AMD Radeon HD 7970M vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

# NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile vs AMD Radeon HD 7970M

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile outperforms the AMD Radeon HD 7970M by a staggering 367% in the single shared benchmark, making this comparison less a contest and more a generational chasm. The RTX 3060 Mobile delivers 79,483 points in Geekbench OpenCL against the HD 7970M’s 17,019, a gap that reflects nearly a decade of architectural evolution. The HD 7970M, while still holding a 60th percentile ranking among all GPUs, is decisively outclassed by the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 62nd percentile standing, and the benchmark deltas make the performance hierarchy clear without ambiguity.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile wins the only head-to-head benchmark available, and it does so by a margin that dwarfs any other comparison in the data. Geekbench OpenCL shows the RTX 3060 Mobile scoring 79,483 against the HD 7970M’s 17,019, a 367% advantage. This is not a narrow victory; it is a wholesale generational beatdown. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s win count of 1 versus the HD 7970M’s 0 in direct comparisons tells the story in its simplest form.

For the HD 7970M, there are no wins to claim from direct benchmark data. Its strength lies elsewhere: it remains a functional GPU with a 60th percentile ranking, meaning it still outperforms roughly 60% of all GPUs in the database. Its 2 GB GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, while tiny by modern standards, was designed for a different era of gaming and compute workloads. The data does not support any scenario where the HD 7970M wins a performance contest against the RTX 3060 Mobile; instead, it wins only in the sense of being a legacy part that still runs older DirectX 11-era software.

The RTX 3060 Mobile, by contrast, wins across every metric that matters: raw compute, memory bandwidth, feature support, and modern API compatibility. Its DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support versus the HD 7970M’s DirectX 12 (11_1) means the NVIDIA part can handle the latest graphics features, while the AMD part is limited to an older feature set. The RTX 3060 Mobile also brings ray tracing and tensor cores, which the HD 7970M lacks entirely.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gulf between these two GPUs is vast, starting with the manufacturing process. The RTX 3060 Mobile uses an 8 nm Samsung process, while the HD 7970M is built on TSMC’s 28 nm node. This process shrink allows the RTX 3060 Mobile to pack 12,000 million transistors into a 276 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 43.5M per mm². The HD 7970M, in contrast, houses 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die, with a density of just 13.2M per mm². The RTX 3060 Mobile packs over four times the transistors into only 30% more die area.

The underlying architectures reflect their respective eras. The RTX 3060 Mobile uses NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture (chip GA106), while the HD 7970M uses AMD’s GCN 1.0 (chip Wimbledon). Ampere brings modern features like dedicated RT cores (30 on the RTX 3060 Mobile) and tensor cores (120), neither of which exist on the HD 7970M. The shading unit count tells a similar story: the RTX 3060 Mobile has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, versus the HD 7970M’s 1,280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

Memory architecture is another differentiator. The RTX 3060 Mobile uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 7970M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 256-bit bus, but achieves only 153.6 GB/s. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), while the HD 7970M’s runs at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective). The effective bandwidth advantage is more than double for the NVIDIA part.

Power and interface also differ. The RTX 3060 Mobile has a 80 W TDP and uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the HD 7970M has a 100 W TDP and uses an MXM-B (3.0) interface. The HD 7970M is a slot-width MXM module, whereas the RTX 3060 Mobile’s slot width is not specified in the data.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and it is a rout. The RTX 3060 Mobile scores 79,483, while the HD 7970M manages 17,019. The delta is 367% in favor of the NVIDIA part. To put that in perspective, the RTX 3060 Mobile’s nearest rival in its own benchmark pool — the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 — scores 18,189 on average, which is a 0.2% difference from the RTX 3060 Mobile’s average. The HD 7970M’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, scores 17,037, a 0.1% difference from the AMD part.

But the cross-generational gap is enormous. The RTX 3060 Mobile’s average benchmark score across all tests is 18,159, which is nearly identical to the HD 7970M’s single benchmark score of 17,019. In other words, the RTX 3060 Mobile’s average performance across multiple tests is still 6.7% higher than the HD 7970M’s best single benchmark result. The RTX 3060 Mobile also shows strong scores in other tests: 13,230 in Passmark G3D, 5,718 in Passmark GPU Compute, and 80,344 in Geekbench Vulkan. The HD 7970M has no corresponding data for those tests.

The RTX 3060 Mobile’s pixel rate of 68.40 GPixel/s and texture rate of 171.0 GTexel/s dwarf the HD 7970M’s 27.20 GPixel/s and 68.00 GTexel/s, respectively. The FP32 compute of 10.94 TFLOPS on the RTX 3060 Mobile is five times the HD 7970M’s 2.176 TFLOPS.

The Verdict

There is no contest here. The RTX 3060 Mobile is the clear winner for anyone needing modern performance, ray tracing capability, or high-throughput compute. Its 367% lead in the sole head-to-head benchmark, combined with its 6 GB memory capacity and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, makes it suitable for modern gaming at high settings, content creation, and GPU-accelerated workloads. The data shows a GPU that sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18,159 that puts it in the same league as the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER.

The HD 7970M is a legacy part that still holds a 60th percentile ranking, which means it outperforms a majority of GPUs in the database. Its 2 GB memory and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for modern AAA titles, but for older DirectX 11 games or basic compute tasks, it remains functional. The 100 W TDP is higher than the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 80 W, and its MXM form factor limits upgrade paths in most modern laptops.

For anyone choosing between these two today, the RTX 3060 Mobile is the only sensible pick based on performance data. The HD 7970M should only be considered if the workload is strictly legacy software that predates the RTX 3060 Mobile’s architecture, or if the hardware is already installed and the budget is zero. The data does not support any other conclusion.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile scores 79,483 versus the AMD Radeon HD 7970M’s 17,019, a 367% advantage for the NVIDIA part.

Q: How do their memory bandwidths compare?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile delivers 336.0 GB/s from 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, while the HD 7970M delivers 153.6 GB/s from 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus.

Q: Does the HD 7970M support ray tracing?

A: No. The HD 7970M has no RT cores or tensor cores, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores.

Q: What are their transistor counts?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile has 12,000 million transistors on an 8 nm process, while the HD 7970M has 2,800 million transistors on a 28 nm process.

Q: Which GPU has a higher TDP?

A: The HD 7970M has a 100 W TDP, which is higher than the RTX 3060 Mobile’s 80 W TDP.

Q: What are their average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 18,159 across all tests, while the HD 7970M’s only benchmark result is 17,019 in Geekbench OpenCL.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile | AMD Radeon HD 7970M |

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

| Architecture | Ampere | GCN 1.0 |

| Process Node | 8 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 12,000 million | 2,800 million |

| Die Size | 276 mm² | 212 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 43.5M / mm² | 13.2M / mm² |

| Shading Units | 3840 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 120 | 80 |

| ROPs | 48 | 32 |

| RT Cores | 30 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 120 | None |

| Memory Size | 6 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 336.0 GB/s | 153.6 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) |

| FP32 Compute | 10.94 TFLOPS | 2.176 TFLOPS |

| Pixel Rate | 68.40 GPixel/s | 27.20 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 171.0 GTexel/s | 68.00 GTexel/s |

| TDP | 80 W | 100 W |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x16 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| Slot Width | Not specified | MXM Module |

| Release Date | 2021-01-11 | 2012-04-23 |

| Predecessor | GeForce 20 Mobile | Vancouver |

| Successor | None specified | Solar System |