GeForce GTX 480M SLI vs GeForce GTX 870M

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 480M SLI 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 480M SLI stacks up against GeForce GTX 870M, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 480M SLI and GeForce GTX 870M are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 480M SLI and GeForce GTX 870M are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 SLI or GeForce GTX 870M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 480M SLI GeForce GTX 870M
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 100 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 6 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
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  • Both graphics cards have the same power consumption of 100 Watt.
  • GeForce GTX 870M has 2 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 480M SLI.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 480M SLI is build with Fermi architecture, and GeForce GTX 870M - with Kepler.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 870M is 516 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 480M SLI.
  • GeForce GTX 480M SLI is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and GeForce GTX 870M - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 16−18 16−18
ultra / 1080p 9−10 10−11
QHD / 1440p 4−5 4−5
4K / 2160p 4−5
low / 720p 30−35 35−40
medium / 1080p 20−22 21−24
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 870M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 12% more, than GeForce GTX 480M SLI.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 480M SLI GeForce GTX 870M
Architecture Fermi Kepler
Code name N11E-GTX-A3 N15P-GT
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 25 May 2010 12 March 2014
Pipelines 704 1344
Core clock speed 425 MHz 941 MHz
Boost Clock 967 MHz
Transistor count 6000 Million 3,540 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 108.3
Floating-point performance 2,599 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 192 Bit
Memory clock speed 1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth 120.0 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX DirectX 11, Shader 5.0 12 (11_0)
Shader Model 5.1
OpenGL 4.5
OpenCL 1.1
Vulkan 1.1.126
CUDA +
CUDA cores 1344
Bus support PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 82 Mh/s
Laptop size large 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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