GeForce GTX 470 vs Radeon HD 7870 XT

Place in the ranking	416	519
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	3.57	1.34
Power efficiency	4.33	2.60
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	Tahiti	GF100
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	19 November 2012 (12 years ago)	26 March 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$270	$349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7870 XT has 166% better value for money than GTX 470.

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	1536	448
Core clock speed	925 MHz	607 MHz
Boost clock speed	975 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	4,313 million	3,100 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	185 Watt	215 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	93.60	34.05
Floating-point processing power	2.995 TFLOPS	1.089 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	40
TMUs	96	56

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 support	no data	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	267 mm	241 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	2x 6-pin
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	2 GB	1280 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	320 Bit
Memory clock speed	1500 MHz	1674 MHz (3348 data rate)
Memory bandwidth	192.0 GB/s	133.9 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	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	Two Dual Link DVIMini HDMI
Multi monitor support	no data	+
HDMI	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	Internal

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_1)	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	5.1	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.2
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	1.2.131	N/A
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.

HD 7870 XT 11.62
+43.6%

GTX 470 8.09

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 7870 XT 4469
+43.7%

GTX 470 3110

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 7870 XT 6390
+132%

GTX 470 2758

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	75−80 +36.4%	55 −36.4%
Full HD	90−95 +42.9%	63 −42.9%
1200p	75−80 +41.5%	53 −41.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

3.00
+84.7%

5.54

−84.7%

HD 7870 XT has 85% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Elden Ring	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

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

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Dota 2	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Elden Ring	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Fortnite	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Valorant	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
World of Tanks	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Dota 2	64 +0%	64 +0%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Valorant	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Elden Ring	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
World of Tanks	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Far Cry 5	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Metro Exodus	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Valorant	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Dota 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Elden Ring	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Metro Exodus	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

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

This is how HD 7870 XT and GTX 470 compete in popular games:

HD 7870 XT is 36% faster in 900p
HD 7870 XT is 43% faster in 1080p
HD 7870 XT is 42% faster in 1200p

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	11.62	8.09
Recency	19 November 2012	26 March 2010
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1280 MB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	185 Watt	215 Watt

HD 7870 XT has a 43.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 60% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 16.2% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7870 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 470 in performance tests.

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