Radeon RX 9050 vs HD 7870 XT
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon RX 9050, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
RX 9050 outperforms HD 7870 XT by a whopping 189% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 508 | 236 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.61 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 4.10 | 23.80 |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) | RDNA 4.0 (2025−2026) |
| GPU code name | Tahiti | Navi 44 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 19 November 2012 (13 years ago) | 28 July 2026 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $270 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 1536 | 1024 |
| Core clock speed | 925 MHz | 1330 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 975 MHz | 2600 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 4,313 million | 29,700 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 4 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 185 Watt | 92 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 93.60 | 166.4 |
| Floating-point processing power | 2.995 TFLOPS | no data |
| ROPs | 32 | 64 |
| TMUs | 96 | 64 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 16 |
| L0 Cache | no data | 256 KB |
| L1 Cache | 384 KB | no data |
| L2 Cache | 512 KB | 4 MB |
| L3 Cache | no data | 32 MB |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |
| Length | 267 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1500 MHz | 2250 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |
| Resizable BAR | - | + |
Connectivity and outputs
This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.
| Display Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a |
| HDMI | + | + |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | 6.9 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 1.4 |
Synthetic benchmarks
Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark score.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 9.73 | 28.08 |
| Recency | 19 November 2012 | 28 July 2026 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 8 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 4 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 185 Watt | 92 Watt |
RX 9050 has a 189% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 13 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 86% more advanced lithography process, and 50% lower power consumption.
The Radeon RX 9050 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 XT in performance tests.
Other comparisons
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