Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon RX 540

In this comparison between Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon RX 540 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 5870 will be the best choice, for others Radeon RX 540 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon HD 5870 Check Price

Radeon RX 540 Check Price

Radeon RX 540 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon RX 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 Radeon RX 540 here:

Radeon RX 540 Laptops

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon RX 540
Power consumption (TDP)	188 Watt	65 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon HD 5870 has 189% more power consumption, than Radeon RX 540.
Radeon HD 5870 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon RX 540 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon RX 540 has 3 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 5870.
Radeon HD 5870 is used in Desktops, and Radeon RX 540 - in Laptops.
Radeon HD 5870 is build with TeraScale 2 architecture, and Radeon RX 540 - with Polaris.
Radeon HD 5870 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 540 - by 14 nm process technology.
Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 540 is 1200 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 5870.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	10−12	14−16
ultra / 1080p	6−7	8−9
QHD / 1440p	1−2	3−4
low / 720p	24−27	30−33
medium / 1080p	14−16	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 36% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	18−20	21−24
ultra / 1080p	16−18	20−22
QHD / 1440p	1−2	6−7
4K / 2160p	−	5−6
low / 720p	35−40	45−50
medium / 1080p	20−22	24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Battlefield 5 is 26% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	45−50	45−50
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon RX 540 have the same average FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone.
low / 768p	180−190	200−210
medium / 768p	150−160	170−180
ultra / 1080p	75−80	90−95
QHD / 1440p	45−50	50−55
4K / 2160p	30−33	30−33
high / 768p	110−120	130−140
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 13% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	55−60	55−60
ultra / 1080p	30−35	35−40
medium / 1080p	45−50	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 4% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	95−100	100−110
medium / 768p	80−85	90−95
ultra / 1080p	50−55	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Dota 2 is 11% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	12−14	16−18
ultra / 1080p	12−14	14−16
4K / 2160p	5−6	6−7
low / 720p	30−33	35−40
medium / 1080p	14−16	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Far Cry 5 is 26% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	20−22	24−27
ultra / 1080p	14−16	18−20
QHD / 1440p	−	16−18
low / 720p	80−85	95−100
medium / 1080p	35−40	50−55
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Fortnite is 23% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	18−20	24−27
ultra / 1080p	16−18	18−20
QHD / 1440p	5−6	8−9
low / 720p	40−45	50−55
medium / 1080p	21−24	27−30
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Forza Horizon 4 is 23% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	70−75	80−85
medium / 768p	60−65	70−75
high / 1080p	21−24	27−30
ultra / 1080p	9−10	12−14
QHD / 1440p	0−1	2−3
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Grand Theft Auto V is 19% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	7−8	9−10
ultra / 1080p	5−6	7−8
4K / 2160p	1−2	2−3
low / 720p	21−24	27−30
medium / 1080p	10−11	12−14
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Metro Exodus is 33% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	100−110	110−120
ultra / 1080p	95−100	100−110
medium / 1080p	100−110	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Minecraft is 5% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	20−22	21−24
ultra / 1080p	16−18	16−18
low / 720p	45−50	55−60
medium / 1080p	21−24	24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 11% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
high / 1080p	12−14	14−16
ultra / 1080p	8−9	9−10
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
low / 720p	21−24	27−30
medium / 1080p	14−16	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 21% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	40−45	50−55
medium / 768p	24−27	30−35
high / 1080p	14−16	18−20
ultra / 1080p	9−10	10−11
4K / 2160p	7−8	8−9
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 20% more, than Radeon HD 5870.
low / 768p	95−100	100−105
medium / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	27−30	30−35
high / 768p	45−50	50−55
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in World of Tanks is 8% more, than Radeon HD 5870.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon RX 540
Architecture	TeraScale 2	Polaris
Code name	Cypress	Polaris 12
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	23 September 2009	21 March 2017
Pipelines	1600	512
Core clock speed	850 MHz
Boost Clock		1219 MHz
Transistor count	2,154 million	1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	14 nm
Texture fill rate	68.00	39.01
Floating-point performance	2,720.0 gflops	1,248 gflops
Length	282 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	4800 MHz	6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	153.6 GB/s	96 GB/s
Shared memory		-
DirectX	11.2 (11_0)	12.0
Shader Model	5.0	5.0
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	N/A
FreeSync		+
Laptop size		large
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Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon RX 540

Radeon RX 540 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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