GeForce GTX 960M vs ATI Radeon HD 4870

Place in the ranking	723	493
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.31	no data
Power efficiency	1.65	8.06
Architecture	TeraScale (2005−2013)	Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code name	RV770	GM107
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)	13 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
Core clock speed	750 MHz	1096 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1176 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	47.04
Floating-point processing power	1.2 TFLOPS	1.505 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	MXM-B (3.0)
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	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	900 MHz	2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	115.2 GB/s	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 3.59

GTX 960M 8.77
+144%

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 1380

GTX 960M 3371
+144%

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	35−40 −171%	95 +171%
Full HD	14−16 −150%	35 +150%
1440p	6−7 −150%	15 +150%
4K	5−6 −180%	14 +180%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	21.36	no data
1440p	49.83	no data
4K	59.80	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	23 +0%	23 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	27 +0%	27 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Valorant	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	25 +0%	25 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Dota 2	21 +0%	21 +0%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Fortnite	36 +0%	36 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	31 +0%	31 +0%
Metro Exodus	17 +0%	17 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	99 +0%	99 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	28 +0%	28 +0%
Valorant	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
World of Tanks	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	20 +0%	20 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Dota 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	20 +0%	20 +0%
Valorant	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
World of Tanks	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	14 +0%	14 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Metro Exodus	15 +0%	15 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Valorant	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Dota 2	20 +0%	20 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	20 +0%	20 +0%
Metro Exodus	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24 +0%	24 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20 +0%	20 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	6 +0%	6 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Dota 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Far Cry 5	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Fortnite	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Valorant	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%

This is how ATI HD 4870 and GTX 960M compete in popular games:

GTX 960M is 171% faster in 900p
GTX 960M is 150% faster in 1080p
GTX 960M is 150% faster in 1440p
GTX 960M is 180% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 64 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.59	8.77
Recency	25 June 2008	13 March 2015
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	55 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	75 Watt

GTX 960M has a 144.3% 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 960M 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 960M is a notebook one.

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