Radeon HD 8970M vs Radeon R9 M390X

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 8970M vs Radeon R9 M390X 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 8970M vs Radeon R9 M390X: 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 8970M

2013

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 M390X across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 7.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $550 MSRP).
❌33.3% higher power demand at 100W vs 75W.

Radeon R9 M390X

2015

Why buy it

✅18.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 7.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($550 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 75W instead of 100W, a 25W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2015 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

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 M390X is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 18.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.5% in PassMark G3D (3,895 vs 3,876), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 8970M 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 R9 M390X makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R9 M390X is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 8970M has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 8970M vs Radeon R9 M390X Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 8970M

The Radeon HD 8970M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 14 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,876 points.

Radeon R9 M390X

The Radeon R9 M390X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 5 2015. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 723 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,895 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 8970M scores 3,876 and the Radeon R9 M390X reaches 3,895 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 8970M is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R9 M390X uses GCN 3.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon HD 8970M) vs 2,048 (Radeon R9 M390X). Raw compute: 2.304 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8970M) vs 2.961 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M390X).

Feature	Radeon HD 8970M	Radeon R9 M390X
G3D Mark Score	3,876	3,895
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 3.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1280	2048+60%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.304 TFLOPS	2.961 TFLOPS+29%
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	80	128+60%
L1 Cache	320 KB	512 KB+60%
L2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 8970M	Radeon R9 M390X
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 4 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is System on the Radeon HD 8970M and 256-bit on the Radeon R9 M390X.

Feature	Radeon HD 8970M	Radeon R9 M390X
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	4 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	160 GB/s
Bus Width	System	256-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 8970M draws 100W versus the Radeon R9 M390X's 75W — a 28.6% difference. The Radeon R9 M390X is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 8970M) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M390X). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs Mobile.

Feature	Radeon HD 8970M	Radeon R9 M390X
TDP	100W	75W-25%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	Mobile
Perf/Watt	38.8	51.9+34%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon R9 M390X (2015 vs 2013).

Feature	Radeon HD 8970M	Radeon R9 M390X
MSRP	—	$550
Codename	Neptune	Amethyst
Release	May 14 2013	May 5 2015
Ranking	#507	#504

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