Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB vs HD 6870

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 6870
2010, $239
1 GB GDDR5, 151 Watt
5.28
RX 9060 XT 16 GB
2025, $349
16 GB GDDR6, 160 Watt
48.33
+815%

9060 XT 16 GB outperforms HD 6870 by a whopping 815% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking67876
Place by popularitynot in top-10043
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.8882.97
Power efficiency2.7023.32
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)RDNA 4.0 (2025)
GPU code nameBartsNavi 44
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designreferenceno data
Release date21 October 2010 (15 years ago)4 June 2025 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$239 $349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.

RX 9060 XT 16 GB has 9328% better value for money than HD 6870.

Performance to price scatter graph

Currently popular graphics cards are shown for comparison.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Real power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially if overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores11202048
Core clock speedno data1700 MHz
Boost clock speed900 MHz3130 MHz
Number of transistors1,700 million29,700 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm4 nm
Power consumption (TDP)151 Watt160 Watt
Texture fill rate50.40400.6
Floating-point processing power2.016 TFLOPS25.64 TFLOPS
ROPs3264
TMUs56128
Ray Tracing Coresno data32
L0 Cacheno data512 KB
L1 Cache224 KBno data
L2 Cache512 KB4 MB
L3 Cacheno data32 MB

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 5.0 x16
Length220 mm267 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin1x 8-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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount1 GB16 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1050 MHz2518 MHz
Memory bandwidth134.4 GB/s322.3 GB/s
Shared memory--
Resizable BAR-+

Connectivity and outputs

This section shows the types and number of video connectors on each GPU. The data applies specifically to desktop reference models (for example, NVIDIA’s Founders Edition). OEM partners often modify both the number and types of ports. On notebook GPUs, video‐output options are determined by the laptop’s design rather than the graphics chip itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a
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 support

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

DirectXDirectX® 1112 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model5.06.8
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.22.2
Vulkan-1.3

Synthetic benchmarks

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 5.28
RX 9060 XT 16 GB 48.33
+815%

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 2194
Samples: 6543
RX 9060 XT 16 GB 20090
+816%
Samples: 7528

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

HD 6870 4218
RX 9060 XT 16 GB 60419
+1332%

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.

HD 6870 17773
RX 9060 XT 16 GB 125707
+607%

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
RX 9060 XT 16 GB 38316
+1120%

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

HD 6870 26437
RX 9060 XT 16 GB 208101
+687%

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
−777%
500−550
+777%
Full HD63
−149%
157
+149%
1200p39
−797%
350−400
+797%
1440p7−8
−900%
70
+900%
4K4−5
−975%
43
+975%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.79
−70.7%
2.22
+70.7%
1440p34.14
−585%
4.99
+585%
4K59.75
−636%
8.12
+636%
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB has 71% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB has 585% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB has 636% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low

Counter-Strike 2 24−27
−928%
250−260
+928%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−964%
110−120
+964%
Resident Evil 4 Remake 8−9
−1625%
130−140
+1625%

Full HD
Medium

Battlefield 5 21−24
−582%
150−160
+582%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
−928%
250−260
+928%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−964%
110−120
+964%
Escape from Tarkov 21−24
−476%
120−130
+476%
Far Cry 5 16−18
−1588%
270
+1588%
Fortnite 30−35
−553%
200−210
+553%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
−675%
180−190
+675%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
−760%
170−180
+760%
Valorant 60−65
−327%
260−270
+327%

Full HD
High

Battlefield 5 21−24
−582%
150−160
+582%
Counter-Strike 2 24−27
−928%
250−260
+928%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 189
−47.1%
270−280
+47.1%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−964%
110−120
+964%
Dota 2 40−45
−809%
400−450
+809%
Escape from Tarkov 21−24
−476%
120−130
+476%
Far Cry 5 16−18
−1450%
248
+1450%
Fortnite 30−35
−553%
200−210
+553%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
−675%
180−190
+675%
Grand Theft Auto V 18−20
−756%
154
+756%
Metro Exodus 10−11
−1100%
120−130
+1100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
−760%
170−180
+760%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−1720%
273
+1720%
Valorant 60−65
−327%
260−270
+327%

Full HD
Ultra

Battlefield 5 21−24
−582%
150−160
+582%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−12
−964%
110−120
+964%
Dota 2 40−45
−809%
400−450
+809%
Escape from Tarkov 21−24
−476%
120−130
+476%
Far Cry 5 16−18
−1356%
233
+1356%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
−675%
180−190
+675%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 20−22
−760%
170−180
+760%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−873%
146
+873%
Valorant 60−65
−773%
550−600
+773%

Full HD
Epic

Fortnite 30−35
−553%
200−210
+553%

1440p
High

Counter-Strike 2 10−11
−1240%
130−140
+1240%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 40−45
−749%
300−350
+749%
Grand Theft Auto V 4−5
−1975%
83
+1975%
Metro Exodus 4−5
−1775%
75−80
+1775%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
−711%
300−310
+711%
Valorant 50−55
−469%
300−350
+469%

1440p
Ultra

Battlefield 5 6−7
−1883%
110−120
+1883%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−1450%
60−65
+1450%
Escape from Tarkov 10−11
−1010%
110−120
+1010%
Far Cry 5 10−11
−1500%
160
+1500%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
−1133%
140−150
+1133%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 7−8
−1357%
102
+1357%

1440p
Epic

Fortnite 10−11
−1240%
130−140
+1240%

4K
High

Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
−469%
91
+469%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2−3
−4100%
84
+4100%
Valorant 21−24
−1161%
290−300
+1161%

4K
Ultra

Battlefield 5 3−4
−2567%
80−85
+2567%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
−2800%
27−30
+2800%
Dota 2 18−20
−789%
160−170
+789%
Escape from Tarkov 4−5
−1525%
65−70
+1525%
Far Cry 5 4−5
−1900%
80
+1900%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
−1175%
100−110
+1175%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 5−6
−1440%
75−80
+1440%

4K
Epic

Fortnite 5−6
−1280%
65−70
+1280%

4K
High

Counter-Strike 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%

This is how HD 6870 and RX 9060 XT 16 GB compete in popular games:

  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB is 777% faster in 900p
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB is 149% faster in 1080p
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB is 797% faster in 1200p
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB is 900% faster in 1440p
  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB is 975% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RX 9060 XT 16 GB is 4100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RX 9060 XT 16 GB performs better in 55 tests (96%)
  • there's a draw in 2 tests (4%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.28 48.33
Recency 21 October 2010 4 June 2025
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 16 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 4 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 151 Watt 160 Watt

HD 6870 has 6% lower power consumption.

RX 9060 XT 16 GB, on the other hand, has a 815% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 14 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 900% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6870 in performance tests.

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.8 393 votes

Rate Radeon HD 6870 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.1 2010 votes

Rate Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Comments

Here you can give us your opinion about Radeon HD 6870 or Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB, agree or disagree with our ratings, or report errors or inaccuracies on the site.