AMD Radeon HD 6870 vs AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT

VS
Performance
Radeon HD 6870
4,2184% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6950 XT1,612% better
72,227.569% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 1,612% 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 RX 6950 XT272% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 272% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 6870 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

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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 RX 6950 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q2 2022 with a MSRP of $1,099. It is built on the RDNA 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 21) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process.

Memory

The RX 6950 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,250 MHz memory clock and a 256 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 576 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 RX 6950 XT includes 5,120 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,860 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,310 MHz. It usually operates at 2,100 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 320 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 128 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 80 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 6950 XT is a large graphics card, occupying 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a display connections. With a thermal design power (TDP) of 335 W and a large, 3-slot size, it is recommended to use a power supply of 700 W and a case with sufficient space to accommodate the card. Compare your card's model and your case's dimensions to verify compatibility.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 6950 XT has the 8th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 69.05% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 72,227.5 score and $1,099 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 65.72. This is the 48th best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

General Info

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

InfoRadeon HD 6870Radeon RX 6950 XT
ManufacturerAMDAMD
ArchitectureTeraScale 2RDNA 2.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2010Q2 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$239$1,099
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Display FPS for Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Display FPS for Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2
Display FPS for Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West
Display FPS for Alone in the Dark (2024)
Alone in the Dark (2024)
Display FPS for Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest

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 F1 24
F1 24
Radeon HD 6870Radeon RX 6950 XT
Low - 1080p
--
534 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
517 FPS
High - 1080p
--
407 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
96 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
62 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
30 FPS
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 RX 6950 XT

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 RX 6950 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 7900 XTX21.44-41%
GeForce RTX 408021.8-40%
Radeon RX 7900 XT24.3-33%
Radeon RX 680028.11-23%
Radeon RX 6950 XT36.39
GeForce RTX 309037.01+2%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon HD 6870
4,2184% of 104,598
Radeon RX 6950 XT1,612% better
72,227.569% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 1,612% 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 RX 6950 XT is ranked 8th with a score of 72,227.5.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 6870
17.6511% of 161.45
Radeon RX 6950 XT272% better
65.7241% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 6950 XT has 272% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 6870 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon HD 6870 is ranked 91st with a performance per dollar of 17.65, and the Radeon RX 6950 XT is ranked 48th with a performance per dollar of 65.72.

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
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti75,612+1,693%
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER74,834+1,674%
Radeon RX 6950 XT72,227.5+1,612%
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti69,481+1,547%
GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER68,373+1,521%
GeForce GT 10304,727.5+12%
GeForce GTX 4704,342+3%
Radeon HD 68704,218
Radeon HD 7770 (GHz Edition)3,098-27%
Radeon HD 6450623-85%

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 or

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 RX 6950 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
22,004
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
20,574
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
26,437
229,172
(+766.86%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
3,141
59,882
(+1,806.46%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
186,146
3DMark 11 Performance Score
4,547.5
48,816.5
(+973.48%)
PassMark G3D Mark
2,216
28,182
(+1,171.75%)
PassMark G2D Mark
412
1,035
(+151.21%)
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 RX 6950 XT
CodenameBartsNavi 21
ArchitectureTeraScale 2RDNA 2.0
Process Size40 nm7 nm
Transistors1,700 million26,800 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 RX 6950 XT
Memory Size1,024 MB16 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth134.4 Gb/s576 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,050 MHz2,250 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit256 bit
L1 Cache8 KB128 KB
L2 Cache512 KB4 MB

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 RX 6950 XT
Slots2 slots3 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)151 W335 W
Suggested PSU450 W700 W
Power Connectors2x 6-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.3a, mini-DisplayPort 1.1HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4a

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 RX 6950 XT
Stream Processors (SP)1,1205,120
Compute Units (CU)1480
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)56320
Render Output Units (ROP)32128
Ray Accelerators--80
Core Clock Speed900 MHz1,860 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--2,310 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,100 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 RX 6950 XT
Pixel Fill Rate28.8 GPixel/s295.7 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate50.4 GTexel/s739.2 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.02 TFLOPS23.65 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance--1,478 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 RX 6950 XT
DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL1.22.1
OpenGL4.44.6
Shader Model5.06.8

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