AMD Radeon HD 7970 celebrates six years

On December 22, 2011, AMD launched a new generation of performance-class graphics cards, featuring the flagship model Radeon HD 7970. The model became the company’s first to use 28-nanometer graphics processors and also introduced the Graphics Core Next, or GCN architecture.

► SweClocker’s test of the AMD Radeon HD 7970

Today it is six years since the launch of the graphics card, which quickly became a popular model and is still used by many enthusiasts today. The Radeon HD 7970 was a big step up for AMD and was equipped with 2,048 925 MHz stream processors, 3 GB of GDDR5 memory and the Tahiti XT graphics processor. The model was also the first on the market to use PCI Express 3.0, which has become standard today.

Overall, the Radeon HD 7970 is the best graphics card in the performance class ever found for SweClocker’s test lab. With impressive computing power, low energy consumption and lots of features, AMD sets the bar high for the new generation of graphics cards.

The graphics card was at the top in almost all of SweClocker’s tests and only Nvidia’s Geforce GTX 590 and various sets in Crossfire and SLI performed better. Overall, the model showed performance figures that at the time were unparalleled and it was hailed as the best graphics card in the class to date.