Radeon HD 4870 X2 vs Radeon HD 7870M

In this comparison between Radeon HD 4870 X2 and Radeon HD 7870M 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 Radeon HD 4870 X2 will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 7870M will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

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

  Radeon HD 4870 X2 Radeon HD 7870M
Power consumption (TDP) 286 Watt 45 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x S-Video No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 4870 X2 has 535% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • Radeon HD 4870 X2 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7870M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon HD 7870M has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 4870 X2.
  • Radeon HD 4870 X2 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7870M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 4870 X2 is build with TeraScale architecture, and Radeon HD 7870M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 100 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 4870 X2.
  • Radeon HD 4870 X2 is manufactured by 55 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 400 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 4870 X2.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 3−4 6−7
ultra / 1080p 1−2 4−5
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 14−16 16−18
medium / 1080p 6−7 8−9
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 50% more, than Radeon HD 4870 X2.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 4870 X2 Radeon HD 7870M
Architecture TeraScale GCN
Code name R700 Heathrow XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 12 August 2008 24 April 2012
Pipelines 800 640
Core clock speed 700 MHz 800 MHz
Transistor count 956 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 55 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 28.00 32.00
Floating-point performance 2x 1,120.0 gflops 1,024 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 3600 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 115.2 GB/s 64 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 10.1 (10_1) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 4.1 5.1
OpenGL 3.3 4.6
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
Laptop size large
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