Radeon HD 7870 vs GeForce GTX 780 Ti

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 780 Ti and Radeon HD 7870, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 780 Ti
2013
3 GB GDDR5, 250 Watt
24.64
+105%

GTX 780 Ti outperforms HD 7870 by a whopping 105% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in performance ranking205376
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation5.252.81
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)GCN (2011−2017)
GPU code nameGK110Pitcairn XT
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date7 November 2013 (10 years ago)5 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$699 $412.83
Current price$461 (0.7x MSRP)$200 (0.5x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 780 Ti has 87% better value for money than HD 7870.

Detailed specifications

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 cores28801280
CUDA cores2880no data
Core clock speed875 MHz1000 MHz
Boost clock speed928 MHzno data
Number of transistors7,080 million2800 Million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)250 Watt175 Watt
Texture fill rate210 billion/sec80.00
Floating-point performance5,345 gflopsno data

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).

Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length10.5" (26.7 cm)241 mm
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsOne 8-pin and one 6-pin2x 6-pin
SLI options+no data

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 amount3 GB2 GB
Memory bus width384 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed7.0 GB/s4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth336 GB/s153.6 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 ConnectorsOne Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
Eyefinityno data+
HDMI++
HDCP+no data
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

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

Blu Ray 3D+no data
3D Gaming+no data
3D Vision+no data
3D Vision Live+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan1.1.1261.2.131
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.

GTX 780 Ti 24.64
+105%
HD 7870 12.01

GeForce GTX 780 Ti outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 105% based on our aggregate 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 780 Ti 9516
+105%
HD 7870 4640

GeForce GTX 780 Ti outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 105% in Passmark.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 780 Ti 15619
+152%
HD 7870 6194

GeForce GTX 780 Ti outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 152% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 780 Ti 38813
+81.8%
HD 7870 21348

GeForce GTX 780 Ti outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 82% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

Unigine Heaven 4.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark, a newer version of Unigine 3.0 with relatively small differences. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. The benchmark is still sometimes used, despite its significant age, as it was released back in 2013.

Benchmark coverage: 1%

GTX 780 Ti 1812
+140%
HD 7870 756

GeForce GTX 780 Ti outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 140% in Unigine Heaven 4.0.

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:

900p170−180
+102%
84
−102%
Full HD95
+31.9%
72
−31.9%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 40−45 no data

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 45−50 no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45 no data
Battlefield 5 80−85 no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55 no data
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45 no data
Far Cry 5 55−60 no data
Far Cry New Dawn 60−65 no data
Forza Horizon 4 100−110 no data
Hitman 3 50−55 no data
Horizon Zero Dawn 95−100 no data
Metro Exodus 80−85 no data
Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70 no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 80−85 no data
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75 no data

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 45−50 no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45 no data
Battlefield 5 80−85 no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55 no data
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45 no data
Far Cry 5 55−60 no data
Far Cry New Dawn 60−65 no data
Forza Horizon 4 100−110 no data
Hitman 3 50−55 no data
Horizon Zero Dawn 95−100 no data
Metro Exodus 80−85 no data
Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70 no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 80−85 no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55−60 no data
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75 no data

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 45−50 no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 40−45 no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55 no data
Cyberpunk 2077 40−45 no data
Far Cry 5 55−60 no data
Forza Horizon 4 100−110 no data
Horizon Zero Dawn 95−100 no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 80−85 no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55−60 no data
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75 no data

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 65−70 no data

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50 no data
Far Cry New Dawn 50−55 no data

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27 no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 24−27 no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 30−35 no data
Cyberpunk 2077 16−18 no data
Far Cry 5 40−45 no data
Forza Horizon 4 45−50 no data
Hitman 3 27−30 no data
Horizon Zero Dawn 50−55 no data
Metro Exodus 45−50 no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 50−55 no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−33 no data
Watch Dogs: Legion 18−20 no data

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45 no data

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27 no data
Far Cry New Dawn 18−20 no data
Hitman 3 18−20 no data
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30 no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 16−18 no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 27−30 no data

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16 no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 12−14 no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16 no data
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7 no data
Far Cry 5 14−16 no data
Forza Horizon 4 30−35 no data
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30 no data
Metro Exodus 24−27 no data
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−12 no data

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24 no data

This is how GTX 780 Ti and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 780 Ti is 102% faster in 900p
  • GTX 780 Ti is 32% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 24.64 12.01
Recency 7 November 2013 5 March 2012
Cost $699 $412.83
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 2 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 175 Watt

The GeForce GTX 780 Ti is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 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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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti
GeForce GTX 780 Ti
AMD Radeon HD 7870
Radeon HD 7870

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

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


4 628 votes

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3.8 586 votes

Rate Radeon HD 7870 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.