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AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire vs AMD Radeon HD 7950M

AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire

► remove from comparison AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire

The AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire (or sometimes called the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 7970 X2) is a combination of two high-end graphics card for big and heavy laptops. Usually, each single card renders a single frame. Therefore, it may suffer from micro stuttering in low fps ranges of 30fps. This happens because of different timespans between two frames (e.g., irregular delays between sequential frames).

The HD 7970M is based on the desktop HD 7870 Pitcairn chip with 1280 1D shaders and 80 texture units. The GCN (graphics core next) architecture supports DirectX11 and OpenGL 4.2. More information on the features of the single 7970M can be found on this page.

The Performance of the two HD 7970M in Crossfire mode is clearly above the GeForce GTX 580M SLI aka. 675M SLI and almost on par with the GeForce GTX 680M SLI. Modern and demanding games like Battlefield 3 are therefore playable in high resolution, max. settings and antialiasing.

The power consumption of the CF combination is very high (2x 100 Watt) and therefore the graphics cards are only suited for very large desktop replacement laptops.

AMD Radeon HD 7950M

► remove from comparison AMD Radeon HD 7950M

The AMD Radeon HD 7950M is a DirectX 11 graphics card for large laptops and positioned in the high-end class. It is manufactured in 28nm and based on the GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture.

The performance should be only slightly below the Radeon HD 7970M as rumors speak from a 3DMark11 performance of P4100 to P4300 points. The GTX 680M scored in first tests P4673 for comparison.

The design of the Radeon 7900M series has its roots to the Pitcairn chip as found, for example, on the desktop Radeon HD 7870. Further details regarding the 7950M in particular are not released yet.

Features of the 7950M include the new UVD3 video decoder for decoding MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, Flash and now also Multi-View Codec (MVC) and MPEG-4 part 2 (DivX, xVid) HD videos directly from the AMD GPU.

The 7900M series also supports automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GPU. Called Enduro, the technology supersedes AMD's Dynamic Switchable Graphics and is similar to Nvidia's Optimus. Furthermore, the 7950M can directly support up to 6 connected monitors using Eyefinity Technology if Enduro is disabled.

Other features of the 7900M series include ZeroCore for reducing power consumption when the display is turned off. Power Gating, however, is not supported according to AMD. PowerTune allows automatic overclocking and underclocking of the graphics card as long as the GPU is within its TDP range. For example, the chip may be underclocked when running FurMark and OCCT, but will overclock in certain games like Lost Planet, Crysis or Resident Evil 5.

The integrated HD audio processor is able to transmit HD Audio (TrueHD or DTS Master Audio) over HDMI and DisplayPort (e.g., for Blu-Ray videos). Additionally, it now allows audio to output simultaneously and in parallel to multiple devices with the new Discrete Digital Multipoint Audio (DDMA) feature.

Power consumption of the 7950M should be somewhat below the 7970M and therefore suited for big and heavy DTR-laptops.

AMD Radeon HD 7970M CrossfireAMD Radeon HD 7950M
Radeon HD 7900M Series
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire 2560 @ 0.85 GHz2x 256 Bit @ 4800 MHz
Radeon HD 7970M compare 1280 @ 0.85 GHz256 Bit @ 4800 MHz
Radeon HD 7950M 1280 @ 0.7 GHz256 Bit @ 4000 MHz
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire 2560 @ 0.85 GHz2x 256 Bit @ 4800 MHz
Radeon HD 7970M compare 1280 @ 0.85 GHz256 Bit @ 4800 MHz
Radeon HD 7950M 1280 @ 0.7 GHz256 Bit @ 4000 MHz
CodenameWimbledon XTWimbledon Pro
ArchitectureGCNGCN
Pipelines2560 - unified1280 - unified
Core Speed850 MHz700 MHz
Memory Speed4800 MHz4000 MHz
Memory Bus Width2x 256 Bit256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Shared Memorynono
APIDirectX 11.1, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.2DirectX 11.1, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.1
Power Consumption200 Watt50 Watt
technology28 nm28 nm
Notebook Sizelargelarge
Date of Announcement01.05.2012 01.05.2012
Max. Amount of Memory2048 MB
Transistors2.8 Billion
FeaturesOpenGL 4.2, OpenCL 1.2
Information212 mm2 Die

Benchmarks

3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score
min: 9976     avg: 10179     median: 10179 (14%)     max: 10382 Points
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU
min: 11109     avg: 11119     median: 11119 (10%)     max: 11129 Points
3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total + AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 30783     avg: 31554     median: 31127 (9%)     max: 32751 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 34491     avg: 35209     median: 35208.5 (20%)     max: 35926 Points
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
150623 Points (79%)
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
36878 Points (40%)
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
3DMark 06
min: 25798     avg: 27647     median: 27647 (36%)     max: 29496 Points
Unigine Heaven 2.1 - Heaven 2.1 high
151.3 fps (28%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics
7.9 Points (100%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics
7.9 Points (100%)
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
7660 Points (5%)
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit + AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
83.3 fps (29%)

Average Benchmarks AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire → 0% n=

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

low 1024x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
85.1  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
87.1  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
86.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
84.6  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
92.5  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
87.5  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
84.2  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
242.7  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
237.5  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
194.2  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
103.9  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
80.6  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
43.2  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
59.8  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
59.6  fps
Alan Wake

Alan Wake

2012
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
70.7  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
40.4  fps
Anno 2070

Anno 2070

2011
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
161.5  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
102  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
52.8  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
84.7  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
75.1  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
64.2  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
188.1  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
187.1  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
157.5  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
141.2  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
131  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
67.9  fps
med. 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
165  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
97  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
61  fps
Fifa 12

Fifa 12

2011
med. 1024x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
393.5  fps
high 1360x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
347.4  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
342.2  fps
F1 2011

F1 2011

2011
med. 1024x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
90  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
77  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
67  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
205.7  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
147.3  fps
Crysis 2

Crysis 2

2011
med. 1024x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
100.2  fps
high 1366x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
100.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
95.9  fps
med. 1360x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
137.3  fps
high 1360x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
136.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
119.9  fps
med. 1360x768
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
145.4  fps
high 1600x900
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
132.4  fps
ultra 1920x1080
100%
Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire:
54.3  fps

Average Gaming AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire → 100%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%

AMD Radeon HD 7970M Crossfirelowmed.highultraQHD4K
Max Payne 385.187.186.284.6
Dirt Showdown92.587.584.2
Diablo III242.7237.5194.2
Risen 2: Dark Waters103.980.643.2
Mass Effect 359.859.6
Alan Wake70.740.4
Anno 2070161.510252.8
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim84.775.164.2
CoD: Modern Warfare 3188.1187.1157.5
Battlefield 3141.213167.9
Batman: Arkham City1659761
Fifa 12393.5347.4342.2
F1 2011907767
Deus Ex Human Revolution205.7147.3
Crysis 2100.2100.295.9
StarCraft 2137.3136.2119.9
Metro 2033145.4132.454.3
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps


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For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List

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v1.26
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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)