Graphics card comparison
Radeon HD 6970 vs Radeon HD 7850
AMD
Radeon HD 6970
2048 Mb GDDR5
Released 14 Dec 2010
DESKTOP
VS
AMD
Radeon HD 7850
2048 Mb GDDR5
Released 5 Mar 2012
DESKTOP
Summary
Synthetic performance index
- Radeon HD 6970100%
- Radeon HD 7850113%
Relative performance
Gaming performance index
- Radeon HD 6970107%
- Radeon HD 7850100%
Relative performance
Reasons to consider the Radeon HD 6970
- 7% higher gaming performance.
- Based on an outdated architecture (ATI TeraScale), there are no performance optimizations for current games and applications
Reasons to consider the Radeon HD 7850
- 120 watts lower power draw. This might be a strong point if your current power supply is not enough to handle the Radeon HD 6970 .
- This is a much newer product, it might have better long term support.
- Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute
- Supports ReLive (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
- Supports Mantle
- Based on an outdated architecture (AMD GCN), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications
Our verdict
HWSpot recommends the Radeon HD 6970
The Radeon HD 6970 is the better performing card based on the game benchmark suite used (43 combinations of games and resolutions).
Specifications
Core configuration
| Radeon HD 6970 | Radeon HD 7850 |
|---|
| GPU Name | Cayman (Cayman XT) | Pitcairn (Pitcairn PRO) |
| Fab Process | 40 nm | 28 nm |
| Die Size | 389 mm² | 212 mm² |
| Transistors | 2,640 million | 2,800 million |
| Shaders | 1536 | 1024 |
| Compute Units | 24 | 16 |
| Core clock | 880 MHz | 860 MHz |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 |
| TMUs | 96 | 64 |
Memory configuration
| Radeon HD 6970 | Radeon HD 7850 |
|---|
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Bus Width | 256 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory Speed | 1375 MHz
5500 MHz effective | 1200 MHz
4800 MHz effective |
| Memory Size | 2048 Mb | 2048 Mb |
Additional details
| Radeon HD 6970 | Radeon HD 7850 |
|---|
| TDP | 250 watts | 130 watts |
| Release Date | 14 Dec 2010 | 5 Mar 2012 |
Raw performance comparison
Pixel Rate
- Radeon HD 697028.20 GP/s
- Radeon HD 785027.50 GP/s
GigaPixels - higher is better
Texel Rate
- Radeon HD 697084.50 GT/s
- Radeon HD 785055.00 GT/s
GigaTexels - higher is better
Memory bandwidth
- Radeon HD 6970176.00 GB/s
- Radeon HD 7850154.00 GB/s
GB/s - higher is better
Single precision performance
- Radeon HD 69702703.00 GFLOPs
- Radeon HD 78501761.00 GFLOPs
GFLOPs - higher is better
Synthetic benchmarks
3DMark 11
- Radeon HD 69706000
- Radeon HD 78506820
Points (higher is better)
Game benchmarks
Alan Wake
- Radeon HD 697057.8
- Radeon HD 785050.2
FPS (higher is better)
Batman: Arkham City
- Radeon HD 697065.6
- Radeon HD 785059.1
FPS (higher is better)
Battlefield 3
- Radeon HD 697040.6
- Radeon HD 785043.1
FPS (higher is better)
Battlefield 4
DX11, Ultra Quality,2x MSAA,16x AF, HBAO
- Radeon HD 697033
- Radeon HD 785041
FPS (higher is better)
Bioshock Infinite
DX11, Ultra Quality,DDOD, FX AA
- Radeon HD 697038
- Radeon HD 785037
FPS (higher is better)
Borderlands 2
- Radeon HD 697078.9
- Radeon HD 785066.2
FPS (higher is better)
Crysis
- Radeon HD 697038.9
- Radeon HD 785034.7
FPS (higher is better)
Crysis 2
- Radeon HD 697038.8
- Radeon HD 785040.8
FPS (higher is better)
Diablo III
- Radeon HD 6970113.3
- Radeon HD 785090.3
FPS (higher is better)
Dragon Age II
- Radeon HD 697047.3
- Radeon HD 785034.5
FPS (higher is better)
F1 2012
- Radeon HD 697066.4
- Radeon HD 785061
FPS (higher is better)
Max Payne 3
- Radeon HD 697044.2
- Radeon HD 785048.6
FPS (higher is better)
Medal Of Honor Warfighter
DX11, Ultra Quality, 4xMSAA
- Radeon HD 697031
- Radeon HD 785035
FPS (higher is better)
Metro 2033
- Radeon HD 697023.4
- Radeon HD 785021.3
FPS (higher is better)
Metro Last Light
DX11, AAA standard, 16xAF, Motion Blur normal, Tesselation normal
- Radeon HD 697024
- Radeon HD 785027
FPS (higher is better)
Sleeping Dogs
- Radeon HD 697051.9
- Radeon HD 785046.8
FPS (higher is better)
Sniper Elite V2
- Radeon HD 697052.2
- Radeon HD 785046
FPS (higher is better)
STALKER: Call of Pripyat
- Radeon HD 697066.3
- Radeon HD 785057.9
FPS (higher is better)
StarCraft II
- Radeon HD 6970138
- Radeon HD 7850129.2
FPS (higher is better)
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
- Radeon HD 697051.3
- Radeon HD 785056.9
FPS (higher is better)
Total War: Shogun 2
- Radeon HD 697036.6
- Radeon HD 785028.9
FPS (higher is better)
Unigine Heaven 2.0
- Radeon HD 697033.8
- Radeon HD 785042.4
FPS (higher is better)
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
- Radeon HD 697066.5
- Radeon HD 785066.5
FPS (higher is better)
Alan Wake
- Radeon HD 697037.1
- Radeon HD 785031.3
FPS (higher is better)
Batman: Arkham City
- Radeon HD 697041
- Radeon HD 785037.4
FPS (higher is better)
Battlefield 3
- Radeon HD 697025.5
- Radeon HD 785026.6
FPS (higher is better)
Borderlands 2
- Radeon HD 697050.9
- Radeon HD 785041
FPS (higher is better)
Crysis
- Radeon HD 697024.2
- Radeon HD 785021.4
FPS (higher is better)
Crysis 2
- Radeon HD 697023.5
- Radeon HD 785024.2
FPS (higher is better)
Diablo III
- Radeon HD 697082.1
- Radeon HD 785064.3
FPS (higher is better)
Dragon Age II
- Radeon HD 697032.9
- Radeon HD 785023.7
FPS (higher is better)
F1 2012
- Radeon HD 697047.6
- Radeon HD 785044.2
FPS (higher is better)
Max Payne 3
- Radeon HD 697030.6
- Radeon HD 785032.8
FPS (higher is better)
Metro 2033
- Radeon HD 697016
- Radeon HD 785015.2
FPS (higher is better)
Sleeping Dogs
- Radeon HD 697031.8
- Radeon HD 785028.6
FPS (higher is better)
Sniper Elite V2
- Radeon HD 697035.1
- Radeon HD 785029.8
FPS (higher is better)
STALKER: Call of Pripyat
- Radeon HD 697043.2
- Radeon HD 785036.4
FPS (higher is better)
StarCraft II
- Radeon HD 6970108.7
- Radeon HD 785087.7
FPS (higher is better)
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
- Radeon HD 697044.4
- Radeon HD 785041.8
FPS (higher is better)
Total War: Shogun 2
- Radeon HD 697021.9
- Radeon HD 785017.3
FPS (higher is better)
Unigine Heaven 2.0
- Radeon HD 697022.3
- Radeon HD 785028.9
FPS (higher is better)
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
- Radeon HD 697047
- Radeon HD 785045.3
FPS (higher is better)
Bioshock Infinite
DX11, Ultra, DDOD, FXAA
- Radeon HD 697024
- Radeon HD 785023
FPS (higher is better)