AMD Radeon R9 280X vs AMD Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)

VS
Performance
Radeon R9 280X74% better
10,79210% of 104,598
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
6,1946% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 280X has 74% better performance than the Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X103% better
36.0922% of 161.45
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
17.7511% of 161.45

The Radeon R9 280X has 103% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop Radeon R9 280X
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Summary

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About the AMD Radeon R9 280X GPU

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q4 2013 with a MSRP of $299. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Tahiti) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The R9 280X has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,500 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 288 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 R9 280X includes 2,048 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 1,000 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 128 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 32 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The R9 280X occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 600 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 250 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The R9 280X has the 171st best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 10.32% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 10,792 score and $299 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 36.09. This is the 73rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2012 with a MSRP of $349. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Pitcairn) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The HD 7870 has 2 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 7870 includes 1,280 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 1,000 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 HD 7870 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2 display connections. AMD recommends a power supply of at least 450 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 175 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The HD 7870 has the 226th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 5.92% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 6,194 score and $349 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 17.75. This is the 90th 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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
ManufacturerAMDAMD
ArchitectureGCN 1.0GCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopDesktop
Release DateQ4 2013Q1 2012
Launch Price (MSRP)$299$349
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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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 Fortnite
Fortnite
Radeon R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
Low - 720p
--
--
Medium - 1080p
158 FPS
--
High - 1080p
60 FPS
--
Ultra - 1080p
48 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 R9 280X orRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
GPUFrames Per Second
Radeon RX 57072+52%
Radeon RX 48064.5+36%
GeForce GTX 165061+28%
GeForce GTX 97060+26%
Radeon RX 47058.9+24%
Radeon R9 280X47.5
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti44.8-6%
GeForce GTX 105042-12%
Radeon R7 37030.2-36%
GeForce GT 103024.5-48%

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 R9 280X orRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
GPUCost Per Frame
GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB)3.29-48%
Radeon RX 4803.55-44%
Radeon R7 3704.93-22%
GeForce GTX 9705.48-13%
GeForce GTX 9806.01-5%
Radeon R9 280X6.29
Radeon R9 FURY7.63+21%

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
Radeon R9 280X74% better
10,79210% of 104,598
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
6,1946% of 104,598

The Radeon R9 280X has 74% better performance than the Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 171st with a score of 10,792, and the Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) is ranked 226th with a score of 6,194.

Performance per dollar
Radeon R9 280X103% better
36.0922% of 161.45
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
17.7511% of 161.45

The Radeon R9 280X has 103% better value for the money than the Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The Radeon R9 280X is ranked 73rd with a performance per dollar of 36.09, and the Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition) is ranked 90th with a performance per dollar of 17.75.

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 R9 280X or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 165013,645+26%
Radeon R9 38012,191+13%
Radeon R9 280X10,792
GeForce GTX 96010,767.5-0%
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5-5%
GeForce GTX 7607,962-26%
Radeon HD 79707,770-28%
Radeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)6,194-43%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti5,378-50%
GeForce GTX 4805,014-54%

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 R9 280X 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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
2,210
--
3DMark Time Spy Score
2,393
--
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
52,117
--
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
8,343
--
3DMark 11 Performance Score
10,241
(+65.44%)
6,190
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
--
120.1
PassMark G3D Mark
6,178
(+33.32%)
4,634
PassMark G2D Mark
686
(+17.06%)
586
Unigine Heaven 3.0 DirectX 11
95.2
--
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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
CodenameTahitiPitcairn
ArchitectureGCN 1.0GCN 1.0
Process Size28 nm28 nm
Transistors4,313 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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
Memory Size3 GB2 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth288 Gb/s153.6 Gb/s
Memory Clock1,500 MHz1,200 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit256 bit
L1 Cache16 KB16 KB
L2 Cache768 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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
Slots2 slots2 slots
Bus InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)250 W175 W
Suggested PSU600 W450 W
Power Connectors1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin2x 6-pin
OutputsDVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2DVI, HDMI 1.4a, mini-DisplayPort 1.2

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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
Stream Processors (SP)2,0481,280
Compute Units (CU)3220
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)12880
Render Output Units (ROP)3232
Core Clock Speed850 MHz1,000 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)1,000 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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
Pixel Fill Rate32 GPixel/s32 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate128 GTexel/s80 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance4.1 TFLOPS2.56 TFLOPS
FP64 Performance1,024 GFLOPS160 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 R9 280XRadeon HD 7870 (GHz Edition)
DirectX12 (11_1)12 (11_1)
OpenCL2.1 (1.2)2.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model6.5 (5.1)6.5 (5.1)

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