Iris Graphics 540 vs Radeon HD 4870

In this comparison between Iris Graphics 540 and Radeon HD 4870 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people Iris Graphics 540 will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 4870 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Iris Graphics 540 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Iris Graphics 540 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 Iris Graphics 540 here:

Main Specs

  Iris Graphics 540 Radeon HD 4870
Power consumption (TDP) 15 Watt 150 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x1 PCIe 2.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type eDRAM GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 64 MB 1 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x S-Video
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  • Radeon HD 4870 has 900% more power consumption, than Iris Graphics 540.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is connected by PCIe 3.0 x1, and Radeon HD 4870 uses PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.
  • Iris Graphics 540 has 63 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 4870.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 4870 - in Desktops.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is build with Gen. 9 Skylake architecture, and Radeon HD 4870 - with TeraScale.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 4870 is 450 MHz higher, than Iris Graphics 540.
  • Iris Graphics 540 is manufactured by 14 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 4870 - by 55 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 8−9 3−4
ultra / 1080p 5−6 1−2
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 20−22 14−16
medium / 1080p 10−12 6−7
The average gaming FPS of Iris Graphics 540 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 83% more, than Radeon HD 4870.

Full Specs

  Iris Graphics 540 Radeon HD 4870
Architecture Gen. 9 Skylake TeraScale
Code name Skylake GT3e RV770
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 1 September 2015 25 June 2008
Pipelines 48 800
Core clock speed 300 MHz 750 MHz
Boost Clock 1050 MHz
Transistor count 189 million 956 million
Manufacturing process technology 14 nm 55 nm
Texture fill rate 50.40 30.00
Floating-point performance 1,200.0 gflops
Length 250 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 3600 MHz
Memory bandwidth 115.2 GB/s
Shared memory +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 10.1 (10_1)
Shader Model 6.4 4.1
OpenGL 4.6 3.3
OpenCL 2.1 1.1
Vulkan 1.1.97 N/A
Quick Sync +
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