Radeon HD 3870 vs GeForce 9800 GT
Aggregated performance score
Radeon HD 3870 outperforms GeForce 9800 GT by 16% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 1001 | 946 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Value for money | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Architecture | Tesla (2006−2010) | TeraScale (2005−2013) |
| GPU code name | G92 | RV670 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 21 July 2008 (15 years old) | 19 November 2007 (16 years old) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $160 | $269 |
| Current price | $154 (1x MSRP) | $195 (0.7x MSRP) |
Value for money
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
ATI HD 3870 has 50% better value for money than 9800 GT.
Technical specs
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 112 | 320 |
| CUDA cores | 112 | no data |
| Core clock speed | 600 MHz | 777 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 754 million | 666 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 65 nm | 55 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 106 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Texture fill rate | 33.6 billion/sec | 12.43 |
| Floating-point performance | 336.0 gflops | 497.3 gflops |
Size and 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 2.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 9" (22.9 cm) | 241 mm |
| Height | 1-slot | no data |
| Width | 1-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin |
| SLI options | + | no data |
Memory
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 | GDDR3 | GDDR4 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 900 MHz | 2252 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 57.6 GB/s | 72.06 GB/s |
Video outputs and ports
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | HDTVDual Link DVI | 2x DVI, 1x S-Video |
| Multi monitor support | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | S/PDIF | no data |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_0) | 10.1 (10_1) |
| Shader Model | 4.0 | 4.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 3.3 |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | N/A |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| CUDA | + | no data |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Radeon HD 3870 outperforms GeForce 9800 GT by 16% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
Radeon HD 3870 outperforms GeForce 9800 GT by 16% in Passmark.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Advantages and disadvantages
| Performance score | 1.23 | 1.43 |
| Recency | 21 July 2008 | 19 November 2007 |
| Cost | $160 | $269 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Chip lithography | 65 nm | 55 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 106 Watt |
The Radeon HD 3870 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9800 GT in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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