GeForce GT 430 vs Radeon HD 7870

Place in the ranking	408	971
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.96	0.05
Power efficiency	4.73	2.19
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	Pitcairn	GF108
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	5 March 2012 (12 years ago)	11 October 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$349	$79

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7870 has 5820% better value for money than GT 430.

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	1280	96
CUDA cores per GPU	no data	96
Core clock speed	1000 MHz	700 MHz
Number of transistors	2,800 million	585 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	49 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	98 °C
Texture fill rate	80.00	11.20
Floating-point processing power	2.56 TFLOPS	0.2688 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	4
TMUs	80	16

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	PCI-E 2.0 x 16
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	241 mm	145 mm
Height	no data	2.713" (6.9 cm)
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	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1200 MHz	800 - 900 MHz (1600 - 1800 data rate)
Memory bandwidth	153.6 GB/s	25.6 - 28.8 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	HDMIVGA (optional)Mini HDMIDual Link DVI
Eyefinity	+	-
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 12.02
+671%

GT 430 1.56

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
+669%

GT 430 601

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	84 +740%	10−12 −740%
Full HD	66 +725%	8−9 −725%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

5.29
+86.7%

9.88

−86.7%

HD 7870 has 87% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +144%	9−10 −144%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +475%	4−5 −475%
Elden Ring	35−40 +3500%	1−2 −3500%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +1850%	2−3 −1850%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +144%	9−10 −144%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +475%	4−5 −475%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +433%	9−10 −433%
Metro Exodus	30−35	0−1
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +343%	7−8 −343%
Valorant	45−50 +683%	6−7 −683%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +1850%	2−3 −1850%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +144%	9−10 −144%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +475%	4−5 −475%
Dota 2	40−45 +2050%	2−3 −2050%
Elden Ring	35−40 +3500%	1−2 −3500%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +327%	10−12 −327%
Fortnite	65−70 +886%	7−8 −886%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +433%	9−10 −433%
Grand Theft Auto V	40−45 +2050%	2−3 −2050%
Metro Exodus	30−35	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +463%	16−18 −463%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +343%	7−8 −343%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35−40 +350%	8−9 −350%
Valorant	45−50 +683%	6−7 −683%
World of Tanks	160−170 +419%	30−35 −419%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +1850%	2−3 −1850%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +144%	9−10 −144%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +475%	4−5 −475%
Dota 2	40−45 +2050%	2−3 −2050%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +327%	10−12 −327%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +433%	9−10 −433%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +463%	16−18 −463%
Valorant	45−50 +683%	6−7 −683%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +700%	2−3 −700%
Elden Ring	18−20	0−1
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +750%	2−3 −750%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 +590%	10−11 −590%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11	0−1
World of Tanks	85−90 +844%	9−10 −844%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +700%	3−4 −700%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +350%	2−3 −350%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +440%	5−6 −440%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +833%	3−4 −833%
Metro Exodus	24−27 +733%	3−4 −733%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +400%	3−4 −400%
Valorant	30−33 +329%	7−8 −329%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8	0−1
Dota 2	21−24 +37.5%	16−18 −37.5%
Elden Ring	8−9	0−1
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +46.7%	14−16 −46.7%
Metro Exodus	7−8	0−1
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +775%	4−5 −775%
Red Dead Redemption 2	8−9 +700%	1−2 −700%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +46.7%	14−16 −46.7%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +1000%	1−2 −1000%
Counter-Strike 2	7−8	0−1
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Dota 2	21−24 +37.5%	16−18 −37.5%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +1400%	1−2 −1400%
Fortnite	12−14 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +700%	2−3 −700%
Valorant	12−14 +500%	2−3 −500%

This is how HD 7870 and GT 430 compete in popular games:

HD 7870 is 740% faster in 900p
HD 7870 is 725% faster in 1080p

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Elden Ring, with 1080p resolution and the Low Preset, the HD 7870 is 3500% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, HD 7870 surpassed GT 430 in all 45 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	12.02	1.56
Recency	5 March 2012	11 October 2010
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	49 Watt

HD 7870 has a 670.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 42.9% more advanced lithography process.

GT 430, on the other hand, has 257.1% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7870 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GT 430 in performance tests.

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