GeForce GTX 480 vs ATI Radeon HD 4870

Place in the ranking	721	427
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.27	1.59
Power efficiency	1.74	3.13
Architecture	TeraScale (2005−2013)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	RV770	GF100
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)	26 March 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$299	$499

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 480 has 489% better value for money than ATI HD 4870.

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	800	480
CUDA cores	no data	480
Core clock speed	750 MHz	700 MHz
Number of transistors	956 million	3,100 million
Manufacturing process technology	55 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	250 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	30.00	42.06
Floating-point processing power	1.2 TFLOPS	1.345 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	48
TMUs	40	60

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	no data	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	250 mm	267 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-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	1 GB	1536 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	900 MHz	1848 MHz (3696 data rate)
Memory bandwidth	115.2 GB/s	177.4 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	2x DVI, 1x S-Video	Two Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMI
Multi monitor support	no data	+
HDMI	-	+
HDCP	-	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	Internal

API compatibility

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

DirectX	10.1 (10_1)	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	4.1	5.1
OpenGL	3.3	4.2
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	N/A
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.

ATI HD 4870 3.56

GTX 480 10.65
+199%

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.

ATI HD 4870 1372

GTX 480 4106
+199%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

16−18

+0%

16−18

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Hitman 3	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Hitman 3	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Hitman 3	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−33

+0%

30−33

+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Far Cry 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Hitman 3	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

18−20

+0%

18−20

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Hitman 3	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Metro Exodus	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Far Cry 5	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

10−11

+0%

10−11

+0%

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.56	10.65
Recency	25 June 2008	26 March 2010
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	1536 MB
Chip lithography	55 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	250 Watt

ATI HD 4870 has 66.7% lower power consumption.

GTX 480, on the other hand, has a 199.2% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 37.5% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 480 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 4870 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.