Radeon 540 vs HD 7870 XT
Aggregate performance score
We've compared Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon 540, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
HD 7870 XT outperforms 540 by a whopping 206% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 473 | 780 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 3.17 | 0.10 |
| Power efficiency | 4.45 | 5.37 |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) | GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) |
| GPU code name | Tahiti | Lexa |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 19 November 2012 (13 years ago) | 20 April 2017 (9 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $270 | $79 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
The higher the ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices.
HD 7870 XT has 3070% better value for money than Radeon 540.
Performance to price scatter graph
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 | 384 |
| Core clock speed | 925 MHz | 1183 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 975 MHz | 1124 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 4,313 million | 2,200 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 185 Watt | 50 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 93.60 | 28.39 |
| Floating-point processing power | 2.995 TFLOPS | 0.9085 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 32 | 16 |
| TMUs | 96 | 24 |
| L1 Cache | 384 KB | 96 KB |
| L2 Cache | 512 KB | 512 KB |
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).
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |
| Length | 267 mm | 145 mm |
| Width | 2-slot | 1-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | None |
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 | 1 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 32 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 1500 MHz | 1500 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 192.0 GB/s | 24 GB/s |
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 Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort | 2x DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDMI | + | - |
API and SDK support
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_0) |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | 6.7 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 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.
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.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 10.69 | 3.49 |
| Recency | 19 November 2012 | 20 April 2017 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 185 Watt | 50 Watt |
HD 7870 XT has a 206% higher aggregate performance score, and a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount.
Radeon 540, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 4 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 270% lower power consumption.
The Radeon HD 7870 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 540 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.
