ATI Radeon HD 5870 vs HD 6870

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 5870, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 6870
2010
1 GB GDDR5, 151 Watt
5.72

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking609608
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.000.60
Power efficiency2.612.10
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code nameBartsCypress
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date21 October 2010 (14 years ago)23 September 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$239 $399

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

HD 6870 has 67% better value for money than ATI HD 5870.

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 cores11201600
Core clock speedno data850 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHzno data
Number of transistors1,700 million2,154 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)151 Watt188 Watt
Texture fill rate50.4068.00
Floating-point processing power2.016 TFLOPS2.72 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs5680

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 supportPCIe 2.0 x16no data
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
Length220 mm282 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin2x 6-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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount1 GB1 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1050 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth134.4 GB/s153.6 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity+-
HDMI++

Supported technologies

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

CrossFire+-

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1111.2 (11_0)
Shader Model5.05.0
OpenGL4.44.4
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan-N/A

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.

HD 6870 5.72
ATI HD 5870 5.73
+0.2%

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.

HD 6870 2210
ATI HD 5870 2214
+0.2%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

HD 6870 3141
+24.2%
ATI HD 5870 2530

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:

900p57
+3.6%
55−60
−3.6%
Full HD63
+5%
60−65
−5%
1200p39
+11.4%
35−40
−11.4%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.79
+75.3%
6.65
−75.3%
  • HD 6870 has 75% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Battlefield 5 21−24
+9.5%
21−24
−9.5%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Fortnite 30−35
+6.7%
30−33
−6.7%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
+11.1%
18−20
−11.1%
Valorant 60−65
+6.7%
60−65
−6.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Battlefield 5 21−24
+9.5%
21−24
−9.5%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 189
+5%
180−190
−5%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Dota 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Fortnite 30−35
+6.7%
30−33
−6.7%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 18−20
+5.6%
18−20
−5.6%
Metro Exodus 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
+11.1%
18−20
−11.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+7.1%
14−16
−7.1%
Valorant 60−65
+6.7%
60−65
−6.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 21−24
+9.5%
21−24
−9.5%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Dota 2 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
+11.1%
18−20
−11.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+7.1%
14−16
−7.1%
Valorant 60−65
+6.7%
60−65
−6.7%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 30−35
+6.7%
30−33
−6.7%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 40−45
+2.5%
40−45
−2.5%
Grand Theft Auto V 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Metro Exodus 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Valorant 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Forza Horizon 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 0−1 0−1
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Valorant 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 0−1 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Dota 2 18−20
+5.6%
18−20
−5.6%
Far Cry 5 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

This is how HD 6870 and ATI HD 5870 compete in popular games:

  • HD 6870 is 4% faster in 900p
  • HD 6870 is 5% faster in 1080p
  • HD 6870 is 11% faster in 1200p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.72 5.73
Recency 21 October 2010 23 September 2009
Power consumption (TDP) 151 Watt 188 Watt

HD 6870 has an age advantage of 1 year, and 24.5% lower power consumption.

ATI HD 5870, on the other hand, has a 0.2% higher aggregate performance score.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 5870.

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AMD Radeon HD 6870
Radeon HD 6870
ATI Radeon HD 5870
Radeon HD 5870

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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