Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) vs HD 7870 XT

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7870 XT with Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000), including specs and performance data.

HD 7870 XT
2012
2 GB GDDR5, 185 Watt
11.48
+91.7%

HD 7870 XT outperforms RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) by an impressive 92% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking418592
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation3.59no data
Power efficiency4.3327.85
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)Vega (2017−2020)
GPU code nameTahitiVega Renoir
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date19 November 2012 (12 years ago)7 January 2020 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$270 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores1536384
Core clock speed925 MHz400 MHz
Boost clock speed975 MHz1500 MHz
Number of transistors4,313 millionno data
Manufacturing process technology28 nm7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)185 Watt15 Watt
Texture fill rate93.60no data
Floating-point processing power2.995 TFLOPSno data
ROPs32no data
TMUs96no data

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 x16no data
Length267 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pinno data

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 typeGDDR5no data
Maximum RAM amount2 GBno data
Memory bus width256 Bitno data
Memory clock speed1500 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth192.0 GB/sno data
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-DisplayPortno data
HDMI+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12_1
Shader Model5.1no data
OpenGL4.6no data
OpenCL1.2no data
Vulkan1.2.131-

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. 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 11.48
+91.7%
RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) 5.99

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
+129%
RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) 2793

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:

Full HD40−45
+90.5%
21
−90.5%
1440p40−45
+81.8%
22
−81.8%
4K30−35
+76.5%
17
−76.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p6.75no data
1440p6.75no data
4K9.00no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 11
+0%
11
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 9
+0%
9
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 9
+0%
9
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 26
+0%
26
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 16
+0%
16
+0%
Metro Exodus 14
+0%
14
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 22
+0%
22
+0%
Valorant 25
+0%
25
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 8
+0%
8
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 3
+0%
3
+0%
Dota 2 24
+0%
24
+0%
Far Cry 5 26
+0%
26
+0%
Fortnite 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 21
+0%
21
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 15
+0%
15
+0%
Metro Exodus 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 39
+0%
39
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Valorant 12
+0%
12
+0%
World of Tanks 56
+0%
56
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 7
+0%
7
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Dota 2 40
+0%
40
+0%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 18
+0%
18
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Valorant 19
+0%
19
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
World of Tanks 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Far Cry 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Valorant 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Dota 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Dota 2 19
+0%
19
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Fortnite 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Valorant 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%

This is how HD 7870 XT and RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) compete in popular games:

  • HD 7870 XT is 90% faster in 1080p
  • HD 7870 XT is 82% faster in 1440p
  • HD 7870 XT is 76% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 11.48 5.99
Recency 19 November 2012 7 January 2020
Chip lithography 28 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt 15 Watt

HD 7870 XT has a 91.7% higher aggregate performance score.

RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000), on the other hand, has an age advantage of 7 years, a 300% more advanced lithography process, and 1133.3% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7870 XT is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 7870 XT is a desktop card while Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000) is a notebook one.


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

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AMD Radeon HD 7870 XT
Radeon HD 7870 XT
AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000)
Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000)

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

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


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Questions & comments

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