Radeon HD 6870 vs GeForce GTX 960M

Place in the ranking	492	598
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	1.00
Power efficiency	8.00	2.61
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2017)	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code name	GM107	Barts
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	13 March 2015 (9 years ago)	21 October 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$239

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

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	1096 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1176 MHz	900 MHz
Number of transistors	1,870 million	1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	151 Watt
Texture fill rate	47.04	50.40
Floating-point processing power	1.505 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	medium sized	no data
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCIe 2.0 x16
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	220 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	2x 6-pin
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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2500 MHz	1050 MHz
Memory bandwidth	80 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	No outputs	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	-	+
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	+

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire	-	+
GameStream	+	-
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	-
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	-
Optimus	+	-
BatteryBoost	+	-
Ansel	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	DirectX® 11
Shader Model	5.1	5.0
OpenGL	4.5	4.4
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	-
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 960M 8.76
+52.3%

HD 6870 5.75

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 960M 3375
+52.3%

HD 6870 2216

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 960M 5278
+25.1%

HD 6870 4218

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 960M 4318
+37.5%

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 960M 30086
+13.8%

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	95 +55.7%	61 −55.7%
Full HD	34 −82.4%	62 +82.4%
1200p	55−60 +41%	39 −41%
1440p	15 +66.7%	9−10 −66.7%
4K	14 +55.6%	9−10 −55.6%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	no data	3.85
1440p	no data	26.56
4K	no data	26.56

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

14−16
+55.6%

9−10

−55.6%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	25 +66.7%	14−16 −66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Battlefield 5	30 +87.5%	16−18 −87.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +55.6%	9−10 −55.6%
Far Cry 5	28 +115%	12−14 −115%
Far Cry New Dawn	31 +93.8%	16−18 −93.8%
Forza Horizon 4	84 +127%	35−40 −127%
Hitman 3	16−18 +41.7%	12−14 −41.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +38.9%	35−40 −38.9%
Metro Exodus	31 +107%	14−16 −107%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +50%	16−18 −50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	48 +140%	20−22 −140%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +20.4%	45−50 −20.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	31 +107%	14−16 −107%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Battlefield 5	23 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +55.6%	9−10 −55.6%
Far Cry 5	24 +84.6%	12−14 −84.6%
Far Cry New Dawn	23 +43.8%	16−18 −43.8%
Forza Horizon 4	71 +91.9%	35−40 −91.9%
Hitman 3	16−18 +41.7%	12−14 −41.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +38.9%	35−40 −38.9%
Metro Exodus	26 +73.3%	14−16 −73.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +50%	16−18 −50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +45%	20−22 −45%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	73 +284%	18−20 −284%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +20.4%	45−50 −20.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	11 −36.4%	14−16 +36.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +55.6%	9−10 −55.6%
Far Cry 5	18 +38.5%	12−14 −38.5%
Forza Horizon 4	25 −48%	35−40 +48%
Hitman 3	16−18 +41.7%	12−14 −41.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 +38.9%	35−40 −38.9%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +45%	20−22 −45%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14 −35.7%	18−20 +35.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +20.4%	45−50 −20.4%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24−27
+50%

16−18

−50%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	14 +27.3%	10−12 −27.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	15 +66.7%	9−10 −66.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	8 +60%	5−6 −60%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Far Cry 5	10 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Forza Horizon 4	45 +181%	16−18 −181%
Hitman 3	12−14 +20%	10−11 −20%
Horizon Zero Dawn	18−20 +38.5%	12−14 −38.5%
Metro Exodus	15 +275%	4−5 −275%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−11 +900%	1−2 −900%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	8−9 +60%	5−6 −60%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +55.6%	35−40 −55.6%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

14−16
+50%

10−11

−50%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	6 +50%	4−5 −50%
Far Cry New Dawn	7 +75%	4−5 −75%
Hitman 3	5−6 +150%	2−3 −150%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 +169%	12−14 −169%
Metro Exodus	8 +167%	3−4 −167%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10 +400%	2−3 −400%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2	0−1
Far Cry 5	4 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 +120%	5−6 −120%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	5−6 +66.7%	3−4 −66.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

9−10
+50%

6−7

−50%

This is how GTX 960M and HD 6870 compete in popular games:

GTX 960M is 56% faster in 900p
HD 6870 is 82% faster in 1080p
GTX 960M is 41% faster in 1200p
GTX 960M is 67% faster in 1440p
GTX 960M is 56% faster in 4K

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

in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 960M is 900% faster.
in Forza Horizon 4, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6870 is 48% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 960M is ahead in 67 tests (96%)
HD 6870 is ahead in 3 tests (4%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	8.76	5.75
Recency	13 March 2015	21 October 2010
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	151 Watt

GTX 960M has a 52.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 101.3% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 960M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6870 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 960M 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.