AMD Radeon HD 6870 vs AMD Radeon HD 8970M

VS
Performance
Radeon HD 6870
4,2184% of 104,737
Radeon HD 8970M62% better
6,8187% of 104,737

The Radeon HD 8970M has 62% better performance than the Radeon HD 6870 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 6870
17.6511% of 161.45
Radeon HD 8970M
No data available

The Radeon HD 6870 has 11% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: AMD Radeon RX 7600.

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Summary

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About the AMD Radeon HD 6870 GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 6870 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2010 with a MSRP of $239. It is built on the TeraScale 2 GPU microarchitecture (codename Barts) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.

Memory

The HD 6870 has 1,024 MB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,050 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 134.4 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The HD 6870 includes 1,120 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 900 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 56 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The HD 6870 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.3a, mini-DisplayPort 1.1 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 151 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The HD 6870 has the 269th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 4.03% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 4,218 score and $239 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 17.65. This is the 91st best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon HD 8970M GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 8970M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q2 2013. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Neptune) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The HD 8970M has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,200 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 153.6 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The HD 8970M includes 1,280 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 850 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 900 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 80 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 100 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The HD 8970M has the 220th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 6.51% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
ManufacturerAMDAMD
ArchitectureTeraScale 2GCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ4 2010Q2 2013
Launch Price (MSRP)$239--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Display FPS for Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Display FPS for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3
Display FPS for Grand Theft Auto V
GTA V
Display FPS for BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite
Display FPS for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS: GO

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Radeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
Low - 720p
--
62 FPS
Medium - 768p
--
48 FPS
High - 1080p
--
28 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
17 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 6870 orRadeon HD 8970M

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 6870 orRadeon HD 8970M
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon HD 6870
4,2184% of 104,737
Radeon HD 8970M62% better
6,8187% of 104,737

The Radeon HD 8970M has 62% better performance than the Radeon HD 6870 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon HD 6870 is ranked 269th with a score of 4,218, and the Radeon HD 8970M is ranked 220th with a score of 6,818.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 6870
17.6511% of 161.45
Radeon HD 8970M
No data available

The Radeon HD 6870 has 27% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

Radeon HD 6870's 17.65 performance per dollar ranks it 91st among the other benchmarked GPUs in our database.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 6870 or

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:Radeon HD 6870 orRadeon HD 8970M

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
26,437
31,027
(+17.36%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
3,141
5,038.5
(+60.41%)
3DMark 11 Performance Score
4,547.5
5,422
(+19.23%)
PassMark G3D Mark
2,219
3,876
(+74.67%)
PassMark G2D Mark
402
804
(+100%)
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
--
56.1
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

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Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
CodenameBartsNeptune
ArchitectureTeraScale 2GCN 1.0
Process Size40 nm28 nm
Transistors1,700 million2,800 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
Memory Size1,024 MB4 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth134.4 Gb/s153.6 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,050 MHz1,200 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit256 bit
L1 Cache8 KB16 KB
L2 Cache512 KB512 KB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)151 W100 W
Suggested PSU450 W--
Power Connectors2x 6-pin--
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.3a, mini-DisplayPort 1.1Device Dependent

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
Stream Processors (SP)1,1201,280
Compute Units (CU)1420
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)5680
Render Output Units (ROP)3232
Core Clock Speed900 MHz850 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--900 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
Pixel Fill Rate28.8 GPixel/s28.8 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate50.4 GTexel/s72 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.02 TFLOPS2.3 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance--144 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecRadeon HD 6870Radeon HD 8970M
DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (11_1)
OpenCL1.22.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.44.6
Shader Model5.06.5 (5.1)

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* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.