GeForce GTX 280 vs GeForce GTX 870M

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 870M, 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 GeForce GTX 280 stacks up against GeForce GTX 870M, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 870M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 870M 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 GeForce GTX 870M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 GeForce GTX 870M
Power consumption (TDP) 236 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors 6-pin & 8-pin None
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 6 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 280 has 136% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 870M.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and GeForce GTX 870M uses MXM-B (3.0) interface.
  • GeForce GTX 870M has 5 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 280.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is used in Desktops, and GeForce GTX 870M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is build with Tesla 2.0 architecture, and GeForce GTX 870M - with Kepler.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 280 is 355 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 870M.
  • GeForce GTX 280 is manufactured by 65 nm process technology, and GeForce GTX 870M - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 1−2 16−18
ultra / 1080p 0−1 10−11
QHD / 1440p 0−1 4−5
low / 720p 12−14 35−40
medium / 1080p 3−4 21−24
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 870M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 316% more, than GeForce GTX 280.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 280 GeForce GTX 870M
Architecture Tesla 2.0 Kepler
Code name GT200 N15P-GT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 16 June 2008 12 March 2014
Pipelines 240 1344
Core clock speed 1296 MHz 941 MHz
Boost Clock 967 MHz
Transistor count 1,400 million 3,540 million
Manufacturing process technology 65 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 48.2 billion/sec 108.3
Floating-point performance 622.1 gflops 2,599 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 512 Bit 192 Bit
Memory clock speed 1107 MHz
Memory bandwidth 141.7 GB/s 120.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.1 (10_0) 12 (11_0)
Shader Model 4.0 5.1
OpenGL 2.1 4.5
OpenCL 1.1 1.1
Vulkan N/A 1.1.126
CUDA + +
CUDA cores 240 1344
Bus support PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options + +
Multi monitor support +
HDMI +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI S/PDIF
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 82 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Standard memory configuration GDDR5
eDP 1.2 signal support Up to 3840x2160
LVDS signal support Up to 1920x1200
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support Up to 3840x2160
HDCP content protection +
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI +
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
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