Radeon HD 6870 vs GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile

Place in the ranking	422	609
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.96
Power efficiency	10.64	2.61
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code name	GP107B	Barts
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	3 January 2017 (8 years ago)	21 October 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$239

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

no data

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	640	1120
Core clock speed	1354 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1493 MHz	900 MHz
Number of transistors	3,300 million	1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	151 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	97 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	59.72	50.40
Floating-point processing power	1.911 TFLOPS	2.016 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	32
TMUs	40	56

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	large	no data
Bus support	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 2.0 x16
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	220 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	2x 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	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4000 MB	1 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	7008 MHz	1050 MHz
Memory bandwidth	112 GB/s	134.4 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

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	DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, Dual Link-DVI	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Multi monitor support	+	no data
Eyefinity	-	+
HDMI	-	+
HDCP	2.2	-
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire	-	+
GameStream	+	-
GPU Boost	3.0	no data
Ansel	+	-

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	DirectX® 11
Shader Model	6.4	5.0
OpenGL	4.5	4.4
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	-
CUDA	+	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

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. 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.

GTX 1050 Mobile 11.14
+102%

HD 6870 5.51

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 1050 Mobile 7693
+82.4%

HD 6870 4218

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 1050 Mobile 26560
+49.4%

HD 6870 17773

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 1050 Mobile 6068
+93.2%

HD 6870 3141

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1050 Mobile 38042
+43.9%

HD 6870 26437

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:

900p	73 +19.7%	61 −19.7%
Full HD	46 −37%	63 +37%
1200p	75−80 +92.3%	39 −92.3%
1440p	24 +140%	10−12 −140%
4K	15 +114%	7−8 −114%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	no data	3.79
1440p	no data	23.90
4K	no data	34.14

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	51 +183%	18−20 −183%
Far Cry 5	39 +117%	18−20 −117%
Fortnite	132 +103%	65−70 −103%
Forza Horizon 4	55 +129%	24−27 −129%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	46 +119%	21−24 −119%
Red Dead Redemption 2	27 +58.8%	16−18 −58.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	44 +144%	18−20 −144%
Dota 2	126 +563%	18−20 −563%
Far Cry 5	36 +33.3%	27−30 −33.3%
Fortnite	51 +50%	30−35 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	52 +117%	24−27 −117%
Grand Theft Auto V	42 +121%	18−20 −121%
Metro Exodus	19 +35.7%	14−16 −35.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	41 −17.1%	45−50 +17.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	14 −21.4%	16−18 +21.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	39 +117%	18−20 −117%
World of Tanks	160−170 −17.4%	189 +17.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	37 +106%	18−20 −106%
Dota 2	115 +505%	18−20 −505%
Far Cry 5	33 +22.2%	27−30 −22.2%
Forza Horizon 4	37 +54.2%	24−27 −54.2%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	29 −65.5%	45−50 +65.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	22 +120%	10−11 −120%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite

39
+117%

18−20

−117%

1440p
High Preset

Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +167%	6−7 −167%
Metro Exodus	11 +120%	5−6 −120%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 +150%	4−5 −150%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	26 +189%	9−10 −189%
Far Cry 5	21 +75%	12−14 −75%
Forza Horizon 4	26 +160%	10−11 −160%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite

25
+108%

12−14

−108%

4K
High Preset

Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +29.4%	16−18 −29.4%
Metro Exodus	7	0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +29.4%	16−18 −29.4%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	13 +160%	5−6 −160%
Dota 2	34 +100%	16−18 −100%
Far Cry 5	11 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Forza Horizon 4	15 +150%	6−7 −150%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	12 +140%	5−6 −140%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite

+150%

4−5
−150%

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Metro Exodus	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Valorant	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Valorant	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Valorant	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
World of Tanks	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Metro Exodus	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Valorant	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Fortnite	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Valorant	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%

This is how GTX 1050 Mobile and HD 6870 compete in popular games:

GTX 1050 Mobile is 20% faster in 900p
HD 6870 is 37% faster in 1080p
GTX 1050 Mobile is 92% faster in 1200p
GTX 1050 Mobile is 140% faster in 1440p
GTX 1050 Mobile is 114% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Dota 2, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 1050 Mobile is 563% faster.
in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6870 is 66% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 1050 Mobile is ahead in 27 tests (45%)
HD 6870 is ahead in 4 tests (7%)
there's a draw in 29 tests (48%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	11.14	5.51
Recency	3 January 2017	21 October 2010
Maximum RAM amount	4000 MB	1 GB
Chip lithography	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	151 Watt

GTX 1050 Mobile has a 102.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 290.6% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 185.7% more advanced lithography process, and 101.3% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6870 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile is a notebook card while Radeon HD 6870 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.