AMD Radeon HD 6870 vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

VS
Performance
Radeon HD 6870
4,2184% of 104,598
Radeon RX 7900 XT1,699% better
75,89673% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 7900 XT has 1,699% 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 7900 XT378% better
84.4252% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 7900 XT has 378% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 6870 for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon HD 6870
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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 7900 XT GPU

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a desktop graphics card that launched in Q4 2022 with a MSRP of $899. It is built on the RDNA 3.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Navi 31) and is manufactured on a 5 nm process.

Memory

The RX 7900 XT has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, with a 2,500 MHz memory clock and a 320 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 800 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 7900 XT includes 5,376 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,387 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 2,394 MHz. It usually operates at 2,025 MHz during typical gaming workloads. Complementing the processing units are 336 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 192 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing. Additionally, the GPU features 168 AI accelerators optimized for AI workloads and 84 ray accelerators dedicated to real-time ray tracing calculations.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The RX 7900 XT occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1, USB Type-C display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 700 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 300 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The RX 7900 XT has the 5th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 72.56% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 75,896 score and $899 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 84.42. This is the 31st 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 7900 XT
ManufacturerAMDAMD
ArchitectureTeraScale 2RDNA 3.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2010Q4 2022
Launch Price (MSRP)$239$899
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeActive
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for God of War Ragnarök
God of War Ragnarök
Display FPS for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Space Marine 2
Display FPS for Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Display FPS for Once Human
Once Human
Display FPS for The First Descendant
The First Descendant
Display FPS for F1 24
F1 24
Display FPS for Senua's Saga Hellblade 2
Senua's Saga Hellblade 2

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 God of War Ragnarök
God of War Ragnarök
Radeon HD 6870Radeon RX 7900 XT
Low - 1080p
--
225 FPS
Medium - 1080p
--
219 FPS
High - 1080p
--
196 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
183 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
140 FPS
4K UHD - 2160p
--
86 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 7900 XT
GPUFrames Per Second
GeForce RTX 4080100.8+17%
Radeon RX 7900 XT86.1

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 7900 XT
GPUCost Per Frame
Radeon RX 7900 XT10.44
GeForce RTX 408011.89+14%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon HD 6870
4,2184% of 104,598
Radeon RX 7900 XT1,699% better
75,89673% of 104,598

The Radeon RX 7900 XT has 1,699% 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 7900 XT is ranked 5th with a score of 75,896.

Performance per dollar
Radeon HD 6870
17.6511% of 161.45
Radeon RX 7900 XT378% better
84.4252% of 161.45

The Radeon RX 7900 XT has 378% 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 7900 XT is ranked 31st with a performance per dollar of 84.42.

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 408086,267+1,945%
Radeon RX 7900 XTX83,322+1,875%
Radeon RX 7900 XT75,896+1,699%
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti75,612+1,693%
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER74,834+1,674%
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 7900 XT
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
--
25,874
3DMark Time Spy Score
--
24,042
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
26,437
259,707
(+882.36%)
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
3,141
63,712
(+1,928.4%)
3DMark Night Raid Graphics
--
225,446
3DMark 11 Performance Score
4,547.5
51,605.5
(+1,034.81%)
PassMark G3D Mark
2,216
28,773
(+1,198.42%)
PassMark G2D Mark
412
1,175
(+185.19%)
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 7900 XT
CodenameBartsNavi 31
ArchitectureTeraScale 2RDNA 3.0
Process Size40 nm5 nm
Transistors1,700 million57,700 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 7900 XT
Memory Size1,024 MB20 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth134.4 Gb/s800 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,050 MHz2,500 MHz
Memory Interface256 bit320 bit
L1 Cache8 KB256 KB
L2 Cache512 KB6 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 7900 XT
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)151 W300 W
Suggested PSU450 W700 W
Power Connectors2x 6-pin2x 8-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.3a, mini-DisplayPort 1.1HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 2.1, USB Type-C

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 7900 XT
Stream Processors (SP)1,1205,376
Compute Units (CU)1484
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)56336
Render Output Units (ROP)32192
AI Accelerators--168
Ray Accelerators--84
Core Clock Speed900 MHz1,387 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--2,394 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Game)--2,025 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 7900 XT
Pixel Fill Rate28.8 GPixel/s459.6 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate50.4 GTexel/s804.4 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance2.02 TFLOPS51.48 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance--1.61 TFLOPS

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 7900 XT
DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
OpenCL1.22.2
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.