FireStream 9270 vs Radeon HD 7870M

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between FireStream 9270 and Radeon HD 7870M, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the FireStream 9270 stacks up against Radeon HD 7870M, check out specs charts below.

Radeon HD 7870M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 7870M is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with Radeon HD 7870M here:

Main Specs

  FireStream 9270 Radeon HD 7870M
Power consumption (TDP) 160 Watt 45 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI No outputs
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  • FireStream 9270 has 255% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • FireStream 9270 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7870M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • FireStream 9270 and Radeon HD 7870M have maximum RAM of 2 GB.
  • FireStream 9270 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7870M - in Laptops.
  • FireStream 9270 is build with TeraScale architecture, and Radeon HD 7870M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 50 MHz higher, than FireStream 9270.
  • FireStream 9270 is manufactured by 55 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 400 MHz higher, than FireStream 9270.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 5−6 6−7
ultra / 1080p 2−3 4−5
QHD / 1440p 2−3 0−1
low / 720p 14−16 16−18
medium / 1080p 7−8 8−9
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 28% more, than FireStream 9270.

Full Specs

  FireStream 9270 Radeon HD 7870M
Architecture TeraScale GCN
Code name RV770 Heathrow XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 13 November 2008 24 April 2012
Pipelines 800 640
Core clock speed 750 MHz 800 MHz
Transistor count 956 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 55 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 30.00 32.00
Floating-point performance 1,200.0 gflops 1,024 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 3600 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 115.2 GB/s 64 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 10.1 (10_1) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 4.1 5.1
OpenGL 3.3 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
Laptop size large
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