Radeon HD 7870 vs R9 295X2

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 295X2 and Radeon HD 7870, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 295X2
2014, $1,499
8 GB GDDR5, 500 Watt
21.16
+93.2%

R9 295X2 outperforms HD 7870 by an impressive 93% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking305477
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.252.59
Power efficiency3.274.84
ArchitectureGCN 2.0 (2013−2017)GCN 1.0 (2012−2020)
GPU code nameVesuviusPitcairn
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date29 April 2014 (12 years ago)5 March 2012 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$1,499 $349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

HD 7870 has 15% better value for money than R9 295X2.

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 cores2816 ×21280
Core clock speedno data1000 MHz
Boost clock speed1018 MHzno data
Number of transistors6,200 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)500 Watt175 Watt
Texture fill rate179.2 ×280.00
Floating-point processing power5.733 TFLOPS ×22.56 TFLOPS
ROPs64 ×232
TMUs176 ×280
L1 Cache704 KB320 KB
L2 Cache1024 KB512 KB

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).

Bus supportPCIe 2.1 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length307 mm241 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2 x 8-pin2x 6-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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount8 GB ×22 GB
Memory bus width512 Bit ×2256 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth640 GB/s ×2153.6 GB/s
Shared memory--

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 Connectors1x DVI, 4x mini-DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity++
HDMI++

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

CrossFire+-
FreeSync+-
HD3D+-
LiquidVR+-
TressFX+-
UVD+-
DDMA audio+no data

API and SDK support

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectXDirectX® 1212 (11_1)
Shader Model6.35.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan+1.2.131

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.

R9 295X2 21.16
+93.2%
HD 7870 10.95

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.

R9 295X2 8816
+93.3%
Samples: 546
HD 7870 4560
Samples: 7914

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p160−170
+90.5%
84
−90.5%
Full HD120−130
+81.8%
66
−81.8%

Cost per frame, $

1080p12.49
−136%
5.29
+136%
  • HD 7870 has 136% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Resident Evil 4 Remake 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Escape from Tarkov 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Valorant 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Dota 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Escape from Tarkov 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 36
+0%
36
+0%
Valorant 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Dota 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Escape from Tarkov 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20
+0%
20
+0%
Valorant 95−100
+0%
95−100
+0%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Escape from Tarkov 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Valorant 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Dota 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Escape from Tarkov 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

This is how R9 295X2 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

  • R9 295X2 is 90% faster in 900p
  • R9 295X2 is 82% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 21.16 10.95
Recency 29 April 2014 5 March 2012
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 500 Watt 175 Watt

R9 295X2 has a 93% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount.

HD 7870, on the other hand, has 186% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 295X2 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.6 106 votes

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