AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M
The Radeon HD 8870M has 336% better performance than the GeForce GT 420M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
We do not have any performance per dollar data for the Radeon HD 8870M and the GeForce GT 420M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
Summary
About the AMD Radeon HD 8870M GPU
The AMD Radeon HD 8870M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q2 2013. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Venus) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.
Memory
The HD 8870M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,125 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 72 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 8870M includes 640 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 725 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 775 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Benchmark Performance
The HD 8870M has the 301st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 2.85% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
About the NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M GPU
The NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q3 2010. It is built on the Fermi GPU microarchitecture (codename GF108) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.
Memory
The GT 420M has 1,024 MB of DDR3 memory, with a 800 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 25.6 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 GT 420M includes 96 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 500 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 16 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 4 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.
Compatibility & Power Consumption
The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 23 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.
Benchmark Performance
The GT 420M has the 490th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 0.65% 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.
| Info | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | AMD | NVIDIA |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Fermi |
| Market Segment | Mobile | Mobile |
| Release Date | Q2 2013 | Q3 2010 |
| Production Status | End-of-life | End-of-life |
| Shop | Check Price | Check Price |
Gaming Performance
Select a game to compare FPS metrics
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
BioShock Infinite | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Low - 720p | 70 FPS | -- |
| Medium - 768p | 56 FPS | -- |
| High - 768p | 51 FPS | -- |
| Ultra - 1080p | 19 FPS | -- |
| QHD - 1440p | -- | -- |
| 4K UHD - 2160p | -- | -- |
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.
| GPU | Frames Per Second | |
|---|---|---|
| Radeon 540X | 22.2 | +15% |
| FirePro M5100 | 21 | +9% |
| FirePro W5130M | 21 | +9% |
| Radeon R9 M265X | 20 | +4% |
| GeForce GTX 760M | 20 | +4% |
| Radeon HD 8870M | 19.3 | |
| GeForce 940MX | 18 | -7% |
| GeForce MX110 | 18 | -7% |
| GeForce GT 750M | 18 | -7% |
| Radeon R7 M370 | 17 | -12% |
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.
| GPU | Cost Per Frame | |
|---|---|---|
| Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs. | ||
Benchmark Performance
The Radeon HD 8870M has 336% better performance than the GeForce GT 420M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
The Radeon HD 8870M is ranked 301st with a score of 2,986, and the GeForce GT 420M is ranked 490th with a score of 685.
We do not have any performance per dollar data for the Radeon HD 8870M and the GeForce GT 420M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.
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.
| GPU | Benchmark Performance | |
|---|---|---|
| FirePro W5130M | 3,106 | +4% |
| Quadro P500 | 3,022 | +1% |
| Radeon HD 8870M | 2,986 | |
| GeForce 845M | 2,973 | -0% |
| FirePro M5100 | 2,967 | -1% |
| GeForce GT 425M | 753 | -75% |
| Radeon HD 7610M | 749 | -75% |
| GeForce GT 420M | 685 | -77% |
| Radeon HD 6490M | 601 | -80% |
| GeForce GT 520MX | 596.5 | -80% |
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.
| GPU | Performance Per Dollar | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Our database does not have enough data to compare the benchmark performance per dollar with other GPUs. | |||
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
| Benchmark | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics | 15,738.5 | -- |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics | 2,168.5 | -- |
| 3DMark 11 Performance Score | 3,292 (+324.77%) | 775 |
| PassMark G3D Mark | 1,638 (+304.44%) | 405 |
| PassMark G2D Mark | 627 (+596.67%) | 90 |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11 | 25.9 | -- |
| Unigine Heaven 3.0 OpenGL | 19.4 | -- |
Technical Specs
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.
| Spec | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Codename | Venus | GF108 |
| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Fermi |
| Process Size | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Transistors | 1,500 million | 585 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.
| Spec | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1,024 MB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 72 Gb/s | 25.6 Gb/s |
| Memory Clock | 1,125 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Memory Interface | 128 bit | 128 bit |
| L1 Cache | 16 KB | 64 KB |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | 256 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.
| Spec | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Thermal Design Power (TDP) | -- | 23 W |
| Outputs | Device Dependent | Device 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.
| Spec | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Stream Processors (SP) | 640 | -- |
| CUDA Cores | -- | 96 |
| Compute Units (CU) | 10 | -- |
| Stream Multiprocessors (SM) | -- | 2 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMU) | 40 | 16 |
| Render Output Units (ROP) | 16 | 4 |
| Core Clock Speed | 725 MHz | 500 MHz |
| Core Clock Speed (Boost) | 775 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.
| Spec | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Fill Rate | 12.4 GPixel/s | 2 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 31 GTexel/s | 8 GTexel/s |
| FP32 Performance | 992 GFLOPS | 192 GFLOPS |
| FP64 Performance | 62 GFLOPS | 16 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.
| Spec | Radeon HD 8870M | GeForce GT 420M |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (11_0) |
| OpenCL | 2.1 (1.2) | 1.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Shader Model | 6.5 (5.1) | 5.1 |
Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:
Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:
* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.