GeForce RTX 4090 vs ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 with GeForce RTX 4090, including specs and performance data.
RTX 4090 outperforms ATI Mobility HD 3870 X2 by a whopping 4319% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 865 | 2 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | 8 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 18.86 |
| Power efficiency | 1.41 | 15.24 |
| Architecture | TeraScale (2005−2013) | Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) |
| GPU code name | M88 | AD102 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 1 September 2008 (16 years ago) | 20 September 2022 (2 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $1,599 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.
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 | 320 ×2 | 16384 |
| Core clock speed | 660 MHz | 2235 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 2520 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 666 million | 76,300 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 55 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 110 Watt | 450 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 10.56 ×2 | 1,290 |
| Floating-point processing power | 0.4224 TFLOPS ×2 | 82.58 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 16 ×2 | 176 |
| TMUs | 16 ×2 | 512 |
| Tensor Cores | no data | 512 |
| Ray Tracing Cores | no data | 128 |
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 | large | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 304 mm |
| Width | no data | 3-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | 1x 16-pin |
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 | GDDR3 | GDDR6X |
| Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB ×2 | 24 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit ×2 | 384 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 850 MHz | 1313 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 54.4 GB/s ×2 | 1.01 TB/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 | 1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDMI | - | + |
API and SDK compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 10.1 (10_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 4.1 | 6.8 |
| OpenGL | 3.3 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | N/A | 3.0 |
| Vulkan | N/A | 1.3 |
| CUDA | - | 8.9 |
| DLSS | - | + |
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.
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.
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 | 5−6
−5080%
| 259
+5080%
|
| 1440p | 4−5
−4850%
| 198
+4850%
|
| 4K | 3−4
−4633%
| 142
+4633%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | no data | 6.17 |
| 1440p | no data | 8.08 |
| 4K | no data | 11.26 |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Atomic Heart | 6−7
−5300%
|
324
+5300%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−2256%
|
212
+2256%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
−4440%
|
227
+4440%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Atomic Heart | 6−7
−4317%
|
265
+4317%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 6−7
−3183%
|
190−200
+3183%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−2289%
|
215
+2289%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
−4380%
|
224
+4380%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 3−4
−6867%
|
209
+6867%
|
| Fortnite | 10−11
−2920%
|
300−350
+2920%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
−3027%
|
300−350
+3027%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 3−4
−9267%
|
281
+9267%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 10−12
−1509%
|
170−180
+1509%
|
| Valorant | 40−45
−1600%
|
650−700
+1600%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Atomic Heart | 6−7
−3800%
|
234
+3800%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 6−7
−3183%
|
190−200
+3183%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−2111%
|
199
+2111%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 40−45
−547%
|
270−280
+547%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
−4200%
|
215
+4200%
|
| Dota 2 | 21−24
−1000%
|
253
+1000%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 3−4
−6600%
|
201
+6600%
|
| Fortnite | 10−11
−2920%
|
300−350
+2920%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
−3027%
|
300−350
+3027%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 3−4
−9067%
|
275
+9067%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 5−6
−3380%
|
174
+3380%
|
| Metro Exodus | 3−4
−7533%
|
229
+7533%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 10−12
−1509%
|
170−180
+1509%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 7−8
−8171%
|
579
+8171%
|
| Valorant | 40−45
−1600%
|
650−700
+1600%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 6−7
−3183%
|
190−200
+3183%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 9−10
−1956%
|
185
+1956%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
−4120%
|
211
+4120%
|
| Dota 2 | 21−24
−874%
|
224
+874%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 3−4
−6133%
|
187
+6133%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−12
−3027%
|
300−350
+3027%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 3−4
−4233%
|
130−140
+4233%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 10−12
−1509%
|
170−180
+1509%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 7−8
−4257%
|
305
+4257%
|
| Valorant | 40−45
−1600%
|
680
+1600%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 10−11
−2920%
|
300−350
+2920%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 3−4
−5833%
|
170−180
+5833%
|
| Counter-Strike: Global Offensive | 14−16
−3340%
|
500−550
+3340%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 1−2
−16100%
|
162
+16100%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 14−16
−1067%
|
170−180
+1067%
|
| Valorant | 16−18
−2753%
|
450−500
+2753%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
−15800%
|
159
+15800%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 3−4
−6133%
|
187
+6133%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 5−6
−6020%
|
300−350
+6020%
|
| Forza Horizon 5 | 2−3
−4150%
|
85−90
+4150%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 4−5
−6375%
|
259
+6375%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 4−5
−3675%
|
150−160
+3675%
|
4K
High Preset
| Atomic Heart | 2−3
−5000%
|
102
+5000%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 14−16
−1147%
|
187
+1147%
|
| Valorant | 10−12
−2918%
|
300−350
+2918%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 81 |
| Dota 2 | 5−6
−4440%
|
227
+4440%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 2−3
−8400%
|
170
+8400%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 1−2
−30400%
|
300−350
+30400%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 3−4
−3100%
|
95−100
+3100%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Fortnite | 3−4
−2533%
|
75−80
+2533%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Metro Exodus | 180
+0%
|
180
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 190−200
+0%
|
190−200
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 130
+0%
|
130
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 137
+0%
|
137
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 280
+0%
|
280
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 130−140
+0%
|
130−140
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 38
+0%
|
38
+0%
|
This is how ATI Mobility HD 3870 X2 and RTX 4090 compete in popular games:
- RTX 4090 is 5080% faster in 1080p
- RTX 4090 is 4850% faster in 1440p
- RTX 4090 is 4633% faster in 4K
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RTX 4090 is 30400% faster.
All in all, in popular games:
- RTX 4090 is ahead in 56 tests (89%)
- there's a draw in 7 tests (11%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.21 | 97.67 |
| Recency | 1 September 2008 | 20 September 2022 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 24 GB |
| Chip lithography | 55 nm | 5 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 110 Watt | 450 Watt |
ATI Mobility HD 3870 X2 has 309.1% lower power consumption.
RTX 4090, on the other hand, has a 4319.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 4700% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 1000% more advanced lithography process.
The GeForce RTX 4090 is our recommended choice as it beats the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 in performance tests.
Be aware that Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop one.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
