GeForce GTX 480 vs Radeon HD 7870M

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 480 and Radeon HD 7870M. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between GeForce GTX 480 and Radeon HD 7870M. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

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

  GeForce GTX 480 Radeon HD 7870M
Power consumption (TDP) 250 Watt 45 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 6-pin & 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1536 MB 2 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 480 has 455% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7870M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 480 has 1534 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7870M - in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is build with Fermi architecture, and Radeon HD 7870M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 100 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480.
  • GeForce GTX 480 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 2152 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 21−24 6−7
ultra / 1080p 12−14 4−5
QHD / 1440p 6−7 0−1
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 40−45 16−18
medium / 1080p 24−27 8−9
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 480 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 177% more, than Radeon HD 7870M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 480 Radeon HD 7870M
Architecture Fermi GCN
Code name GF100 Heathrow XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 7 December 2010 24 April 2012
Pipelines 480 640
Core clock speed 700 MHz 800 MHz
Transistor count 3,100 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 42 billion/sec 32.00
Floating-point performance 1,345.0 gflops 1,024 gflops
Length 10.5" (267 mm) (26.7 cm)
Memory bus width 384 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 1848 MHz (3696 data rate) 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 177.4 GB/s 64 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_0) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.2 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
CUDA +
CUDA cores 480
Bus support 16x PCI-E 2.0
Height 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
SLI options +
Multi monitor support +
HDMI +
HDCP +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI Internal
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 117 Mh/s
Laptop size large
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