Radeon RX 550 vs HD 7870

Place in the ranking	408	551
Place by popularity	not in top-100	29
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.96	2.92
Power efficiency	4.74	9.77
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code name	Pitcairn	Lexa
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	5 March 2012 (12 years ago)	20 April 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$349	$79

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7870 has 1% better value for money than RX 550.

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	512
Core clock speed	1000 MHz	1100 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1183 MHz
Number of transistors	2,800 million	2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	50 Watt
Texture fill rate	80.00	37.86
Floating-point processing power	2.56 TFLOPS	1.211 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	16
TMUs	80	32

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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x8
Length	241 mm	145 mm
Width	2-slot	2-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	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1200 MHz	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	153.6 GB/s	112.0 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	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	+	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_1)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	5.1	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.2.131

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 12.02
+69.8%

RX 550 7.08

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
+69.7%

RX 550 2722

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 +86.7%	45−50 −86.7%
Full HD	66 +88.6%	35−40 −88.6%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

5.29
−134%

2.26

+134%

RX 550 has 134% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Elden Ring	35−40 +94.4%	18−20 −94.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +85.7%	21−24 −85.7%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +77.8%	27−30 −77.8%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
Valorant	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +85.7%	21−24 −85.7%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Dota 2	40−45 +79.2%	24−27 −79.2%
Elden Ring	35−40 +94.4%	18−20 −94.4%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%
Fortnite	65−70 +72.5%	40−45 −72.5%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +77.8%	27−30 −77.8%
Grand Theft Auto V	40−45 +79.2%	24−27 −79.2%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +83.3%	18−20 −83.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +80%	50−55 −80%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +72.2%	18−20 −72.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35−40 +71.4%	21−24 −71.4%
Valorant	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%
World of Tanks	160−170 +74.7%	95−100 −74.7%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +85.7%	21−24 −85.7%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +91.7%	12−14 −91.7%
Dota 2	40−45 +79.2%	24−27 −79.2%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +77.8%	27−30 −77.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +80%	50−55 −80%
Valorant	45−50 +74.1%	27−30 −74.1%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +77.8%	9−10 −77.8%
Elden Ring	18−20 +80%	10−11 −80%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +70%	10−11 −70%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 +72.5%	40−45 −72.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 +100%	5−6 −100%
World of Tanks	85−90 +70%	50−55 −70%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +71.4%	14−16 −71.4%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +92.9%	14−16 −92.9%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +75%	16−18 −75%
Metro Exodus	24−27 +78.6%	14−16 −78.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +87.5%	8−9 −87.5%
Valorant	30−33 +87.5%	16−18 −87.5%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
Dota 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Elden Ring	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Metro Exodus	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +94.4%	18−20 −94.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	8−9 +100%	4−5 −100%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +83.3%	6−7 −83.3%
Counter-Strike 2	7−8 +75%	4−5 −75%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Dota 2	21−24 +83.3%	12−14 −83.3%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +87.5%	8−9 −87.5%
Fortnite	12−14 +85.7%	7−8 −85.7%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +77.8%	9−10 −77.8%
Valorant	12−14 +71.4%	7−8 −71.4%

This is how HD 7870 and RX 550 compete in popular games:

HD 7870 is 87% faster in 900p
HD 7870 is 89% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	12.02	7.08
Recency	5 March 2012	20 April 2017
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	50 Watt

HD 7870 has a 69.8% higher aggregate performance score.

RX 550, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 5 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 250% lower power consumption.

The Radeon HD 7870 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 550 in performance tests.

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