GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST vs Radeon HD8970M

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 GTX 650 Ti BOOST

2013

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($169 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD8970M across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌34% higher power demand at 134W vs 100W.

Radeon HD8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅57.5% more average FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 100W instead of 134W, a 34W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 20.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $169 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST

2013

Radeon HD8970M

2013

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 20.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($169 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Why buy it

✅57.5% more average FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 100W instead of 134W, a 34W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD8970M across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌34% higher power demand at 134W vs 100W.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2013-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 20.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $169 MSRP).

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST better than Radeon HD8970M?

Yes. GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is the better GPU overall here. You are getting 1.4% higher PassMark G3D performance.

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

GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

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

GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is the smarter buy today, but it is not as lopsided as a simple winner label makes it sound. GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $169 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting lower estimated average FPS across 48 tracked games in our benchmark data and 1.4% 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 HD8970M still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. Radeon HD8970M 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 GTX 650 Ti BOOST 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 GTX 650 Ti BOOST Benchmark Check

Radeon HD8970M Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	31 FPS	77 FPS
medium	20 FPS	63 FPS
high	14 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	8 FPS	32 FPS
1440p
low	24 FPS	65 FPS
medium	14 FPS	53 FPS
high	7 FPS	37 FPS
ultra	4 FPS	23 FPS
4K
low	9 FPS	23 FPS
medium	6 FPS	22 FPS
high	3 FPS	14 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	12 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST Open Radeon HD8970M

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	43 FPS	140 FPS
medium	20 FPS	105 FPS
high	15 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	10 FPS	49 FPS
1440p
low	22 FPS	96 FPS
medium	9 FPS	67 FPS
high	7 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	5 FPS	36 FPS
4K
low	7 FPS	47 FPS
medium	4 FPS	35 FPS
high	3 FPS	27 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	18 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST Open Radeon HD8970M

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	154 FPS	152 FPS
medium	123 FPS	121 FPS
high	102 FPS	101 FPS
ultra	77 FPS	76 FPS
1440p
low	115 FPS	114 FPS
medium	92 FPS	91 FPS
high	77 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	58 FPS	57 FPS
4K
low	77 FPS	76 FPS
medium	61 FPS	61 FPS
high	51 FPS	51 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	38 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST Open Radeon HD8970M

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
1080p
low	133 FPS	141 FPS
medium	96 FPS	112 FPS
high	75 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	56 FPS	76 FPS
1440p
low	78 FPS	102 FPS
medium	57 FPS	83 FPS
high	48 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	34 FPS	55 FPS
4K
low	42 FPS	60 FPS
medium	29 FPS	45 FPS
high	24 FPS	36 FPS
ultra	16 FPS	25 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST Open Radeon HD8970M

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST and Radeon HD8970M

GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 26 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 980 MHz to 1033 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 134W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,415 points. Launch price was $169.

Radeon HD8970M

The Radeon HD8970M 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: 3,369 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST scores 3,415 and the Radeon HD8970M reaches 3,369 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD8970M uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 768 (GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD8970M). Raw compute: 1.585 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST) vs 2.304 TFLOPS (Radeon HD8970M). Boost clocks: 1033 MHz vs 900 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
G3D Mark Score	3,415+1%	3,369
Architecture	Kepler	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	768	1280+67%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.585 TFLOPS	2.304 TFLOPS+45%
Boost Clock	1033 MHz+15%	900 MHz
ROPs	24	32+33%
TMUs	64	80+25%
L1 Cache	64 KB	320 KB+400%
L2 Cache	384 KB	512 KB+33%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon HD8970M relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 2 GB of video memory. Bus width: 128-bit vs System. L2 Cache: 384 KB (GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD8970M) — the Radeon HD8970M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	384 KB	512 KB+33%

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST draws 134W versus the Radeon HD8970M's 100W — a 29.1% difference. The Radeon HD8970M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 450W (GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST) vs 350W (Radeon HD8970M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.

Feature	GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST	Radeon HD8970M
TDP	134W	100W-25%
Recommended PSU	450W	350W-22%
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	241mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Temp (Load)	97°C	—
Perf/Watt	25.5	33.7+32%