Radeon HD 7870 vs RX 570

Place in the ranking	309	408
Place by popularity	22	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	15.23	2.95
Power efficiency	10.38	4.72
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 416% 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 18.12
+50.7%

HD 7870 12.02

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
+50.8%

HD 7870 4620

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	83 +25.8%	66 −25.8%
1440p	48 +60%	30−35 −60%
4K	30 +66.7%	18−20 −66.7%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.04 +160%	5.29 −160%
1440p	3.52 +230%	11.63 −230%
4K	5.63 +244%	19.39 −244%

RX 570 has 160% lower cost per frame in 1080p
RX 570 has 230% lower cost per frame in 1440p
RX 570 has 244% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +50%	24−27 −50%
Elden Ring	55−60 +58.3%	35−40 −58.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	71 +82.1%	35−40 −82.1%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +50%	24−27 −50%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 +56.3%	45−50 −56.3%
Metro Exodus	76 +130%	30−35 −130%
Red Dead Redemption 2	40−45 +38.7%	30−35 −38.7%
Valorant	70−75 +52.1%	45−50 −52.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	102 +162%	35−40 −162%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +50%	24−27 −50%
Dota 2	49 +14%	40−45 −14%
Elden Ring	55−60 +58.3%	35−40 −58.3%
Far Cry 5	60−65 +34%	45−50 −34%
Fortnite	102 +47.8%	65−70 −47.8%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 +56.3%	45−50 −56.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	73 +69.8%	40−45 −69.8%
Metro Exodus	51 +54.5%	30−35 −54.5%
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 +55.6%	35−40 −55.6%
Valorant	70−75 +52.1%	45−50 −52.1%
World of Tanks	210−220 +31.9%	160−170 −31.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	58 +48.7%	35−40 −48.7%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +47.6%	21−24 −47.6%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +50%	24−27 −50%
Dota 2	65−70 +51.2%	40−45 −51.2%
Far Cry 5	60−65 +34%	45−50 −34%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 +56.3%	45−50 −56.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	66 −36.4%	90−95 +36.4%
Valorant	70−75 +52.1%	45−50 −52.1%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	27−30 +75%	16−18 −75%
Elden Ring	27−30 +61.1%	18−20 −61.1%
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 +45.9%	85−90 −45.9%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	40 +66.7%	24−27 −66.7%
Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
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	48 +92%	24−27 −92%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 +56.3%	16−18 −56.3%
Valorant	45−50 +53.3%	30−33 −53.3%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	14−16 +100%	7−8 −100%
Dota 2	30 +36.4%	21−24 −36.4%
Elden Ring	12−14 +62.5%	8−9 −62.5%
Grand Theft Auto V	30 +36.4%	21−24 −36.4%
Metro Exodus	16 +129%	7−8 −129%
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 +36.4%	21−24 −36.4%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	20 +81.8%	10−12 −81.8%
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 570 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

RX 570 is 43% faster in 900p
RX 570 is 26% faster in 1080p
RX 570 is 60% faster in 1440p
RX 570 is 67% faster in 4K

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

in Battlefield 5, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the RX 570 is 162% faster.
in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7870 is 36% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 570 is ahead in 61 test (97%)
HD 7870 is ahead in 1 test (2%)
there's a draw in 1 test (2%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	18.12	12.02
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.