AMD Radeon HD 7870 XT vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB

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Combined performance score

GTX 1060 3 GB
24.74
+115%

GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms Radeon HD 7870 XT by 115% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

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

Place in performance ranking201377
Place by popularity29not in top-100
Value for money2.403.77
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)GCN 1.0 (2012−2020)
GPU code nameGP106Tahiti
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date18 August 2016 (7 years old)19 November 2012 (11 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 $270
Current price$1112 (5.6x MSRP)$133 (0.5x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7870 XT has 57% better value for money than GTX 1060 3 GB.

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 cores11521536
Core clock speed1506 MHz925 MHz
Boost clock speed1708 MHz975 MHz
Number of transistors4,400 million4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Watt185 Watt
Texture fill rate123.093.60
Floating-point performance3,935 gflops2,995 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).

InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length250 mm267 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin2x 6-pin

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB2 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed8008 MHz6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth192.2 GB/s192.0 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 Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
HDMI++

API support

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 (11_1)
Shader Model6.45.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan+1.2.131
CUDA6.1no 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.

GTX 1060 3 GB 24.74
+115%
HD 7870 XT 11.53

GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms Radeon HD 7870 XT by 115% in our combined 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%

GTX 1060 3 GB 9588
+115%
HD 7870 XT 4469

GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms Radeon HD 7870 XT by 115% 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 24.74 11.53
Recency 18 August 2016 19 November 2012
Cost $199 $270
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 16 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 185 Watt

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 XT in performance tests.


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

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
AMD Radeon HD 7870 XT
Radeon HD 7870 XT

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User ratings: view and submit

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Questions and comments

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