Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
ATI Mobility HD 4870 vs ATI HD 4850
Combined performance score
HD 4850 outperforms Mobility HD 4870 by 29% in our combined benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
Place in performance ranking | 772 | 830 |
Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
Value for money | 0.16 | 0.16 |
Architecture | Terascale 1 (2008−2010) | Terascale 1 (2008−2010) |
GPU code name | RV770 | M98-XT |
Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
Release date | 25 June 2008 (15 years old) | 9 January 2009 (15 years old) |
Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | no data |
Current price | $138 (0.7x MSRP) | $305 |
ATI HD 4850 and ATI Mobility HD 4870 have a nearly equal value for money.
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 | 800 | 800 |
Core clock speed | 625 MHz | 550 MHz |
Number of transistors | 956 million | 956 million |
Manufacturing process technology | 55 nm | 55 nm |
Power consumption (TDP) | 110 Watt | no data |
Texture fill rate | 25.00 | 22.00 |
Floating-point performance | 1,000.0 gflops | 880.0 gflops |
Size and compatibility
Information on Radeon HD 4850 and Mobility Radeon HD 4870 compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). 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 | PCIe 2.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
Length | 246 mm | no data |
Width | 1-slot | no data |
Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin | no data |
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 | GDDR3 | GDDR5 |
Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 1 GB |
Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
Memory clock speed | 993 MHz | 888 MHz |
Memory bandwidth | 63.55 GB/s | 56.83 GB/s |
Shared memory | no data | - |
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 | 2x DVI, 1x S-Video | No outputs |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
DirectX | 10.1 (10_1) | 10.1 (10_1) |
Shader Model | 4.1 | 4.1 |
OpenGL | 3.3 | 3.3 |
OpenCL | 1.1 | 1.1 |
Vulkan | N/A | N/A |
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.
HD 4850 outperforms Mobility HD 4870 by 29% in our combined benchmark results.
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%
HD 4850 outperforms Mobility HD 4870 by 35% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
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 | 28
+33.3%
| 21−24
−33.3%
|
Full HD | 40
+42.9%
| 28
−42.9%
|
1200p | 19
+35.7%
| 14−16
−35.7%
|
Performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Battlefield 5 | 5−6
+66.7%
|
3−4
−66.7%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
+9.1%
|
10−12
−9.1%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
Hitman 3 | 5−6
+66.7%
|
3−4
−66.7%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Full HD
High Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Battlefield 5 | 5−6
+66.7%
|
3−4
−66.7%
|
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 12−14
+9.1%
|
10−12
−9.1%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
Hitman 3 | 5−6
+66.7%
|
3−4
−66.7%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
Metro Exodus | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Full HD
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Battlefield 5 | 5−6
+66.7%
|
3−4
−66.7%
|
Cyberpunk 2077 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Far Cry New Dawn | 3−4
+200%
|
1−2
−200%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 6−7
+50%
|
4−5
−50%
|
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
Watch Dogs: Legion | 1−2 | 0−1 |
1440p
High Preset
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 5−6
+25%
|
4−5
−25%
|
Hitman 3 | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
Metro Exodus | 1−2 | 0−1 |
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
Cyberpunk 2077 | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
Far Cry 5 | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
Forza Horizon 4 | 1−2 | 0−1 |
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
4K
High Preset
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
Hitman 3 | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2
+0%
|
1−2
+0%
|
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
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
This is how ATI HD 4850 and ATI Mobility HD 4870 compete in popular games:
900p resolution:
- ATI HD 4850 is 33.3% faster than ATI Mobility HD 4870
1080p resolution:
- ATI HD 4850 is 42.9% faster than ATI Mobility HD 4870
1200p resolution:
- ATI HD 4850 is 35.7% faster than ATI Mobility HD 4870
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Far Cry New Dawn, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the ATI HD 4850 is 200% faster than the ATI Mobility HD 4870.
All in all, in popular games:
- ATI HD 4850 is ahead in 36 tests (75%)
- there's a draw in 12 tests (25%)
Advantages and disadvantages
Performance score | 2.65 | 2.06 |
Recency | 25 June 2008 | 9 January 2009 |
Maximum RAM amount | 512 MB | 1 GB |
The Radeon HD 4850 is our recommended choice as it beats the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon HD 4850 is a desktop card while Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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