Radeon RX 6550M vs HD 7870
Aggregate performance score
RX 6550M outperforms HD 7870 by an impressive 97% 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 | 218 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 2.77 | no data |
| Architecture | GCN (2011−2017) | RDNA 2 (2020−2022) |
| GPU code name | Pitcairn XT | Navi 24 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Laptop |
| Release date | 5 March 2012 (12 years ago) | 5 January 2023 (1 year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $412.83 | no data |
| Current price | $200 (0.5x MSRP) | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
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 | 1024 |
| Core clock speed | 1000 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | no data | 2560 MHz |
| Number of transistors | 2800 Million | 5,400 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 28 nm | 6 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 175 Watt | 80 Watt (50 - 80 Watt TGP) |
| Texture fill rate | 80.00 | 181.8 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on Radeon HD 7870 and Radeon RX 6550M 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 | medium sized |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Length | 241 mm | no data |
| Width | 2-slot | no data |
| 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 | GDDR6 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory bus width | 256 Bit | 64 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | 4800 MHz | 18000 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 153.6 GB/s | 144.0 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 | Portable Device Dependent |
| 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 Ultimate (12_2) |
| Shader Model | 5.1 | 6.7 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 2.2 |
| Vulkan | 1.2.131 | 1.3 |
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.
RX 6550M outperforms HD 7870 by 97% 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%
RX 6550M outperforms HD 7870 by 97% 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%
RX 6550M outperforms HD 7870 by 231% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
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
−90.5%
| 160−170
+90.5%
|
| Full HD | 68
−10.3%
| 75
+10.3%
|
| 1440p | 14−16
−100%
| 28
+100%
|
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
−100%
|
35−40
+100%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
−84%
|
45−50
+84%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 18−20
−116%
|
40−45
+116%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
−103%
|
75−80
+103%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
−100%
|
50−55
+100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
−100%
|
35−40
+100%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 30−35
−67.6%
|
55−60
+67.6%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 30−35
−93.9%
|
60−65
+93.9%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
−85.4%
|
75−80
+85.4%
|
| Hitman 3 | 27−30
−111%
|
55−60
+111%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 35−40
−103%
|
75−80
+103%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
−91.7%
|
65−70
+91.7%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
−85.3%
|
60−65
+85.3%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
−273%
|
123
+273%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24
−110%
|
40−45
+110%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
−84%
|
45−50
+84%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 18−20
−116%
|
40−45
+116%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 35−40
−103%
|
75−80
+103%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
−100%
|
50−55
+100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
−100%
|
35−40
+100%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 30−35
+3%
|
33
−3%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 30−35
−93.9%
|
60−65
+93.9%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
−85.4%
|
75−80
+85.4%
|
| Hitman 3 | 27−30
−111%
|
55−60
+111%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 35−40
−103%
|
75−80
+103%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
−91.7%
|
65−70
+91.7%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
−85.3%
|
60−65
+85.3%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 30−35
−54.5%
|
51
+54.5%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 36
−131%
|
83
+131%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24
−110%
|
40−45
+110%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 24−27
−84%
|
45−50
+84%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 18−20
−116%
|
40−45
+116%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 24−27
−100%
|
50−55
+100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 18−20
−100%
|
35−40
+100%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 30−35
−67.6%
|
55−60
+67.6%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 40−45
−85.4%
|
75−80
+85.4%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 35−40
−103%
|
75−80
+103%
|
| Metro Exodus | 35−40
−91.7%
|
65−70
+91.7%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 20
−145%
|
49
+145%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 21−24
−110%
|
40−45
+110%
|
Full HD
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 30−35
−85.3%
|
60−65
+85.3%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 21−24
−95.7%
|
45−50
+95.7%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 21−24
−133%
|
45−50
+133%
|
| Hitman 3 | 16−18
−100%
|
30−35
+100%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 9−10
−100%
|
18−20
+100%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 12−14
−108%
|
24−27
+108%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 8−9
−188%
|
21−24
+188%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 14−16
−129%
|
30−35
+129%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
−150%
|
14−16
+150%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 18−20
−111%
|
40−45
+111%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 21−24
−109%
|
45−50
+109%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 24−27
−92%
|
45−50
+92%
|
| Metro Exodus | 18−20
−137%
|
45−50
+137%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 18−20
−168%
|
50−55
+168%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 12−14
−133%
|
27−30
+133%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 7−8
−143%
|
16−18
+143%
|
4K
High Preset
| Far Cry 5 | 27−30
−66.7%
|
45−50
+66.7%
|
| Far Cry New Dawn | 10−12
−145%
|
27−30
+145%
|
| Hitman 3 | 8−9
−125%
|
18−20
+125%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
−108%
|
27−30
+108%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 7−8
−129%
|
16−18
+129%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
−150%
|
24−27
+150%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 7−8
−114%
|
14−16
+114%
|
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 5−6
−160%
|
12−14
+160%
|
| Battlefield 5 | 10−12
−155%
|
27−30
+155%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 7−8
−171%
|
18−20
+171%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
−150%
|
5−6
+150%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 16−18
−100%
|
30−35
+100%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 12−14
−108%
|
27−30
+108%
|
| Metro Exodus | 12−14
−91.7%
|
21−24
+91.7%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 4−5
−150%
|
10−11
+150%
|
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 10−12
−81.8%
|
20−22
+81.8%
|
This is how HD 7870 and RX 6550M compete in popular games:
- RX 6550M is 90% faster in 900p
- RX 6550M is 10% faster in 1080p
- RX 6550M is 100% faster in 1440p
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Far Cry 5, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the HD 7870 is 3% faster than the RX 6550M.
- in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the RX 6550M is 273% faster than the HD 7870.
All in all, in popular games:
- HD 7870 is ahead in 1 test (1%)
- RX 6550M is ahead in 71 test (99%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 11.98 | 23.56 |
| Recency | 5 March 2012 | 5 January 2023 |
| Maximum RAM amount | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 6 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 175 Watt | 80 Watt |
The Radeon RX 6550M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.
Be aware that Radeon HD 7870 is a desktop card while Radeon RX 6550M 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.
