-16, while the HD 7970M launched on 2012-04-23, a gap of roughly six and a half years.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 2070 scores 79,966 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 17,019 for the HD 7970M, a 369.9% advantage. Its FP32 throughput is 7.465 TFLOPS compared to 2.176 TFLOPS.

Q: Do both GPUs support ray tracing?

A: No. The RTX 2070 has 36 dedicated ray tracing cores and 288 tensor cores. The HD 7970M has no ray tracing or tensor cores recorded in the database.

Q: How do their memory configurations compare?

A: The RTX 2070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 256-bit bus. The HD 7970M has 2 GB of GDDR5 with 153.6 GB/s bandwidth on the same 256-bit bus.

Q: Which card is more power efficient?

A: The HD 7970M has a 100 W TDP and requires no external power connectors. The RTX 2070 has a 175 W TDP and requires a single 8-pin connector.

Q: Can the HD 7970M run modern DirectX 12 Ultimate games?

A: No. The HD 7970M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the RTX 2070 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes features the older card cannot handle.

Q: What is the RTX 2070's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 2070 sits at the 63rd percentile, while the HD 7970M sits at the 60th percentile. The RTX 2070's average benchmark score is 18,789 versus 17,019 for the HD 7970M.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion for anyone deciding between these two GPUs. The RTX 2070 wins the only direct benchmark comparison by 369.9% in OpenCL, and it holds overwhelming leads in every recorded performance metric: shading units, texture units, ROPs, memory bandwidth, pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 throughput. It also brings features that the HD 7970M simply cannot offer, including hardware ray tracing, tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support. For any workload that benefits from modern GPU compute, the RTX 2070 is the only reasonable choice based on the recorded numbers.

The HD 7970M's case rests entirely on power and form factor. At 100 W TDP with no power connectors and an MXM module design, it fits into portable devices where the RTX 2070's 175 W dual-slot design would not work. Its 2 GB memory capacity and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth might still handle older or lighter workloads, but the performance ceiling is fundamentally lower. The RTX 2070's average benchmark score of 18,789 versus 17,019 for the HD 7970M, despite the latter having only one recorded test, shows that even the RTX 2070's weaker legacy API results keep its overall average above the HD 7970M's sole score.

For desktop users, gamers, or anyone running compute-intensive tasks, the RTX 2070 is the clear pick. Its 63rd percentile ranking versus the HD 7970M's 60th percentile, combined with a 369.9% head-to-head OpenCL win, leaves no ambiguity. The HD 7970M would only make sense in a niche scenario where a low-power mobile MXM module is mandatory and performance is secondary. Even then, the RTX 2070's launch MSRP of 499 USD, recorded once in the database, indicates its original positioning as a mainstream high-end part, while the HD 7970M has no recorded launch price. The verdict from the data: choose the RTX 2070 for performance, choose the HD 7970M only if power and portability constraints eliminate every other option.