Radeon RX 550 vs HD 7870

Place in performance ranking	372	519
Place by popularity	not in top-100	14
Value for money	2.73	3.32
Architecture	GCN (2011−2017)	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code name	Pitcairn XT	Lexa
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	5 March 2012 (12 years old)	20 April 2017 (6 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)	$412.83	$79
Current price	$200 (0.5x MSRP)	$121 (1.5x MSRP)

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 550 has 22% 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	1280	512
Core clock speed	1000 MHz	1100 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1183 MHz
Number of transistors	2800 Million	2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	50 Watt
Texture fill rate	80.00	37.86
Floating-point performance	no data	1,211 gflops

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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x8
Length	241 mm	145 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	None

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	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	4800 MHz	7000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	153.6 GB/s	112.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	no data

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	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity	+	no data
HDMI	+	+

API support

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

DirectX	12 (11_1)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	5.1	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.2.131

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.

HD 7870 11.97
+71%

RX 550 7.00

HD 7870 outperforms RX 550 by 71% 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%

HD 7870 4636
+70.9%

RX 550 2712

HD 7870 outperforms RX 550 by 71% in Passmark.

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	84 +86.7%	45−50 −86.7%
Full HD	66 +88.6%	35−40 −88.6%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

18−20
+80%

10−11

−80%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 +90%	10−11 −90%
Battlefield 5	40−45 +95.2%	21−24 −95.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Far Cry 5	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 +77.8%	18−20 −77.8%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +75%	24−27 −75%
Hitman 3	30−35 +77.8%	18−20 −77.8%
Horizon Zero Dawn	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 +100%	10−11 −100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Watch Dogs: Legion	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 +90%	10−11 −90%
Battlefield 5	40−45 +95.2%	21−24 −95.2%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Far Cry 5	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 +77.8%	18−20 −77.8%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +75%	24−27 −75%
Hitman 3	30−35 +77.8%	18−20 −77.8%
Horizon Zero Dawn	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Metro Exodus	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 +100%	10−11 −100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	36 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 +90%	10−11 −90%
Battlefield 5	40−45 +95.2%	21−24 −95.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Far Cry 5	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 +77.8%	18−20 −77.8%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +75%	24−27 −75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20 +100%	10−11 −100%
Watch Dogs: Legion	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +88.9%	9−10 −88.9%
Hitman 3	18−20 +90%	10−11 −90%
Horizon Zero Dawn	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Metro Exodus	10−11 +100%	5−6 −100%
Red Dead Redemption 2	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +87.5%	8−9 −87.5%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%
Battlefield 5	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +90%	10−11 −90%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 +75%	12−14 −75%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%
Hitman 3	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Metro Exodus	5−6 +150%	2−3 −150%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 +100%	3−4 −100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +100%	5−6 −100%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +150%	2−3 −150%
Battlefield 5	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Far Cry 5	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Far Cry New Dawn	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +77.8%	9−10 −77.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%

This is how HD 7870 and RX 550 compete in popular games:

900p resolution:

HD 7870 is 86.7% faster than RX 550

1080p resolution:

HD 7870 is 88.6% faster than RX 550

Advantages and disadvantages

Performance score	11.97	7.00
Recency	5 March 2012	20 April 2017
Cost	$412.83	$79
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	50 Watt