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.

Radeon HD 5970 vs Radeon R7 250X 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.

Radeon HD 5970 vs Radeon R7 250X: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon HD 5970

2009

Why buy it

✅112.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
606.1% HIGHER MSRP
$699 MSRPvs$99 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 3.3 vs 22.9 G3D/$ ($699 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
❌267.5% higher power demand at 294W vs 80W.
❌45.2% longer card at 305mm vs 210mm.

Radeon R7 250X

2014

Why buy it

✅Costs $600 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Delivers 597.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 22.9 vs 3.3 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $699 MSRP).
✅Draws 80W instead of 294W, a 214W reduction.
✅Measures 210mm instead of 305mm, a 95mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 5970 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2014 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 HD 5970 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 112.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.2% in PassMark G3D (2,297 vs 2,269), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 5970 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 R7 250X makes the most sense to buy today. It is $600 cheaper on MSRP at $99 vs $699, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 597.5% (22.9 vs 3.3), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R7 250X is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 5970 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 5970 vs Radeon R7 250X Technical Specifications

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

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.

Radeon R7 250X

The Radeon R7 250X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in February 13 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,269 points. Launch price was $99.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 5970 scores 2,297 and the Radeon R7 250X reaches 2,269 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 5970 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon R7 250X uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,600 (Radeon HD 5970) vs 640 (Radeon R7 250X). Raw compute: 2.32 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 5970) vs 1.216 TFLOPS (Radeon R7 250X).

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
G3D Mark Score	2,297+1%	2,269
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1600 ×2+150%	640
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.32 TFLOPS ×2+91%	1.216 TFLOPS
ROPs	32 ×2+100%	16
TMUs	80 ×2+100%	40
L1 Cache	320 KB+100%	160 KB
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5970 and 128-bit on the Radeon R7 250X. L2 Cache: 512 KB (Radeon HD 5970) vs 256 KB (Radeon R7 250X) — the Radeon HD 5970 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	72 GB/s
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.2 (Radeon HD 5970) vs 12 (FL 11_1) (Radeon R7 250X). Vulkan: N/A vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 2.

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
DirectX	11.2	12 (FL 11_1)+7%
Vulkan	N/A	1.2
OpenGL	4.4	4.6+5%
Max Displays	3+50%	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (Radeon HD 5970) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R7 250X). Decoder: UVD 2.2 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 5970) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 Part 2 (Radeon R7 250X).

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
Encoder	None	VCE 1.0
Decoder	UVD 2.2	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 Part 2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 5970 draws 294W versus the Radeon R7 250X's 80W — a 114.4% difference. The Radeon R7 250X is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 650W (Radeon HD 5970) vs 400W (Radeon R7 250X). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 305mm vs 210mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 90 vs 70°C.

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
TDP	294W	80W-73%
Recommended PSU	650W	400W-38%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	305mm	210mm
Height	111mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	90	70°C-22%
Perf/Watt	7.8	28.4+264%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 5970 came in at $699, while the Radeon R7 250X launched at $99. On MSRP, Radeon R7 250X was 85.8% cheaper ($600 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 3.3 (Radeon HD 5970) vs 22.9 (Radeon R7 250X) — the Radeon R7 250X offers 593.9% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R7 250X (2014 vs 2009).

Feature	Radeon HD 5970	Radeon R7 250X
MSRP	$699	$99-86%
Performance per Dollar	3.3	22.9+594%
Codename	Hemlock	Cape Verde
Release	November 18 2009	February 13 2014
Ranking	#651	#655

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