Radeon HD 8870M vs GeForce GTX 480M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 480M and Radeon HD 8870M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 480M
2010
2 GB GDDR5, 100 Watt
4.21

HD 8870M outperforms GTX 480M by a minimal 1% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking685682
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency2.90no data
ArchitectureFermi (2010−2014)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameGF100Venus
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date25 May 2010 (14 years ago)1 April 2013 (11 years ago)

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 cores352640
Core clock speed425 MHz725 MHz
Boost clock speedno data775 MHz
Number of transistors3,100 million1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Wattno data
Texture fill rate18.7031.00
Floating-point processing power0.5984 TFLOPS0.992 TFLOPS
ROPs3216
TMUs4440

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 sizelargelarge
Bus supportPCI-E 2.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectorsNoneno data
SLI options+-

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 amount2 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1200 MHz1125 MHz
Memory bandwidth76.8 GB/s72 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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 API12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL1.11.2
VulkanN/A1.2.131
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 480M 4.21
HD 8870M 4.26
+1.2%

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.

GTX 480M 1617
HD 8870M 1638
+1.3%

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 480M 2185
HD 8870M 2986
+36.7%

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 480M 8872
HD 8870M 11715
+32%

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:

900p33
−27.3%
42
+27.3%
Full HD39
+21.9%
32
−21.9%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Elden Ring 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Metro Exodus 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
Valorant 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Dota 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Elden Ring 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
−4.8%
21−24
+4.8%
Fortnite 24−27
−4.2%
24−27
+4.2%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Metro Exodus 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
−7.7%
14−16
+7.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Valorant 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
World of Tanks 70−75
−22.5%
87
+22.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Dota 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Far Cry 5 21−24
−4.8%
21−24
+4.8%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Valorant 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 2−3
−50%
3−4
+50%
Elden Ring 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
World of Tanks 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry 5 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Metro Exodus 1−2
−100%
2−3
+100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Valorant 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Elden Ring 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Dota 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Far Cry 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Fortnite 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Valorant 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%

This is how GTX 480M and HD 8870M compete in popular games:

  • HD 8870M is 27% faster in 900p
  • GTX 480M is 22% faster in 1080p

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

  • in Metro Exodus, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 8870M is 100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 8870M is ahead in 8 tests (13%)
  • there's a draw in 52 tests (87%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 4.21 4.26
Recency 25 May 2010 1 April 2013
Chip lithography 40 nm 28 nm

HD 8870M has a 1.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce GTX 480M and Radeon HD 8870M.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M
GeForce GTX 480M
AMD Radeon HD 8870M
Radeon HD 8870M

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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


2.5 2 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 480M on a scale of 1 to 5:

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4.7 11 votes

Rate Radeon HD 8870M on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

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