Radeon HD 7870 vs HD 7870 XT

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Radeon HD 7850 Radeon HD 7870 Radeon HD 8870 OEM Radeon R7 265 Radeon R9 270 1024SP

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon HD 7870, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 7870 XT
2012
2 GB GDDR5, 185 Watt
11.48

HD 7870 outperforms HD 7870 XT by a minimal 3% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

HD 7870 XT HD 7870 XT
HD 7870 HD 7870

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking423415
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation3.592.97
Power efficiency4.334.72
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameTahitiPitcairn
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date19 November 2012 (12 years ago)5 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$270 $349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

HD 7870 XT has 21% better value for money than HD 7870.

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 cores15361280
Core clock speed925 MHz1000 MHz
Boost clock speed975 MHzno data
Number of transistors4,313 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)185 Watt175 Watt
Texture fill rate93.6080.00
Floating-point processing power2.995 TFLOPS2.56 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs9680

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).

InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length267 mm241 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin2x 6-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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1500 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth192.0 GB/s153.6 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 Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity-+
HDMI++

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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.

HD 7870 XT 11.48
HD 7870 11.86
+3.3%

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
HD 7870 4617
+3.3%

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:

900p80−85
−5%
84
+5%
Full HD60−65
−10%
66
+10%

Cost per frame, $

1080p4.50
+17.5%
5.29
−17.5%
  • HD 7870 XT has 18% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 160−170
+0%
160−170
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Dota 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 36
+0%
36
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Dota 2 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%
Far Cry 5 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20
+0%
20
+0%
Valorant 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Valorant 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Valorant 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Dota 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

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

  • HD 7870 is 5% faster in 900p
  • HD 7870 is 10% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 67 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 11.48 11.86
Recency 19 November 2012 5 March 2012
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt 175 Watt

HD 7870 XT has an age advantage of 8 months.

HD 7870, on the other hand, has a 3.3% higher aggregate performance score, and 5.7% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon HD 7870.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.

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Other comparisons

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HD 7870 XT HD 7870 XT

Community ratings

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

4 39 votes

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3.7 648 votes

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Questions & comments

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