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 RTX 3060

2021

Why buy it

✅+364% higher PassMark G3D performance.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 51.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅200% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (12 GB vs 4 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌70% higher power demand at 170W vs 100W.

Radeon HD 7970M

2012

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 170W, a 70W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (3,663 vs 16,995).
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 12 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-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 51.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

GeForce RTX 3060

2021

Radeon HD 7970M

2012

Why buy it

✅+364% higher PassMark G3D performance.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 51.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
✅200% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (12 GB vs 4 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 170W, a 70W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌70% higher power demand at 170W vs 100W.

Trade-offs

❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (3,663 vs 16,995).
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 12 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-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 51.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce RTX 3060 better than Radeon HD 7970M?

Yes. GeForce RTX 3060 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 16,995 vs 3,663 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce RTX 3060 is a 2021 card with DLSS Super Resolution, while Radeon HD 7970M is a 2012 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 RTX 3060 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2021 generation instead of 2012, 364.0% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 12 GB instead of 4 GB, and the stronger feature stack with DLSS Super Resolution instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.

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

GeForce RTX 3060 is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. GeForce RTX 3060 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $329 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 364.0% 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 7970M still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon HD 7970M 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 RTX 3060 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 RTX 3060 Benchmark Check

Radeon HD 7970M Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
1080p
low	149 FPS	81 FPS
medium	131 FPS	69 FPS
high	118 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	99 FPS	36 FPS
1440p
low	126 FPS	71 FPS
medium	104 FPS	61 FPS
high	92 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	80 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	67 FPS	25 FPS
medium	58 FPS	24 FPS
high	39 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	14 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon HD 7970M

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
1080p
low	354 FPS	142 FPS
medium	310 FPS	106 FPS
high	249 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	195 FPS	50 FPS
1440p
low	222 FPS	97 FPS
medium	196 FPS	68 FPS
high	160 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	128 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	110 FPS	49 FPS
medium	94 FPS	36 FPS
high	77 FPS	28 FPS
ultra	60 FPS	19 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon HD 7970M

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
1080p
low	765 FPS	165 FPS
medium	612 FPS	132 FPS
high	510 FPS	110 FPS
ultra	382 FPS	82 FPS
1440p
low	535 FPS	124 FPS
medium	432 FPS	99 FPS
high	366 FPS	82 FPS
ultra	287 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	367 FPS	82 FPS
medium	298 FPS	66 FPS
high	221 FPS	55 FPS
ultra	176 FPS	41 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon HD 7970M

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
1080p
low	523 FPS	144 FPS
medium	452 FPS	114 FPS
high	383 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	319 FPS	80 FPS
1440p
low	428 FPS	104 FPS
medium	371 FPS	85 FPS
high	298 FPS	73 FPS
ultra	245 FPS	56 FPS
4K
low	279 FPS	61 FPS
medium	259 FPS	46 FPS
high	225 FPS	36 FPS
ultra	186 FPS	25 FPS

Open GeForce RTX 3060 Open Radeon HD 7970M

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce RTX 3060 and Radeon HD 7970M

GeForce RTX 3060

The GeForce RTX 3060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1320 MHz to 1777 MHz. It has 3584 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 170W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 28 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 16,995 points. Launch price was $329.

Radeon HD 7970M

The Radeon HD 7970M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 24 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,663 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 3060 scores 16,995 versus the Radeon HD 7970M's 3,663 — the GeForce RTX 3060 leads by 364%. The GeForce RTX 3060 is built on Ampere while the Radeon HD 7970M uses GCN 1.0, both on 8 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 3,584 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 7970M). Raw compute: 12.74 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 2.176 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7970M).

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
G3D Mark Score	16,995+364%	3,663
Architecture	Ampere	GCN 1.0
Process Node	8 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	3584+180%	1280
Compute (TFLOPS)	12.74 TFLOPS+485%	2.176 TFLOPS
ROPs	48+50%	32
TMUs	112+40%	80
L1 Cache	3.5 MB+1029%	0.31 MB
L2 Cache	3 MB+500%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce RTX 3060 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon HD 7970M relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
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 3060 comes with 12 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 7970M has 4 GB. The GeForce RTX 3060 offers 200% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 192-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 3 MB (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 7970M) — the GeForce RTX 3060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
VRAM Capacity	12 GB+200%	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	360 GB/s	System
Bus Width	192-bit	System
L2 Cache	3 MB+500%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 7970M). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
DirectX	12 Ultimate	12 (11_1)
Vulkan	1.3+8%	1.2
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	6+50%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 7th Gen (GeForce RTX 3060) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7970M). Decoder: NVDEC 5th Gen vs UVD 3. Supported codecs: AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 7970M).

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
Encoder	NVENC 7th Gen	VCE 1.0
Decoder	NVDEC 5th Gen	UVD 3
Codecs	AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce RTX 3060 draws 170W versus the Radeon HD 7970M's 100W — a 51.9% difference. The Radeon HD 7970M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7970M). Power connectors: 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 85°C.

Feature	GeForce RTX 3060	Radeon HD 7970M
TDP	170W	100W-41%
Recommended PSU	550W	350W-36%
Power Connector	8-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	242mm	—
Height	112mm	—
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	75-12%	85°C
Perf/Watt	100.0+173%	36.6