GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 7470

CPU

GPU

GeForce GT 520M

2013Core: 941 MHzBoost: 967 MHz

Similar parts

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Radeon HD 7470

2012Boost: 925 MHz

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GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 7470 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GT 520M

1 GB 50

284

0.0%

GeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design

GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU

Radeon HD 7470

1 GB 250

289

+1.8%

Radeon HD 7970M Crossfire

Radeon RX 6550M

Radeon RX 7600M XT

Radeon RX 6700 XT

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 7470 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 7470: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce GT 520M

2013

Why buy it

✅Draws 50W instead of 250W, a 200W reduction.
✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 7470 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
20% HIGHER MSRP
$60 MSRPvs$50 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.7 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($60 MSRP vs $50 MSRP).

Radeon HD 7470

2012

Why buy it

✅62.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $10 less on MSRP ($50 MSRP vs $60 MSRP).
✅Delivers 22.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.8 vs 4.7 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs $60 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌2012 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌400% higher power demand at 250W vs 50W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 7470 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 62.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.8% in PassMark G3D (289 vs 284), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GT 520M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2013 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 7470 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $10 cheaper on MSRP at $50 vs $60, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 22.1% (5.8 vs 4.7), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 7470 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 520M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 7470 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce GT 520M

The GeForce GT 520M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 9 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 941 MHz to 967 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 284 points.

Radeon HD 7470

The Radeon HD 7470 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 925 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 289 points. Launch price was $549.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 520M scores 284 and the Radeon HD 7470 reaches 289 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 520M is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 7470 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 520M) vs 2,048 (Radeon HD 7470). Raw compute: 0.7427 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 520M) vs 3.789 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7470). Boost clocks: 967 MHz vs 925 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
G3D Mark Score	284	289+2%
Architecture	Kepler	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	384	2048+433%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.7427 TFLOPS	3.789 TFLOPS+410%
Boost Clock	967 MHz+5%	925 MHz
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	32	128+300%
L1 Cache	32 KB	512 KB+1500%
L2 Cache	256 KB	768 KB+200%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 520M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 7470 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GT 520M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 7470. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GT 520M) vs 768 KB (Radeon HD 7470) — the Radeon HD 7470 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	768 KB+200%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 520M) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 7470). Vulkan: None vs N/A. OpenGL: 4.0 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
DirectX	11.0	11.2 (11_0)+2%
Vulkan	None	N/A
OpenGL	4.0	4.4+10%
Max Displays	1	2+100%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GT 520M) vs None (Radeon HD 7470). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 3.1. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 520M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 7470).

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
Encoder	No	None
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP4	UVD 3.1
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 520M draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 7470's 250W — a 133.3% difference. The GeForce GT 520M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 520M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7470). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 168mm, occupying 0 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 70.

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
TDP	50W-80%	250W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	168mm
Height	0mm	69mm
Slots	0-100%	1
Temp (Load)	70°C	70
Perf/Watt	5.7+375%	1.2

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GT 520M came in at $60, while the Radeon HD 7470 launched at $50. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7470 was 16.7% cheaper ($10 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.7 (GeForce GT 520M) vs 5.8 (Radeon HD 7470) — the Radeon HD 7470 offers 23.4% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GT 520M (2013 vs 2012).

Feature	GeForce GT 520M	Radeon HD 7470
MSRP	$60	$50-17%
Performance per Dollar	4.7	5.8+23%
Codename	GK107	Tahiti
Release	January 9 2013	January 9 2012
Ranking	#792	#431

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