NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 vs AMD Radeon HD 7870M

VS
Performance
GeForce GTX 590239% better
9,166.59% of 104,598
Radeon HD 7870M
2,7023% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 590 has 239% better performance than the Radeon HD 7870M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 590
13.118% of 161.45
Radeon HD 7870M
No data available

The GeForce GTX 590 has 8% 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 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 is an end-of-life desktop graphics card that released in Q1 2011 with a MSRP of $699. It is built on the Fermi 2.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename GF110) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.

Memory

The GTX 590 has 1,536 MB of GDDR5 memory, with a 854 MHz memory clock and a 384 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 164 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 GTX 590 includes 512 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 607 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 64 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 48 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GTX 590 occupies 2 PCIe expansion slots. It supports DVI, mini-DisplayPort display connections. NVIDIA recommends a power supply of at least 750 W to handle the GPU's thermal design power (TDP) of 365 W.

Benchmark Performance & Value

The GTX 590 has the 188th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 8.76% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Its 9,166.5 score and $699 launch price (MSRP) gives it a performance per dollar of 13.11. This is the 93rd best in value for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

About the AMD Radeon HD 7870M GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 7870M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q2 2012. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Heathrow) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The HD 7870M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,000 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 64 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 7870M includes 640 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 800 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 45 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The HD 7870M has the 316th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 2.58% 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.

InfoGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureFermi 2.0GCN 1.0
Market SegmentDesktopMobile
Release DateQ1 2011Q2 2012
Launch Price (MSRP)$699--
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

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Our database does not have gaming performance data for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 or the AMD Radeon HD 7870M.

Benchmark Performance

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Performance
GeForce GTX 590239% better
9,166.59% of 104,598
Radeon HD 7870M
2,7023% of 104,598

The GeForce GTX 590 has 239% better performance than the Radeon HD 7870M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GTX 590 is ranked 188th with a score of 9,166.5, and the Radeon HD 7870M is ranked 316th with a score of 2,702.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GTX 590
13.118% of 161.45
Radeon HD 7870M
No data available

The GeForce GTX 590 has 20% of the performance per dollar compared to the leader for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

GeForce GTX 590's 13.11 performance per dollar ranks it 93rd 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:GeForce GTX 590 or
GPUBenchmark Performance
GeForce GTX 68010,216.5+11%
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti9,453+3%
GeForce GTX 5909,166.5
GeForce GTX 10508,571-6%
Radeon R7 3708,518.5-7%
GeForce GT 755M2,800.5-69%
GeForce GTX 485M2,709-70%
Radeon HD 7870M2,702-71%
GeForce GTX 670M2,698-71%
Quadro 5010M2,693-71%

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:GeForce GTX 590 orRadeon HD 7870M

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
BenchmarkGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
3DMark 11 Performance Score
8,057.5
(+165.31%)
3,037
PassMark G3D Mark
3,341
(+121.7%)
1,507
PassMark G2D Mark
396
551
(+39.14%)
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.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
CodenameGF110Heathrow
ArchitectureFermi 2.0GCN 1.0
Process Size40 nm28 nm
Transistors3,000 million1,500 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
Memory Size1,536 MB2 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth164 Gb/s64 Gb/s
Memory Clock854 MHz1,000 MHz
Memory Interface384 bit128 bit
L1 Cache64 KB16 KB
L2 Cache768 KB256 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
Slots2 slots--
Bus InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)365 W45 W
Suggested PSU750 W--
Power Connectors2x 8-pin--
OutputsDVI, mini-DisplayPortDevice 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
Stream Processors (SP)--640
CUDA Cores512--
Compute Units (CU)--10
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)16--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)6440
Render Output Units (ROP)4816
Core Clock Speed607 MHz800 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
Pixel Fill Rate19.46 GPixel/s12.8 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate38.91 GTexel/s32 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance1,244 GFLOPS1,024 GFLOPS
FP64 Performance155.5 GFLOPS64 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.

SpecGeForce GTX 590Radeon HD 7870M
DirectX12 (11_0)12 (11_1)
OpenCL1.12.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model5.16.5 (5.1)

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