Radeon HD 7970 vs Radeon HD 7950

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon HD 7970 scores 5 and the Radeon HD 7950 scores 4.6, which makes the Radeon HD 7970 about 9% faster. That is a small gap, below what most people notice without a frame counter.

Both cards have 3 GB of video memory, so memory will not separate them.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Call of Duty (8 against 7 fps), and the smallest is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (15 against 14 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon HD 7970 is rated at 250 W and the Radeon HD 7950 at 200 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 650 W for the first and 550 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon HD 7970 cost $549 and the Radeon HD 7950 $449. Per dollar, the Radeon HD 7950 gave more performance (1.0 points per $100 against 0.9). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon HD 7970 if you want the faster card, and it also has at least as much memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon HD 7950 if the price gap matters more than the 9% speed difference, or if you want lower power draw and a quieter PC. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.