Radeon HD 7870 vs RX 470 Mobile

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon RX 470 Mobile with Radeon HD 7870, including specs and performance data.

RX 470 Mobile
2016
8 GB GDDR5, 85 Watt
18.23
+51.7%

RX 470 Mobile outperforms HD 7870 by an impressive 52% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking306408
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation10.152.96
Power efficiency14.764.73
ArchitectureGCN 4.0 (2016−2020)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameEllesmerePitcairn
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date4 August 2016 (8 years ago)5 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$549.99 $349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 470 Mobile has 243% better value for money than HD 7870.

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 cores20481280
Core clock speed926 MHz1000 MHz
Boost clock speed1074 MHzno data
Number of transistors5,700 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology14 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)85 Watt175 Watt
Texture fill rate137.580.00
Floating-point processing power4.399 TFLOPS2.56 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs12880

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).

Laptop sizelargeno data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Lengthno data241 mm
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data2x 6-pin

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount8 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1750 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth224.0 GB/s153.6 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 ConnectorsNo outputs1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity-+
HDMI-+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

FreeSync+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_0)12 (11_1)
Shader Model6.45.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.01.2
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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:

900p120−130
+42.9%
84
−42.9%
Full HD100−110
+51.5%
66
−51.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p5.50
−4%
5.29
+4%
  • RX 470 Mobile and HD 7870 have nearly equal cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+45.5%
21−24
−45.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+56.5%
21−24
−56.5%
Elden Ring 55−60
+58.3%
35−40
−58.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 55−60
+48.7%
35−40
−48.7%
Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+45.5%
21−24
−45.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+56.5%
21−24
−56.5%
Forza Horizon 4 75−80
+58.3%
45−50
−58.3%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+48.5%
30−35
−48.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+38.7%
30−35
−38.7%
Valorant 70−75
+57.4%
45−50
−57.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 55−60
+48.7%
35−40
−48.7%
Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+45.5%
21−24
−45.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+56.5%
21−24
−56.5%
Dota 2 65−70
+51.2%
40−45
−51.2%
Elden Ring 55−60
+58.3%
35−40
−58.3%
Far Cry 5 60−65
+34%
45−50
−34%
Fortnite 95−100
+42%
65−70
−42%
Forza Horizon 4 75−80
+58.3%
45−50
−58.3%
Grand Theft Auto V 65−70
+51.2%
40−45
−51.2%
Metro Exodus 45−50
+48.5%
30−35
−48.5%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 120−130
+38.9%
90−95
−38.9%
Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+38.7%
30−35
−38.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 55−60
+58.3%
35−40
−58.3%
Valorant 70−75
+57.4%
45−50
−57.4%
World of Tanks 220−230
+32.5%
160−170
−32.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 55−60
+48.7%
35−40
−48.7%
Counter-Strike 2 30−35
+45.5%
21−24
−45.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 35−40
+56.5%
21−24
−56.5%
Dota 2 65−70
+51.2%
40−45
−51.2%
Far Cry 5 60−65
+34%
45−50
−34%
Forza Horizon 4 75−80
+58.3%
45−50
−58.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 120−130
+38.9%
90−95
−38.9%
Valorant 70−75
+57.4%
45−50
−57.4%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 27−30
+75%
16−18
−75%
Elden Ring 30−33
+66.7%
18−20
−66.7%
Grand Theft Auto V 27−30
+64.7%
16−18
−64.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 160−170
+139%
65−70
−139%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+60%
10−11
−60%
World of Tanks 120−130
+47.1%
85−90
−47.1%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 35−40
+54.2%
24−27
−54.2%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+36.4%
10−12
−36.4%
Cyberpunk 2077 14−16
+55.6%
9−10
−55.6%
Far Cry 5 45−50
+74.1%
27−30
−74.1%
Forza Horizon 4 45−50
+64.3%
27−30
−64.3%
Metro Exodus 40−45
+64%
24−27
−64%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 24−27
+60%
14−16
−60%
Valorant 45−50
+53.3%
30−33
−53.3%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+100%
7−8
−100%
Dota 2 30−35
+40.9%
21−24
−40.9%
Elden Ring 12−14
+62.5%
8−9
−62.5%
Grand Theft Auto V 30−35
+40.9%
21−24
−40.9%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+85.7%
7−8
−85.7%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+54.3%
35−40
−54.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+50%
8−9
−50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+40.9%
21−24
−40.9%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 18−20
+63.6%
10−12
−63.6%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+100%
7−8
−100%
Cyberpunk 2077 5−6
+66.7%
3−4
−66.7%
Dota 2 30−35
+40.9%
21−24
−40.9%
Far Cry 5 21−24
+53.3%
14−16
−53.3%
Fortnite 21−24
+61.5%
12−14
−61.5%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+68.8%
16−18
−68.8%
Valorant 21−24
+75%
12−14
−75%

This is how RX 470 Mobile and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

  • RX 470 Mobile is 43% faster in 900p
  • RX 470 Mobile is 52% faster in 1080p

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

  • in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1440p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 470 Mobile is 139% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • Without exception, RX 470 Mobile surpassed HD 7870 in all 63 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 18.23 12.02
Recency 4 August 2016 5 March 2012
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 14 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 85 Watt 175 Watt

RX 470 Mobile has a 51.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 105.9% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 470 Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 470 Mobile is a notebook card while Radeon HD 7870 is a desktop one.


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

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AMD Radeon RX 470 Mobile
Radeon RX 470 Mobile
AMD Radeon HD 7870
Radeon HD 7870

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Community ratings

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