ATI Radeon HD 3870 vs GeForce GT 230M
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GT 230M with Radeon HD 3870, including specs and performance data.
HD 3870 outperforms 230M by a whopping 149% 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 | 1285 | 1065 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 0.05 |
| Power efficiency | 1.77 | 0.96 |
| Architecture | Tesla 2.0 (2007−2013) | TeraScale (2005−2013) |
| GPU code name | GT216 | RV670 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 15 June 2009 (16 years ago) | 19 November 2007 (18 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $269 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 48 | 320 |
| Core clock speed | 500 MHz | 777 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 486 million | 666 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 40 nm | 55 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 23 Watt | 106 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 8.000 | 12.43 |
| Floating-point processing power | 0.1056 TFLOPS | 0.4973 TFLOPS |
| Gigaflops | 158 | no data |
| ROPs | 8 | 16 |
| TMUs | 16 | 16 |
| L2 Cache | 64 KB | 256 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).
| Laptop size | medium sized | no data |
| Bus support | PCI-E 2.0 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 241 mm |
| Width | no data | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 1x 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 type | GDDR3 | GDDR4 |
| Maximum RAM amount | Up to 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | Up to 600 (DDR2), Up to 800 (GDDR3), Up to 1066 (GDDR3) MHz | 1126 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 16 (DDR2), 25 (DDR3) | 72.06 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 Connectors | Dual Link DVIVGADisplayPortHDMISingle Link DVI | 2x DVI, 1x S-Video |
| HDMI | + | - |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | HDA | no data |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| Power management | 8.0 | no data |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 11.1 (10_1) | 10.1 (10_1) |
| Shader Model | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| OpenGL | 2.1 | 3.3 (full) 4.0 (partial) |
| OpenCL | 1.1 | N/A |
| Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
| CUDA | + | - |
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.
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
Full HD
Medium
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 4−5
−125%
|
9−10
+125%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 8−9
−125%
|
18−20
+125%
|
| Valorant | 27−30
−132%
|
65−70
+132%
|
Full HD
High
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 16−18
−135%
|
40−45
+135%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Dota 2 | 10−12
−145%
|
27−30
+145%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 4−5
−125%
|
9−10
+125%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
| Metro Exodus | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 8−9
−125%
|
18−20
+125%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
| Valorant | 27−30
−132%
|
65−70
+132%
|
Full HD
Ultra
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
| Dota 2 | 10−12
−145%
|
27−30
+145%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 4−5
−125%
|
9−10
+125%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 8−9
−125%
|
18−20
+125%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 5−6
−140%
|
12−14
+140%
|
| Valorant | 27−30
−132%
|
65−70
+132%
|
1440p
High
| Counter-Strike 2 | 3−4
−133%
|
7−8
+133%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 2−3
−100%
|
4−5
+100%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 6−7
−133%
|
14−16
+133%
|
1440p
Ultra
| Forza Horizon 4 | 2−3
−100%
|
4−5
+100%
|
| Hogwarts Legacy | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 1−2
−100%
|
2−3
+100%
|
1440p
Epic
| Fortnite | 0−1 | 0−1 |
4K
High
| Grand Theft Auto V | 14−16
−114%
|
30−33
+114%
|
| Valorant | 3−4
−133%
|
7−8
+133%
|
4K
Ultra
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 2−3
−100%
|
4−5
+100%
|
4K
Epic
| Fortnite | 2−3
−100%
|
4−5
+100%
|
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.53 | 1.32 |
| Recency | 15 June 2009 | 19 November 2007 |
| Chip lithography | 40 nm | 55 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 23 Watt | 106 Watt |
GT 230M has an age advantage of 1 year, a 37.5% more advanced lithography process, and 360.9% lower power consumption.
ATI HD 3870, on the other hand, has a 149.1% higher aggregate performance score.
The Radeon HD 3870 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 230M in performance tests.
Be aware that GeForce GT 230M is a notebook graphics card while Radeon HD 3870 is a desktop one.
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