Radeon HD 7870 vs RX 570

Place in the ranking	305	405
Place by popularity	22	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	15.99	2.99
Power efficiency	10.33	4.70
Architecture	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code name	Polaris 20	Pitcairn
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	18 April 2017 (7 years ago)	5 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$169	$349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 570 has 435% 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 cores	2048	1280
Core clock speed	1168 MHz	1000 MHz
Boost clock speed	1244 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	5,700 million	2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	175 Watt
Texture fill rate	159.2	80.00
Floating-point processing power	5.095 TFLOPS	2.56 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	128	80

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 x16
Length	241 mm	241 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	2x 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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1750 MHz	1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth	224.0 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, 3x DisplayPort	1x 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.

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

RX 570 18.08
+50.7%

HD 7870 12.00

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.

RX 570 6967
+50.6%

HD 7870 4625

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.

RX 570 18967
+206%

HD 7870 6194

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.

RX 570 45560
+113%

HD 7870 21348

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	120−130 +42.9%	84 −42.9%
Full HD	82 +18.8%	69 −18.8%
1440p	49 +63.3%	30−35 −63.3%
4K	29 +61.1%	18−20 −61.1%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.06	5.06
1440p	3.45	11.63
4K	5.83	19.39

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

27−30
+47.4%

18−20

−47.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	62 +121%	27−30 −121%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−33 +57.9%	18−20 −57.9%
Battlefield 5	106 +179%	35−40 −179%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	68 +183%	24−27 −183%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +47.4%	18−20 −47.4%
Far Cry 5	80 +186%	27−30 −186%
Far Cry New Dawn	85 +158%	30−35 −158%
Forza Horizon 4	257 +221%	80−85 −221%
Hitman 3	35−40 +52.2%	21−24 −52.2%
Horizon Zero Dawn	85−90 +39.1%	60−65 −39.1%
Metro Exodus	101 +153%	40−45 −153%
Red Dead Redemption 2	45−50 +48.5%	30−35 −48.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	120 +208%	35−40 −208%
Watch Dogs: Legion	85−90 +24.6%	65−70 −24.6%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	94 +236%	27−30 −236%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−33 +57.9%	18−20 −57.9%
Battlefield 5	98 +158%	35−40 −158%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	63 +163%	24−27 −163%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +47.4%	18−20 −47.4%
Far Cry 5	69 +146%	27−30 −146%
Far Cry New Dawn	61 +84.8%	30−35 −84.8%
Forza Horizon 4	255 +219%	80−85 −219%
Hitman 3	35−40 +52.2%	21−24 −52.2%
Horizon Zero Dawn	85−90 +39.1%	60−65 −39.1%
Metro Exodus	82 +105%	40−45 −105%
Red Dead Redemption 2	45−50 +48.5%	30−35 −48.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	55−60 +51.3%	35−40 −51.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	40−45 +36.7%	30−33 −36.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	85−90 +24.6%	65−70 −24.6%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	33 +17.9%	27−30 −17.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−33 +57.9%	18−20 −57.9%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	45 +87.5%	24−27 −87.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +47.4%	18−20 −47.4%
Far Cry 5	46 +64.3%	27−30 −64.3%
Forza Horizon 4	75 −6.7%	80−85 +6.7%
Hitman 3	35−40 +52.2%	21−24 −52.2%
Horizon Zero Dawn	85−90 +39.1%	60−65 −39.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	55−60 +51.3%	35−40 −51.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	43 +115%	20 −115%
Watch Dogs: Legion	85−90 +24.6%	65−70 −24.6%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

45−50
+48.5%

30−35

−48.5%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	61 +165%	21−24 −165%
Far Cry New Dawn	41 +128%	18−20 −128%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	29 +142%	12−14 −142%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +100%	8−9 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	36 +177%	12−14 −177%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 +66.7%	6−7 −66.7%
Far Cry 5	30 +114%	14−16 −114%
Forza Horizon 4	149 +157%	55−60 −157%
Hitman 3	21−24 +40%	14−16 −40%
Horizon Zero Dawn	35−40 +48%	24−27 −48%
Metro Exodus	48 +153%	18−20 −153%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 +84.2%	18−20 −84.2%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20−22 +66.7%	12−14 −66.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	100−110 +44%	75−80 −44%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−33
+50%

20−22

−50%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	30 +173%	10−12 −173%
Far Cry New Dawn	21 +133%	9−10 −133%
Hitman 3	12−14 +62.5%	8−9 −62.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn	90−95 +66.1%	55−60 −66.1%
Metro Exodus	29 +164%	10−12 −164%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	28 +180%	10−11 −180%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	17 +143%	7−8 −143%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10 +80%	5−6 −80%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	20 +233%	6−7 −233%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Far Cry 5	15 +150%	6−7 −150%
Forza Horizon 4	39 +144%	16−18 −144%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	18−20 +90%	10−11 −90%
Watch Dogs: Legion	7−8 +40%	5−6 −40%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

16−18
+45.5%

10−12

−45.5%

This is how RX 570 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

RX 570 is 43% faster in 900p
RX 570 is 19% faster in 1080p
RX 570 is 63% faster in 1440p
RX 570 is 61% faster in 4K

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

in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 570 is 236% faster.
in Forza Horizon 4, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7870 is 7% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 570 is ahead in 71 test (99%)
HD 7870 is ahead in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	18.08	12.00
Recency	18 April 2017	5 March 2012
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	175 Watt

RX 570 has a 50.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 45.8% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 570 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.

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