GeForce 9400 GT vs Radeon HD 7870

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7870 and GeForce 9400 GT, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 7870
2012
2 GB GDDR5, 175 Watt
12.02
+2632%

HD 7870 outperforms 9400 GT by a whopping 2632% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking4071248
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.96no data
Power efficiency4.730.61
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)Tesla (2006−2010)
GPU code namePitcairnG96C
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date5 March 2012 (12 years ago)27 August 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$349 $79.99

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 cores128016
Core clock speed1000 MHz550 MHz
Number of transistors2,800 million314 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)175 Watt50 Watt
Maximum GPU temperatureno data105 °C
Texture fill rate80.004.400
Floating-point processing power2.56 TFLOPS0.0448 TFLOPS
ROPs324
TMUs808

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 supportno dataPCI-E 2.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 2.0 x16
Length241 mm168 mm
Heightno data4.376" (11.1 cm)
Width2-slot1-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pinNone
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 typeGDDR5DDR2
Maximum RAM amount2 GB512 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1200 MHz400 MHz
Memory bandwidth153.6 GB/s12.8 GB/s
Shared memory-no data

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-DisplayPortDual Link DVI
Multi monitor supportno data+
Eyefinity+-
HDMI++
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
Audio input for HDMIno dataS/PDIF

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)11.1 (10_0)
Shader Model5.14.0
OpenGL4.62.1
OpenCL1.21.1
Vulkan1.2.131N/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 12.02
+2632%
9400 GT 0.44

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 4620
+2634%
9400 GT 169

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:

900p84
+2700%
3−4
−2700%
Full HD66
+3200%
2−3
−3200%

Cost per frame, $

1080p5.29
+656%
40.00
−656%
  • HD 7870 has 656% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 21−24 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24 0−1
Elden Ring 35−40
+3500%
1−2
−3500%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+3800%
1−2
−3800%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+4700%
1−2
−4700%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+3200%
1−2
−3200%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+3000%
1−2
−3000%
Valorant 45−50
+4600%
1−2
−4600%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+3800%
1−2
−3800%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24 0−1
Dota 2 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Elden Ring 35−40
+3500%
1−2
−3500%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+4600%
1−2
−4600%
Fortnite 65−70
+3350%
2−3
−3350%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+4700%
1−2
−4700%
Grand Theft Auto V 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+3200%
1−2
−3200%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 90−95
+2900%
3−4
−2900%
Red Dead Redemption 2 30−35
+3000%
1−2
−3000%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35−40
+3500%
1−2
−3500%
Valorant 45−50
+4600%
1−2
−4600%
World of Tanks 160−170
+2667%
6−7
−2667%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+3800%
1−2
−3800%
Counter-Strike 2 21−24 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 21−24 0−1
Dota 2 40−45
+4200%
1−2
−4200%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+4600%
1−2
−4600%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+4700%
1−2
−4700%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 90−95
+2900%
3−4
−2900%
Valorant 45−50
+4600%
1−2
−4600%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 16−18 0−1
Elden Ring 18−20 0−1
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18 0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 65−70
+3350%
2−3
−3350%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11 0−1
World of Tanks 85−90
+2733%
3−4
−2733%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27 0−1
Counter-Strike 2 10−12 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 9−10 0−1
Far Cry 5 27−30 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+2700%
1−2
−2700%
Metro Exodus 24−27 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16 0−1
Valorant 30−33
+2900%
1−2
−2900%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 7−8 0−1
Dota 2 21−24 0−1
Elden Ring 8−9 0−1
Grand Theft Auto V 21−24 0−1
Metro Exodus 7−8 0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+3400%
1−2
−3400%
Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9 0−1
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 10−12 0−1
Counter-Strike 2 7−8 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 3−4 0−1
Dota 2 21−24 0−1
Far Cry 5 14−16 0−1
Fortnite 12−14 0−1
Forza Horizon 4 16−18 0−1
Valorant 12−14 0−1

This is how HD 7870 and 9400 GT compete in popular games:

  • HD 7870 is 2700% faster in 900p
  • HD 7870 is 3200% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 12.02 0.44
Recency 5 March 2012 27 August 2008
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 512 MB
Chip lithography 28 nm 55 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 175 Watt 50 Watt

HD 7870 has a 2631.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 96.4% more advanced lithography process.

9400 GT, on the other hand, has 250% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7870 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce 9400 GT in performance tests.


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

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.


AMD Radeon HD 7870
Radeon HD 7870
NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT
GeForce 9400 GT

Other comparisons

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

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


3.7 644 votes

Rate Radeon HD 7870 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.2 503 votes

Rate GeForce 9400 GT on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.