GeForce GTX 680
Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire
GeForce GTX 680 vs Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire Performance Spectrum
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 680 vs Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire 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
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce GTX 680 vs Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire: 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 680
2012Why buy it
- ✅26.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
Trade-offs
- ❌2012 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌232.7% HIGHER MSRP$499 MSRPvs$150 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 11.2 vs 37.6 G3D/$ ($499 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
- ❌290% higher power demand at 195W vs 50W.
- ❌25500% longer card at 256mm vs 1mm.
Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire
2011Why buy it
- ✅Costs $349 less on MSRP ($150 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 234.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.6 vs 11.2 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $499 MSRP).
- ✅Draws 50W instead of 195W, a 145W reduction.
- ✅Measures 1mm instead of 256mm, a 255mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 680 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌2011 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GTX 680 vs Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 680
The GeForce GTX 680 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 1006 MHz to 1058 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 195W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,609 points. Launch price was $499.
Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire
The Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 6 2011. It features the Terascale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 680 MHz. It has 1920 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,637 points.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GTX 680 scores 5,609 and the Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire reaches 5,637 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 680 is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire uses Terascale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GTX 680) vs 1,920 (Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 5,609 | 5,637 |
| Architecture | Kepler | Terascale 2 |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Shading Units | 1536 | 1920+25% |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GTX 680 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| 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 4 GB of GDDR5. Memory bandwidth: 192.2 GB/s (GeForce GTX 680) vs 115.2 GB/s x2 (Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire) — a 66.8% advantage for the GeForce GTX 680. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the GeForce GTX 680 and 256-bit x2 on the Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 192.2 GB/s+67% | 115.2 GB/s x2 |
| Bus Width | 256-bit | 256-bit x2 |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (FL 11_0) (GeForce GTX 680) vs 11_0 (Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire). Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (FL 11_0)+9% | 11_0 |
| Max Displays | 4 | 0 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX 680) vs UVD 3 (Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire). Decoder: PureVideo VP5 vs UVD 3.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC 1st gen | UVD 3 |
| Decoder | PureVideo VP5 | UVD 3 |
| Codecs | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 | — |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 680 draws 195W versus the Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire's 50W — a 118.4% difference. The Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce GTX 680) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 256mm vs 1mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 195W | 50W-74% |
| Recommended PSU | 550W | 350W-36% |
| Power Connector | 2x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| Length | 256mm | 1mm |
| Height | 111mm | — |
| Slots | 2 | 0-100% |
| Temp (Load) | 98°C | — |
| Perf/Watt | 28.8 | 112.7+291% |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce GTX 680 came in at $499, while the Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire launched at $150. On MSRP, Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire was 69.9% cheaper ($349 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 11.2 (GeForce GTX 680) vs 37.6 (Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire) — the Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire offers 235.7% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTX 680 (2012 vs 2011).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 680 | Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $499 | $150-70% |
| Performance per Dollar | 11.2 | 37.6+236% |
| Codename | GK104 | Blackcomb XT |
| Release | March 22 2012 | January 6 2011 |
| Ranking | #410 | #537 |
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