Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 vs Maxwell GPU Surface Book
Aggregated performance score
Maxwell GPU Surface Book outperforms Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 by 68% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 669 | 815 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | RV6xx (2007−2010) |
| GPU code name | Surface Book | M88-XT CF |
| Market segment | Laptop | Laptop |
| Release date | 1 October 2015 (8 years old) | 1 September 2008 (15 years old) |
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 cores | 384 | 640 |
| Core clock speed | 954 MHz | 660 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 993 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | no data | 666 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 55 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | no data | 110 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 10.56 |
| Floating-point performance | no data | 2x 422.4 gflops |
Size and compatibility
Information on Maxwell GPU Surface Book and Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | no data | large |
| Interface | no data | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
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 type | GDDR5 | GDDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Memory bus width | 64 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 5012 MHz | 850 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 54.4 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
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 Connectors | no data | No outputs |
Technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| Optimus | + | no data |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (FL 11_0) | 10.1 (10_1) |
| Shader Model | no data | 4.1 |
| OpenGL | no data | 3.3 |
| OpenCL | no data | N/A |
| Vulkan | no data | N/A |
| CUDA | + | no data |
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:
| Full HD | 22
+83.3%
| 12−14
−83.3%
|
Performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 9−10
+200%
|
3−4
−200%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 14−16
+27.3%
|
10−12
−27.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 7−8
+250%
|
2−3
−250%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
+175%
|
4−5
−175%
|
| Hitman 3 | 8−9
+100%
|
4−5
−100%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 6−7
+100%
|
3−4
−100%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 10−11
+25%
|
8−9
−25%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 9−10
+200%
|
3−4
−200%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 14−16
+27.3%
|
10−12
−27.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 7−8
+250%
|
2−3
−250%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
+175%
|
4−5
−175%
|
| Hitman 3 | 8−9
+100%
|
4−5
−100%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 6−7
+100%
|
3−4
−100%
|
| Metro Exodus | 5−6
+66.7%
|
3−4
−66.7%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 10−11
+25%
|
8−9
−25%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 8−9
+33.3%
|
6−7
−33.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 9−10
+200%
|
3−4
−200%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 6−7
+200%
|
2−3
−200%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 7−8
+250%
|
2−3
−250%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
+175%
|
4−5
−175%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 8−9
+33.3%
|
6−7
−33.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
| Hitman 3 | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
| Metro Exodus | 2−3 | 0−1 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 7−8
+16.7%
|
6−7
−16.7%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 6−7
+100%
|
3−4
−100%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 4−5
+100%
|
2−3
−100%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+100%
|
2−3
−100%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 0−1 | 0−1 |
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Far Cry 5 | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
This is how Maxwell GPU Surface Book and ATI Mobility HD 3870 X2 compete in popular games:
1080p resolution:
- Maxwell GPU Surface Book is 83.3% faster than ATI Mobility HD 3870 X2
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Far Cry New Dawn, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the Maxwell GPU Surface Book is 250% faster than the ATI Mobility HD 3870 X2.
All in all, in popular games:
- Maxwell GPU Surface Book is ahead in 46 tests (96%)
- there's a draw in 2 tests (4%)
Advantages and disadvantages
| Performance score | 3.67 | 2.18 |
| Recency | 1 October 2015 | 1 September 2008 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 55 nm |
The Maxwell GPU Surface Book is our recommended choice as it beats the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar GPU comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
