While previously we were under the impression that the HD 8000M series parts would be based on a new architecture, it appears that the listed HD 8970M is nothing more than a rebrand of the original HD 7970M part, with perhaps slightly higher core clocks.
It appears to still be based on the same GCN architecture and still features 1280 stream processors, 80 TMUs, and a 256-bit memory interface running GDDR5 memory. Nonetheless, the part is currently listed at $853.
The current HD 7970M features clock speeds of 850 MHz core and 1,200 MHz memory, with no boost speed. While it is likely that the HD 8970M will feature AMD's Boost technology, it would only still be marginally faster than Nvidia's current flagship mobile part, the GTX 680MX, which will likely soon be replaced.
