GeForce RTX 2060
Radeon HD 5970
GeForce RTX 2060 vs Radeon HD 5970 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 RTX 2060 vs Radeon HD 5970 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 RTX 2060 vs Radeon HD 5970: 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 RTX 2060
2019Why buy it
- ✅218.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅Costs $350 less on MSRP ($349 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 1130.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 3.3 G3D/$ ($349 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
- ✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
- ✅200% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 2 GB).
Trade-offs
- ❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.
Radeon HD 5970
2009Why buy it
- ✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce RTX 2060 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
- ❌2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌100.3% HIGHER MSRP$699 MSRPvs$349 MSRP
Quick Answers
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GeForce RTX 2060 vs Radeon HD 5970 Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce RTX 2060
The GeForce RTX 2060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 7 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1365 MHz to 1680 MHz. It has 1920 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 160W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. It features 30 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 14,114 points. Launch price was $349.
Radeon HD 5970
The Radeon HD 5970 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 18 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 1600 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 294W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,297 points. Launch price was $699.
Graphics Performance
In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 2060 scores 14,114 versus the Radeon HD 5970's 2,297 — the GeForce RTX 2060 leads by 514.5%. The GeForce RTX 2060 is built on Turing while the Radeon HD 5970 uses TeraScale 2, both on 12 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,920 (GeForce RTX 2060) vs 1,600 (Radeon HD 5970). Raw compute: 6.451 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 2060) vs 2.32 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 5970).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 14,114+514% | 2,297 |
| Architecture | Turing | TeraScale 2 |
| Process Node | 12 nm | 40 nm |
| Shading Units | 1920+20% | 1600 ×2 |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 6.451 TFLOPS+178% | 2.32 TFLOPS ×2 |
| ROPs | 48+50% | 32 ×2 |
| TMUs | 120+50% | 80 ×2 |
| L1 Cache | 1.9 MB+513% | 0.31 MB |
| L2 Cache | 3 MB+500% | 0.5 MB |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce RTX 2060 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 5970 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | DLSS 2 Super Resolution | 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 RTX 2060 has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 5970 carries 2 GB. GeForce RTX 2060 gives you 200% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce RTX 2060 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5970. L2 Cache: 3 MB (GeForce RTX 2060) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 5970) — the GeForce RTX 2060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB+200% | 2 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 336 GB/s | Unknown |
| Bus Width | 192-bit+50% | 128-bit |
| L2 Cache | 3 MB+500% | 0.5 MB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (12_2) (GeForce RTX 2060) vs 11.2 (Radeon HD 5970). Vulkan: 1.3 vs N/A. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 3.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2)+7% | 11.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.3 | N/A |
| OpenGL | 4.6+5% | 4.4 |
| Max Displays | 4+33% | 3 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC (Turing) (GeForce RTX 2060) vs None (Radeon HD 5970). Decoder: NVDEC (Turing) vs UVD 2.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,VP9,VP8,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce RTX 2060) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 5970).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC (Turing) | None |
| Decoder | NVDEC (Turing) | UVD 2.2 |
| Codecs | H.264,H.265,VP9,VP8,MPEG-2,VC-1 | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce RTX 2060 draws 160W versus the Radeon HD 5970's 294W — a 59% difference. The GeForce RTX 2060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce RTX 2060) vs 650W (Radeon HD 5970). Power connectors: 8-pin vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 229mm vs 305mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 72 vs 90.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 160W-46% | 294W |
| Recommended PSU | 500W-23% | 650W |
| Power Connector | 8-pin | 6-pin + 8-pin |
| Length | 229mm | 305mm |
| Height | 113mm | 111mm |
| Slots | 2 | 2 |
| Temp (Load) | 72-20% | 90 |
| Perf/Watt | 88.2+1031% | 7.8 |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce RTX 2060 came in at $349, while the Radeon HD 5970 launched at $699. On MSRP, GeForce RTX 2060 was 50.1% cheaper ($350 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce RTX 2060) vs 3.3 (Radeon HD 5970) — the GeForce RTX 2060 offers 1124.2% better value. The newer card here is GeForce RTX 2060 (2019 vs 2009).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 2060 | Radeon HD 5970 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $349-50% | $699 |
| Performance per Dollar | 40.4+1124% | 3.3 |
| Codename | TU106 | Hemlock |
| Release | January 7 2019 | November 18 2009 |
| Ranking | #168 | #651 |
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