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.

Radeon HD 6970

2010

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2010-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
23% HIGHER MSRP
$369 MSRPvs$300 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.7 vs 9.2 G3D/$ ($369 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
❌233.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 75W.

Radeon R9 M380

2015

Why buy it

✅Costs $69 less on MSRP ($300 MSRP vs $369 MSRP).
✅Delivers 19.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 9.2 vs 7.7 G3D/$ ($300 MSRP vs $369 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
✅Draws 75W instead of 250W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Radeon HD 6970

2010

Radeon R9 M380

2015

Why buy it

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

Why buy it

✅Costs $69 less on MSRP ($300 MSRP vs $369 MSRP).
✅Delivers 19.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 9.2 vs 7.7 G3D/$ ($300 MSRP vs $369 MSRP).
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
✅Draws 75W instead of 250W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2010-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
23% HIGHER MSRP
$369 MSRPvs$300 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.7 vs 9.2 G3D/$ ($369 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
❌233.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 75W.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon HD 6970 better than Radeon R9 M380?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 2,831 vs 2,752 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon HD 6970 is the overall package: you are getting FSR upscaling.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon HD 6970 is the safer long-term GPU choice because it gives you the stronger overall hardware and feature outlook for modern games.

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

Radeon HD 6970 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon HD 6970 is about 23.0% more expensive on MSRP at $369 MSRP versus $300 MSRP, and you are getting 2.9% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 M380 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does Radeon R9 M380 make more sense than Radeon HD 6970?

Yes. Radeon R9 M380 is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (75W vs 250W), and staying closer to $300 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon HD 6970. The trade-off is that Radeon HD 6970 currently gives you 2.9% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 M380 still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

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.

Radeon HD 6970 Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 M380 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
1080p
low	99 FPS	39 FPS
medium	81 FPS	25 FPS
high	63 FPS	18 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	10 FPS
1440p
low	83 FPS	27 FPS
medium	69 FPS	17 FPS
high	47 FPS	9 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	5 FPS
4K
low	27 FPS	10 FPS
medium	25 FPS	6 FPS
high	16 FPS	4 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	3 FPS

Open Radeon HD 6970 Open Radeon R9 M380

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
1080p
low	127 FPS	54 FPS
medium	99 FPS	28 FPS
high	77 FPS	20 FPS
ultra	51 FPS	13 FPS
1440p
low	74 FPS	26 FPS
medium	51 FPS	15 FPS
high	37 FPS	9 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	7 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	7 FPS
medium	18 FPS	5 FPS
high	14 FPS	4 FPS
ultra	10 FPS	2 FPS

Open Radeon HD 6970 Open Radeon R9 M380

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
1080p
low	127 FPS	124 FPS
medium	102 FPS	99 FPS
high	85 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	64 FPS	62 FPS
1440p
low	96 FPS	93 FPS
medium	76 FPS	74 FPS
high	64 FPS	62 FPS
ultra	48 FPS	46 FPS
4K
low	64 FPS	62 FPS
medium	51 FPS	50 FPS
high	42 FPS	41 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	31 FPS

Open Radeon HD 6970 Open Radeon R9 M380

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
1080p
low	127 FPS	110 FPS
medium	102 FPS	86 FPS
high	85 FPS	65 FPS
ultra	64 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	96 FPS	61 FPS
medium	76 FPS	48 FPS
high	64 FPS	40 FPS
ultra	48 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	64 FPS	35 FPS
medium	51 FPS	25 FPS
high	42 FPS	20 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	14 FPS

Open Radeon HD 6970 Open Radeon R9 M380

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon R9 M380

Radeon HD 6970

The Radeon HD 6970 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 14 2010. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The boost clock speed is 880 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,831 points. Launch price was $369.

Radeon R9 M380

The Radeon R9 M380 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 5 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 900 MHz to 1000 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,752 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 6970 scores 2,831 and the Radeon R9 M380 reaches 2,752 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 6970 is built on TeraScale 3 while the Radeon R9 M380 uses GCN 2.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (Radeon HD 6970) vs 768 (Radeon R9 M380). Raw compute: 2.703 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6970) vs 1.536 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M380). Boost clocks: 880 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
G3D Mark Score	2,831+3%	2,752
Architecture	TeraScale 3	GCN 2.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1536+100%	768
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.703 TFLOPS+76%	1.536 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	880 MHz	1000 MHz+14%
ROPs	32+100%	16
TMUs	96+100%	48
L1 Cache	192 KB	192 KB
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
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)

The Radeon HD 6970 comes with 2 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 M380 has 4 GB. The Radeon R9 M380 offers 100% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs 128-bit. L2 Cache: 512 KB (Radeon HD 6970) vs 256 KB (Radeon R9 M380) — the Radeon HD 6970 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	4 GB+100%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	96 GB/s
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (Radeon HD 6970) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R9 M380). Vulkan: N/A vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.4 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 3.

Feature	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
DirectX	11.0	12 (12_0)+9%
Vulkan	N/A	1.2
OpenGL	4.4	4.4
Max Displays	6+100%	3

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (Radeon HD 6970) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 M380). Decoder: UVD 3.0 vs UVD 6.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,VC-1,H.264,MPEG-4,MVC (Radeon HD 6970) vs H.264,H.265 (HEVC),MPEG-2,VC-1,MPEG-4 (Radeon R9 M380).

Feature	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
Encoder	None	VCE 3.0
Decoder	UVD 3.0	UVD 6.0
Codecs	MPEG-2,VC-1,H.264,MPEG-4,MVC	H.264,H.265 (HEVC),MPEG-2,VC-1,MPEG-4

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 6970 draws 250W versus the Radeon R9 M380's 75W — a 107.7% difference. The Radeon R9 M380 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (Radeon HD 6970) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M380). Power connectors: 6-pin + 8-pin vs Mobile. Card length: 286mm vs 0mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 90 vs 85.

Feature	Radeon HD 6970	Radeon R9 M380
TDP	250W	75W-70%
Recommended PSU	550W	350W-36%
Power Connector	6-pin + 8-pin	Mobile
Length	286mm	0mm
Height	111mm	0mm
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	90	85-6%
Perf/Watt	11.3	36.7+225%

💰

Value Analysis

The Radeon HD 6970 launched at $369 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 M380 launched at $300. The Radeon R9 M380 costs 18.7% less ($69 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 7.7 (Radeon HD 6970) vs 9.2 (Radeon R9 M380) — the Radeon R9 M380 offers 19.5% better value. The Radeon R9 M380 is the newer GPU (2015 vs 2010).