GeForce GTX 480M vs Radeon HD 7870 XT

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing GeForce GTX 480M and Radeon HD 7870 XT. 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 480M and Radeon HD 7870 XT. 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.

GeForce GTX 480M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 480M 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 480M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 480M Radeon HD 7870 XT
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 185 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 7870 XT has 85% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 480M.
  • GeForce GTX 480M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and Radeon HD 7870 XT uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 480M and Radeon HD 7870 XT have maximum RAM of 2 GB.
  • GeForce GTX 480M is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 480M is build with Fermi architecture, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - with GCN 1.0.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7870 XT is 75 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480M.
  • GeForce GTX 480M is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870 XT is 4800 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 10−11 35−40
ultra / 1080p 6−7 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 21−24 60−65
medium / 1080p 12−14 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 215% more, than GeForce GTX 480M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 480M Radeon HD 7870 XT
Architecture Fermi GCN 1.0
Code name N11E-GTX-A3 Tahiti
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 25 May 2010 19 November 2012
Pipelines 352 1536
Core clock speed 850 MHz 925 MHz
Boost Clock 975 MHz
Transistor count 3,100 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 18.7 billion/sec 93.60
Floating-point performance 598.4 gflops 2,995 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 1200 MHz 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 76.8 GB/s 192.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 API 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 5.1
OpenGL 4.5 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
CUDA +
Bus support PCI-E 2.0
SLI options +
Maximum VGA resolution 2048x1536
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 346 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.5 Mh/s
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