GeForce GTX 1650 vs Radeon HD 8970M

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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 1650

2019

Why buy it

✅49.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 52.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon HD 8970M: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon HD 8970M is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 75W instead of 100W, a 25W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 4 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Radeon HD 8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1650 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 52.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
❌33.3% higher power demand at 100W vs 75W.

GeForce GTX 1650

2019

Radeon HD 8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅49.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 52.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon HD 8970M: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon HD 8970M is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 75W instead of 100W, a 25W reduction.

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 4 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1650 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 52.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
❌33.3% higher power demand at 100W vs 75W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 1650 better than Radeon HD 8970M?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1650 is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce GTX 1650 averages 49.6% more FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 7,869 vs 3,876 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce GTX 1650 is a 2019 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while Radeon HD 8970M is a 2013 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 1650 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2019 generation instead of 2013, 103.0% more raw performance headroom, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 12nm process instead of 28nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 1650 is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. GeForce GTX 1650 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $149 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 49.6% more estimated average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and 103.0% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 100+%. That is why the better overall card still comes out as the smarter buy today, not just the faster one.

Is Radeon HD 8970M still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon HD 8970M is still a strong modern gaming GPU: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It remains a good buy when you can get it meaningfully cheaper than the alternative around an unclear MSRP, even if GeForce GTX 1650 is still the cleaner recommendation on overall value today.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 1650 Benchmark Check

Radeon HD 8970M Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
1080p
low	94 FPS	78 FPS
medium	83 FPS	67 FPS
high	70 FPS	53 FPS
ultra	58 FPS	35 FPS
1440p
low	87 FPS	69 FPS
medium	74 FPS	59 FPS
high	60 FPS	42 FPS
ultra	50 FPS	27 FPS
4K
low	41 FPS	24 FPS
medium	39 FPS	23 FPS
high	27 FPS	15 FPS
ultra	24 FPS	13 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1650 Open Radeon HD 8970M

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
1080p
low	136 FPS	140 FPS
medium	113 FPS	105 FPS
high	94 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	71 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	79 FPS	96 FPS
medium	62 FPS	67 FPS
high	44 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	35 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	36 FPS	48 FPS
medium	27 FPS	36 FPS
high	21 FPS	28 FPS
ultra	15 FPS	19 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1650 Open Radeon HD 8970M

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
1080p
low	323 FPS	174 FPS
medium	283 FPS	140 FPS
high	205 FPS	116 FPS
ultra	169 FPS	87 FPS
1440p
low	225 FPS	131 FPS
medium	202 FPS	105 FPS
high	151 FPS	87 FPS
ultra	117 FPS	65 FPS
4K
low	130 FPS	87 FPS
medium	117 FPS	70 FPS
high	79 FPS	58 FPS
ultra	50 FPS	44 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1650 Open Radeon HD 8970M

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
1080p
low	261 FPS	142 FPS
medium	211 FPS	113 FPS
high	191 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	166 FPS	80 FPS
1440p
low	201 FPS	103 FPS
medium	158 FPS	84 FPS
high	135 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	113 FPS	56 FPS
4K
low	99 FPS	60 FPS
medium	74 FPS	46 FPS
high	65 FPS	36 FPS
ultra	51 FPS	25 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1650 Open Radeon HD 8970M

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1650 and Radeon HD 8970M

GeForce GTX 1650

The GeForce GTX 1650 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 23 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1485 MHz to 1665 MHz. It has 896 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 7,869 points. Launch price was $149.

Radeon HD 8970M

The Radeon HD 8970M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 14 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,876 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1650 scores 7,869 versus the Radeon HD 8970M's 3,876 — the GeForce GTX 1650 leads by 103%. The GeForce GTX 1650 is built on Turing while the Radeon HD 8970M uses GCN 1.0, both on 12 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 896 (GeForce GTX 1650) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 8970M). Raw compute: 2.984 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1650) vs 2.304 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8970M). Boost clocks: 1665 MHz vs 900 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
G3D Mark Score	7,869+103%	3,876
Architecture	Turing	GCN 1.0
Process Node	12 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	896	1280+43%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.984 TFLOPS+30%	2.304 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1665 MHz+85%	900 MHz
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	56	80+43%
L1 Cache	896 KB+180%	320 KB
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1650 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon HD 8970M relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
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 feature 4 GB of video memory. Bus width: 128-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce GTX 1650) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 8970M) — the GeForce GTX 1650 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1650	Radeon HD 8970M
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	128 GB/s	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1650 draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 8970M's 100W — a 28.6% difference. The GeForce GTX 1650 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 300W (GeForce GTX 1650) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8970M). Power connectors: None vs 1x 6-pin.