Maxwell GPU Surface Book vs Radeon HD 7870 XT

When choosing between Maxwell GPU Surface Book and Radeon HD 7870 XT, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Maxwell GPU Surface Book and Radeon HD 7870 XT.

Maxwell GPU Surface Book is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Maxwell GPU Surface Book 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 Maxwell GPU Surface Book here:

Main Specs

  Maxwell GPU Surface Book Radeon HD 7870 XT
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 7870 XT has 1 GB more memory, than Maxwell GPU Surface Book.
  • Maxwell GPU Surface Book is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - in Desktops.
  • Maxwell GPU Surface Book is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - with GCN 1.0.
  • Core clock speed of Maxwell GPU Surface Book is 29 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.
  • Maxwell GPU Surface Book and Radeon HD 7870 XT are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870 XT is 988 MHz higher, than Maxwell GPU Surface Book.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 8−9 35−40
ultra / 1080p 5−6 21−24
QHD / 1440p 0−1 16−18
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 20−22 60−65
medium / 1080p 10−12 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 272% more, than Maxwell GPU Surface Book.

Full Specs

  Maxwell GPU Surface Book Radeon HD 7870 XT
Architecture Maxwell GCN 1.0
Code name Surface Book Tahiti
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 1 October 2015 19 November 2012
Pipelines 384 1536
Core clock speed 954 MHz 925 MHz
Boost Clock 993 MHz 975 MHz
Transistor count 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 93.60
Floating-point performance 2,995 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 64 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 5012 MHz 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 192.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX DirectX 12 (FL 11_0), Shader 5.0 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
CUDA +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 346 Mh/s
Optimus +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.5 Mh/s
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