GeForce GTX 485M SLI vs Radeon HD8970M

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 485M SLI vs Radeon HD8970M 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 GTX 485M SLI vs Radeon HD8970M: 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 485M SLI

2011

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD8970M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2011 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅8.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD8970M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 8.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.3% in PassMark G3D (3,369 vs 3,360), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

GeForce GTX 485M SLI is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD8970M 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 HD8970M is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GTX 485M SLI has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 485M SLI vs Radeon HD8970M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 485M SLI

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 6 2011. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 575 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,360 points.

Radeon HD8970M

The Radeon HD8970M 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: 3,369 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI scores 3,360 and the Radeon HD8970M reaches 3,369 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 485M SLI is built on Fermi while the Radeon HD8970M uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (GeForce GTX 485M SLI) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD8970M).

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Radeon HD8970M
G3D Mark Score	3,360	3,369
Architecture	Fermi	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	768	1280+67%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD8970M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Radeon HD8970M
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 485M SLI and System on the Radeon HD8970M.

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Radeon HD8970M
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI draws 100W versus the Radeon HD8970M's 100W — a 0% difference. The Radeon HD8970M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 485M SLI) vs 350W (Radeon HD8970M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.