Radeon HD 7870 vs GeForce GTX 980
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GTX 980 and Radeon HD 7870, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
GTX 980 outperforms HD 7870 by a whopping 140% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 179 | 376 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 9.78 | 2.82 |
| Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | GCN (2011−2017) |
| GPU code name | GM204 | Pitcairn XT |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 19 September 2014 (9 years ago) | 5 March 2012 (12 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $549 | $412.83 |
| Current price | $339 (0.6x MSRP) | $200 (0.5x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GTX 980 has 247% 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 cores | 2048 | 1280 |
| CUDA cores | 2048 | no data |
| Core clock speed | 1064 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1216 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 5,200 million | 2800 Million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 165 Watt | 175 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 144 billion/sec | 80.00 |
| Floating-point performance | 4,981 gflops | no 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 support | PCI Express 3.0 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 10.5" (26.7 cm) | 241 mm |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Recommended system power (PSU) | 500 Watt | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pins | 2x 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 type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 7.0 GB/s | 4800 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 224 GB/s | 153.6 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 Connectors | Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort |
| Multi monitor support | 4 displays | no data |
| Eyefinity | no data | + |
| VGA аnalog display support | + | no data |
| DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support | + | no data |
| HDMI | + | + |
| HDCP | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| G-SYNC support | + | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | Internal | no data |
Supported technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| GameStream | + | no data |
| GeForce ShadowPlay | + | no data |
| GPU Boost | 2.0 | no data |
| GameWorks | + | no data |
| H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder | + | no data |
| Optimus | + | no data |
| BatteryBoost | + | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.1.126 | 1.2.131 |
| 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.
GeForce GTX 980 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 140% 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%
GeForce GTX 980 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 140% 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%
GeForce GTX 980 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 184% 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%
GeForce GTX 980 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 78% 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%
GeForce GTX 980 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 150% 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:
| 900p | 200−210
+138%
| 84
−138%
|
| Full HD | 95
+31.9%
| 72
−31.9%
|
| 1440p | 47
+161%
| 18−20
−161%
|
| 4K | 39
+144%
| 16−18
−144%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50 | no data |
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 69 | no data |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 50−55 | no data |
| Battlefield 5 | 86 | no data |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 55−60 | no data |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50 | no data |
| Far Cry 5 | 84 | no data |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 77 | no data |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 90 | no data |
| Hitman 3 | 55−60 | no data |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 110−120 | no data |
| Metro Exodus | 90−95 | no data |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 75−80 | no data |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 100−110 | no data |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 75−80 | no data |
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 58 | no data |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 50−55 | no data |
| Battlefield 5 | 74 | no data |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 55−60 | no data |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50 | no data |
| Far Cry 5 | 69 | no data |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 64 | no data |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 230 | no data |
| Hitman 3 | 55−60 | no data |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 110−120 | no data |
| Metro Exodus | 90−95 | no data |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 75−80 | no data |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 100−110 | no data |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 85 | no data |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 75−80 | no data |
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 35 | no data |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 50−55 | no data |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 55−60 | no data |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 45−50 | no data |
| Far Cry 5 | 50 | no data |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 59 | no data |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 110−120 | no data |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 100−110 | no data |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 46 | no data |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 75−80 | no data |
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 75−80 | no data |
1440p
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 47 | no data |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 60−65 | no data |
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 27 | no data |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 30−33 | no data |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 40−45 | no data |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 20−22 | no data |
| Far Cry 5 | 48 | no data |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 48 | no data |
| Hitman 3 | 35−40 | no data |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 60−65 | no data |
| Metro Exodus | 55−60 | no data |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 65−70 | no data |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 35−40 | no data |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24 | no data |
1440p
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 45−50 | no data |
4K
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 22 | no data |
| Far Cry New Dawn | 24 | no data |
| Hitman 3 | 21−24 | no data |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 30−35 | no data |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 17 | no data |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 29 | no data |
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 14 | no data |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 16−18 | no data |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 16−18 | no data |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 8−9 | no data |
| Far Cry 5 | 16 | no data |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 34 | no data |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 30−35 | no data |
| Metro Exodus | 27−30 | no data |
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 12−14 | no data |
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 24−27 | no data |
This is how GTX 980 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:
- GTX 980 is 138% faster in 900p
- GTX 980 is 32% faster in 1080p
- GTX 980 is 161% faster in 1440p
- GTX 980 is 144% faster in 4K
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 28.80 | 12.02 |
| Recency | 19 September 2014 | 5 March 2012 |
| Cost | $549 | $412.83 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 165 Watt | 175 Watt |
The GeForce GTX 980 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.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
