Radeon HD 8970M vs HD 7870
Aggregate performance score
HD 7870 outperforms HD 8970M by a significant 20% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in performance ranking | 376 | 415 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.77 | 11.42 |
| Architecture | GCN (2011−2017) | GCN (2011−2017) |
| GPU code name | Pitcairn XT | Neptune |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 5 March 2012 (12 years ago) | 15 May 2013 (11 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $412.83 | no data |
| Current price | $200 (0.5x MSRP) | $135 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
HD 8970M has 312% better value for money than HD 7870.
Detailed specifications
General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 1280 | 1280 |
| Core clock speed | 1000 MHz | 850 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 900 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 2800 Million | 2,800 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 175 Watt | 100 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | 80.00 | 72.00 |
| Floating-point performance | no data | 2,304 gflops |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on Radeon HD 7870 and Radeon HD 8970M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
| Laptop size | no data | large |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| Length | 241 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| Supplementary power connectors | 2x 6-pin | no 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 type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 256 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 4800 MHz | 4800 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 153.6 GB/s | 153.6 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 Connectors | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort | No outputs |
| Eyefinity | + | no data |
| HDMI | + | no data |
API compatibility
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_1) |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 1.2.131 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance 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 outperforms HD 8970M by 20% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Passmark
This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.
Benchmark coverage: 25%
HD 7870 outperforms HD 8970M by 20% in Passmark.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
HD 8970M outperforms HD 7870 by 10% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
3DMark Vantage Performance
3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
HD 7870 outperforms HD 8970M by 14% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.
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
+20%
| 70−75
−20%
|
| Full HD | 68
+28.3%
| 53
−28.3%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+18.8%
|
16−18
−18.8%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+19%
|
21−24
−19%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 18−20
+26.7%
|
14−16
−26.7%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
+22.6%
|
30−35
−22.6%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
+18.2%
|
21−24
−18.2%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+18.8%
|
16−18
−18.8%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 30−35
+17.2%
|
27−30
−17.2%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 30−35
+17.9%
|
27−30
−17.9%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
+17.1%
|
35−40
−17.1%
|
| Hitman 3 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
21−24
−17.4%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 35−40
+18.2%
|
30−35
−18.2%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
+24.1%
|
27−30
−24.1%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
+21.4%
|
27−30
−21.4%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+17.9%
|
27−30
−17.9%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24
+23.5%
|
16−18
−23.5%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+19%
|
21−24
−19%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 18−20
+26.7%
|
14−16
−26.7%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
+22.6%
|
30−35
−22.6%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
+18.2%
|
21−24
−18.2%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+18.8%
|
16−18
−18.8%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 30−35
+17.2%
|
27−30
−17.2%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 30−35
+17.9%
|
27−30
−17.9%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
+17.1%
|
35−40
−17.1%
|
| Hitman 3 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
21−24
−17.4%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 35−40
+18.2%
|
30−35
−18.2%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
+24.1%
|
27−30
−24.1%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
+21.4%
|
27−30
−21.4%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
+17.9%
|
27−30
−17.9%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 36
+16.1%
|
31
−16.1%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24
+23.5%
|
16−18
−23.5%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
+19%
|
21−24
−19%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 18−20
+26.7%
|
14−16
−26.7%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
+18.2%
|
21−24
−18.2%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
+18.8%
|
16−18
−18.8%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 30−35
+17.2%
|
27−30
−17.2%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
+17.1%
|
35−40
−17.1%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 35−40
+18.2%
|
30−35
−18.2%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
+24.1%
|
27−30
−24.1%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 20
+11.1%
|
18
−11.1%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24
+23.5%
|
16−18
−23.5%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
+21.4%
|
27−30
−21.4%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 21−24
+15%
|
20−22
−15%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 21−24
+23.5%
|
16−18
−23.5%
|
| Hitman 3 | 16−18
+30.8%
|
12−14
−30.8%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 9−10
+28.6%
|
7−8
−28.6%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 12−14
+33.3%
|
9−10
−33.3%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 8−9
+33.3%
|
6−7
−33.3%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 14−16
+16.7%
|
12−14
−16.7%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 18−20
+18.8%
|
16−18
−18.8%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
+22.2%
|
18−20
−22.2%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 24−27
+19%
|
21−24
−19%
|
| Metro Exodus | 18−20
+26.7%
|
14−16
−26.7%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 18−20
+46.2%
|
12−14
−46.2%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 12−14
+20%
|
10−11
−20%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
4K
High Preset
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30
+17.4%
|
21−24
−17.4%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 10−12
+22.2%
|
9−10
−22.2%
|
| Hitman 3 | 8−9
+33.3%
|
6−7
−33.3%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
+30%
|
10−11
−30%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 7−8
+40%
|
5−6
−40%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
+42.9%
|
7−8
−42.9%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 7−8
+16.7%
|
6−7
−16.7%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 5−6
+25%
|
4−5
−25%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 10−12
+37.5%
|
8−9
−37.5%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 7−8
+16.7%
|
6−7
−16.7%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 16−18
+33.3%
|
12−14
−33.3%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
+30%
|
10−11
−30%
|
| Metro Exodus | 12−14
+20%
|
10−11
−20%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10−12
+10%
|
10−11
−10%
|
This is how HD 7870 and HD 8970M compete in popular games:
- HD 7870 is 20% faster in 900p
- HD 7870 is 28% faster in 1080p
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7870 is 100% faster than the HD 8970M.
All in all, in popular games:
- Without exception, HD 7870 surpassed HD 8970M in all 72 of our tests.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 11.98 | 10.02 |
| Recency | 5 March 2012 | 15 May 2013 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 175 Watt | 100 Watt |
The Radeon HD 7870 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 8970M in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon HD 7870 is a desktop card while Radeon HD 8970M is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
