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GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design vs Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design

2018Core: 1152 MHzBoost: 1417 MHz
GTX family
·······
Buy on Amazon
VS
AMD

Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X

2013Boost: 1000 MHz
Similar parts
·······
Buy on Amazon

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design vs Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
4 GB 75
5,310
+1.2%
brand logoGeForce GTX 675MX
brand logoGeForce GTX 870M
brand logoGeForce GTX 880M SLI
brand logoGeForce GTX 580
brand logoGeForce GTX 780 Ti
brand logoTitan X Pascal
brand logoGeForce GTX 1070 SLI
brand logoRTX 4000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
3 GB 200
5,248
0.0%
brand logoRadeon R7 260
brand logoRadeon RX 550 (móvel)
brand logoRadeon HD 7800-serie
brand logoRadeon R9 Nano
brand logoRadeon R9 Fury
brand logoRadeon RX 6600 LE
brand logoRadeon 8060S
brand logoRadeon RX 6800

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 GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design vs Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X 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.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low82 FPS
medium70 FPS
high58 FPS
ultra38 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low77 FPS
medium63 FPS
high50 FPS
ultra33 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low109 FPS
medium82 FPS
high65 FPS
ultra41 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low135 FPS
medium110 FPS
high90 FPS
ultra65 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low239 FPS
medium191 FPS
high159 FPS
ultra119 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low236 FPS
medium189 FPS
high157 FPS
ultra118 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low148 FPS
medium118 FPS
high99 FPS
ultra84 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low145 FPS
medium118 FPS
high102 FPS
ultra87 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low67 FPS
medium48 FPS
high32 FPS
ultra19 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low141 FPS
medium124 FPS
high101 FPS
ultra80 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low41 FPS
medium33 FPS
high18 FPS
ultra7 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low65 FPS
medium50 FPS
high41 FPS
ultra29 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low48 FPS
medium34 FPS
high28 FPS
ultra17 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low56 FPS
medium39 FPS
high31 FPS
ultra24 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low72 FPS
medium56 FPS
high43 FPS
ultra26 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low78 FPS
medium60 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra39 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design
low46 FPS
medium39 FPS
high21 FPS
ultra14 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
low71 FPS
medium55 FPS
high44 FPS
ultra32 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design vs Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X: 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 GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design

2018

Why buy it

  • ✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 3 GB).
  • ✅Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X is already obsolete for modern gaming, so GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design is the less risky modern option long term.
  • ✅Draws 75W instead of 200W, a 125W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌2018 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 17.6 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $299 MSRP).

Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅36.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 17.6 vs 0 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 3 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2013 hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌166.7% higher power demand at 200W vs 75W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 36.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design instead at 5,310 vs 5,248, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 4 GB vs 3 GB of VRAM, a 14nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2018 generation instead of 2013. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design vs Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design

The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 3 2018. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1152 MHz to 1417 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,310 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X

The Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in October 8 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,248 points. Launch price was $299.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design scores 5,310 and the Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X reaches 5,248 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X uses GCN 1.0, both on 14 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 2,048 (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X). Raw compute: 2.177 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 4.096 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X). Boost clocks: 1417 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
G3D Mark Score
5,310+1%
5,248
Architecture
Pascal
GCN 1.0
Process Node
14 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
768
2048+167%
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.177 TFLOPS
4.096 TFLOPS+88%
Boost Clock
1417 MHz+42%
1000 MHz
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
48
128+167%
L1 Cache
288 KB
512 KB+78%
L2 Cache
1 MB+33%
0.75 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
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)

The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design has 4 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X carries 3 GB. GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design gives you 33.3% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 112 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 264 GB/s (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X) — a 135.7% advantage for the Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design and 384-bit on the Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 0.75 MB (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X) — the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
VRAM Capacity
4 GB+33%
3 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
112 GB/s
264 GB/s+136%
Bus Width
128-bit
384-bit+200%
L2 Cache
1 MB+33%
0.75 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
DirectX
12 (12_1)
12 (11_1)
Vulkan
1.3+8%
1.2
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
6+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (6th Gen) (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X). Decoder: NVDEC (3rd Gen) vs UVD 3.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265 (HEVC),VP9 (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
Encoder
NVENC (6th Gen)
VCE 1.0
Decoder
NVDEC (3rd Gen)
UVD 3.2
Codecs
H.264,H.265 (HEVC),VP9
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X's 200W — a 90.9% difference. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 500W (Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 80 C.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
TDP
75W-63%
200W
Recommended PSU
350W-30%
500W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
6-pin + 8-pin
Length
—
275mm
Height
—
111mm
Slots
0-100%
2
Temp (Load)
70°C-13%
80 C
Perf/Watt
70.8+170%
26.2
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design (2018 vs 2013).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q DesignRadeon HD 7970 / R9 280X
MSRP
—
$299
Codename
GP107
Tahiti
Release
January 3 2018
October 8 2013
Ranking
#429
#404
Search GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design on AmazonSearch Radeon HD 7970 / R9 280X on Amazon

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