Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
Radeon HD 7870 vs GeForce GTX 950
Aggregated performance score
GTX 950
2015
2 GB GDDR5
13.78
+15.1%
HD 7870
2012
2048 MB GDDR5
11.97
GeForce GTX 950 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 15% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
General info
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 347 | 372 |
| Place by popularity | 92 | not in top-100 |
| Value for money | 6.03 | 2.73 |
| Architecture | Maxwell (2014−2018) | GCN (2011−2017) |
| GPU code name | GM206 | Pitcairn XT |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 20 August 2015 (8 years old) | 5 March 2012 (12 years old) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $159 | $412.83 |
| Current price | $12.88 (0.1x MSRP) | $200 (0.5x MSRP) |
Value for money
GTX 950 has 121% better value for money than HD 7870.
Technical specs
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 768 | 1280 |
| CUDA cores | 768 | no data |
| Core clock speed | 1024 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1188 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 2,940 million | 2800 Million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 90 Watt | 175 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 49.2 billion/sec | 80.00 |
| Floating-point performance | 1,825 gflops | no data |
Size and 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 | PCI Express 3.0 | no data |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 7.938" (20.2 cm) | 241 mm |
| Height | 4.376" (11.1 cm) | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Recommended system power (PSU) | 350 Watt | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pins | 2x 6-pin |
| SLI options | + | no data |
Memory
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 | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory bus width | 128 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 6.6 GB/s | 4800 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 105.6 GB/s | 153.6 GB/s |
| Shared memory | - | - |
Video outputs and ports
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 | Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort |
| Multi monitor support | 4 displays | no data |
| Eyefinity | no data | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| HDCP | + | no data |
| Maximum VGA resolution | 2048x1536 | no data |
| G-SYNC support | + | no data |
| Audio input for HDMI | Internal | no data |
Technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
| GameStream | + | no data |
| GeForce ShadowPlay | + | no data |
| GPU Boost | 2.0 | no data |
| GameWorks | + | no data |
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.1.126 | 1.2.131 |
| CUDA | + | no data |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance 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.
GeForce GTX 950 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 15% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
GeForce GTX 950 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 15% in Passmark.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
GeForce GTX 950 outperforms Radeon HD 7870 by 35% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
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 | 95−100
+13.1%
| 84
−13.1%
|
| Full HD | 52
−26.9%
| 66
+26.9%
|
| 4K | 21
+16.7%
| 18−20
−16.7%
|
Performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 21−24
+16.7%
|
18−20
−16.7%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 21−24
+21.1%
|
18−20
−21.1%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+14.6%
|
40−45
−14.6%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 35−40
+16.1%
|
30−35
−16.1%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 21−24
+16.7%
|
18−20
−16.7%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+16.1%
|
30−35
−16.1%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 35−40
+18.8%
|
30−35
−18.8%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 45−50
+16.7%
|
40−45
−16.7%
|
| Hitman 3 | 35−40
+15.6%
|
30−35
−15.6%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 21−24
+15%
|
20−22
−15%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 24−27
+18.2%
|
21−24
−18.2%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 21−24
+21.1%
|
18−20
−21.1%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+14.6%
|
40−45
−14.6%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 35−40
+16.1%
|
30−35
−16.1%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 21−24
+16.7%
|
18−20
−16.7%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+16.1%
|
30−35
−16.1%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 35−40
+18.8%
|
30−35
−18.8%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 45−50
+16.7%
|
40−45
−16.7%
|
| Hitman 3 | 35−40
+15.6%
|
30−35
−15.6%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| Metro Exodus | 21−24
+16.7%
|
18−20
−16.7%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 21−24
+15%
|
20−22
−15%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 38
+5.6%
|
36
−5.6%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 24−27
+18.2%
|
21−24
−18.2%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 27−30
+16%
|
24−27
−16%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 21−24
+21.1%
|
18−20
−21.1%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 45−50
+14.6%
|
40−45
−14.6%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 21−24
+16.7%
|
18−20
−16.7%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+16.1%
|
30−35
−16.1%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 35−40
+18.8%
|
30−35
−18.8%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 45−50
+16.7%
|
40−45
−16.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 21
+5%
|
20
−5%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 24−27
+18.2%
|
21−24
−18.2%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 20−22
+17.6%
|
16−18
−17.6%
|
| Hitman 3 | 21−24
+10.5%
|
18−20
−10.5%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 20−22
+11.1%
|
18−20
−11.1%
|
| Metro Exodus | 12−14
+20%
|
10−11
−20%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 16−18
+13.3%
|
14−16
−13.3%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 14−16
+16.7%
|
12−14
−16.7%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 10−12
+37.5%
|
8−9
−37.5%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 27−30
+21.7%
|
21−24
−21.7%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 7−8
+16.7%
|
6−7
−16.7%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 21−24
+15.8%
|
18−20
−15.8%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 24−27
+19%
|
21−24
−19%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
21−24
−17.4%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 14−16
+16.7%
|
12−14
−16.7%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 8−9
+33.3%
|
6−7
−33.3%
|
4K
High Preset
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
| Hitman 3 | 12−14
+18.2%
|
10−12
−18.2%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 10−11
+11.1%
|
9−10
−11.1%
|
| Metro Exodus | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 7−8
+16.7%
|
6−7
−16.7%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 13
+30%
|
10−11
−30%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 14−16
+27.3%
|
10−12
−27.3%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10−12
+22.2%
|
9−10
−22.2%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 14−16
+16.7%
|
12−14
−16.7%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 18−20
+18.8%
|
16−18
−18.8%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 5−6
+25%
|
4−5
−25%
|
This is how GTX 950 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:
900p resolution:
- GTX 950 is 13.1% faster than HD 7870
1080p resolution:
- HD 7870 is 26.9% faster than GTX 950
4K resolution:
- GTX 950 is 16.7% faster than HD 7870
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Metro Exodus, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 950 is 40% faster than the HD 7870.
All in all, in popular games:
- GTX 950 is ahead in 67 tests (99%)
- there's a draw in 1 test (1%)
Advantages and disadvantages
| Performance score | 13.78 | 11.97 |
| Recency | 20 August 2015 | 5 March 2012 |
| Cost | $159 | $412.83 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 90 Watt | 175 Watt |
The GeForce GTX 950 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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