GeForce GTX 950M vs ATI Radeon HD 4870

Place in the ranking	720	559
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.27	no data
Architecture	TeraScale (2005−2013)	Maxwell (2014−2018)
GPU code name	RV770	N16P-GT
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)	12 March 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$299	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	640
CUDA cores	no data	640
Core clock speed	750 MHz	914 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1124 MHz
Number of transistors	956 million	1,870 million
Manufacturing process technology	55 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	75 Watt
Texture fill rate	30.00	44.96
Floating-point processing power	1.2 TFLOPS	1.439 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	40	40

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	no data	medium sized
Bus support	no data	PCI Express 3.0
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x8
Length	250 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	no data
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	DDR3 or GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	3600 MHz	1000 or 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	115.2 GB/s	32 or 80 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	No outputs
VGA аnalog display support	no data	+
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	no data	+
HDMI	-	+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream	-	+
GeForce ShadowPlay	-	+
GPU Boost	no data	2.0
GameWorks	-	+
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	-	+
Optimus	-	+
BatteryBoost	-	+
Ansel	-	+

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	4.5
OpenCL	1.1	1.2
Vulkan	N/A	1.1.126
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 950M 6.71
+88.5%

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 950M 2587
+88.6%

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	14−16 −114%	30 +114%
1440p	10−12 −90%	19 +90%
4K	8−9 −100%	16 +100%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

10−12

+0%

10−12

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	23 +0%	23 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Battlefield 5	24 +0%	24 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Far Cry 5	24 +0%	24 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	24 +0%	24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Hitman 3	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Metro Exodus	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	48 +0%	48 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	43 +0%	43 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Battlefield 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Far Cry 5	20 +0%	20 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	19 +0%	19 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Hitman 3	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Metro Exodus	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	46 +0%	46 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	11 +0%	11 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Far Cry 5	15 +0%	15 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Hitman 3	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	19 +0%	19 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	11 +0%	11 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35 +0%	35 +0%
Hitman 3	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	13 +0%	13 +0%
Metro Exodus	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Hitman 3	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Metro Exodus	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	0−1	0−1
Far Cry 5	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

+0%

This is how ATI HD 4870 and GTX 950M compete in popular games:

GTX 950M is 114% faster in 1080p
GTX 950M is 90% faster in 1440p
GTX 950M is 100% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 71 test (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.56	6.71
Recency	25 June 2008	12 March 2015
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	55 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	75 Watt

GTX 950M has a 88.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 96.4% more advanced lithography process, and 100% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 950M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 4870 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 4870 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 950M is a notebook one.

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