Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon HD 8970M

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon HD 8970M, 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 Radeon HD 6870 stacks up against Radeon HD 8970M, check out specs charts below.

Radeon HD 6870 Check Price

Radeon HD 8970M Check Price

Radeon HD 8970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 8970M 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 8970M here:

Radeon HD 8970M Laptops

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 6870	Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP)	151 Watt	100 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	4 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	No outputs
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon HD 6870 has 51% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 8970M.
Radeon HD 6870 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 8970M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon HD 8970M has 3 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6870.
Radeon HD 6870 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 8970M - in Laptops.
Radeon HD 6870 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 8970M - with GCN.
Radeon HD 6870 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 8970M - by 28 nm process technology.
Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 3750 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6870.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	10−12	20−22
ultra / 1080p	6−7	12−14
QHD / 1440p	1−2	6−7
4K / 2160p	−	5−6
low / 720p	24−27	35−40
medium / 1080p	12−14	24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 81% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	18−20	30−35
ultra / 1080p	14−16	27−30
QHD / 1440p	1−2	10−12
4K / 2160p	−	7−8
low / 720p	35−40	65−70
medium / 1080p	20−22	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Battlefield 5 is 94% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	180−190	230−240
medium / 768p	140−150	200−210
ultra / 1080p	75−80	110−120
QHD / 1440p	40−45	85−90
4K / 2160p	30−33	45−50
high / 768p	110−120	160−170
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 43% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	30−33	50−55
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Cyberpunk 2077 is 26% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	95−100	120−130
medium / 768p	75−80	100−110
ultra / 1080p	50−55	75−80
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Dota 2 is 36% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	12−14	24−27
ultra / 1080p	12−14	21−24
QHD / 1440p	−	18−20
4K / 2160p	5−6	7−8
low / 720p	27−30	50−55
medium / 1080p	14−16	24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Far Cry 5 is 73% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	20−22	30−35
ultra / 1080p	14−16	24−27
QHD / 1440p	−	14−16
low / 720p	80−85	120−130
medium / 1080p	35−40	70−75
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Fortnite is 61% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	18−20	30−35
ultra / 1080p	14−16	24−27
QHD / 1440p	5−6	12−14
4K / 2160p	−	12−14
low / 720p	40−45	65−70
medium / 1080p	21−24	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Forza Horizon 4 is 75% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	70−75	100−110
medium / 768p	60−65	90−95
high / 1080p	21−24	40−45
ultra / 1080p	9−10	16−18
QHD / 1440p	0−1	6−7
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Grand Theft Auto V is 56% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	7−8	12−14
ultra / 1080p	5−6	10−11
4K / 2160p	1−2	2−3
low / 720p	21−24	35−40
medium / 1080p	9−10	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Metro Exodus is 77% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	100−110	120−130
ultra / 1080p	90−95	−
medium / 1080p	100−105	110−120
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Minecraft is 16% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	18−20	−
ultra / 1080p	16−18	14−16
low / 720p	45−50	70−75
medium / 1080p	21−24	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 20% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
high / 1080p	12−14	14−16
ultra / 1080p	8−9	10−11
QHD / 1440p	0−1	1−2
4K / 2160p	−	1−2
low / 720p	20−22	35−40
medium / 1080p	12−14	20−22
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 61% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	40−45	70−75
medium / 768p	24−27	45−50
high / 1080p	14−16	24−27
ultra / 1080p	8−9	14−16
4K / 2160p	7−8	8−9
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 73% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p	95−100	90−95
medium / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	27−30	40−45
high / 768p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in World of Tanks is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6870.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 6870	Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture	Terascale 2	GCN
Code name	RV940 Barts	Neptune
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	22 October 2010	15 May 2013
Pipelines	1120	1280
Core clock speed		850 MHz
Boost Clock	900 MHz	900 MHz
Transistor count	1,700 million	2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	50.40	72.00
Floating-point performance	2,016.0 gflops	2,304 gflops
Length	220 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1050 MHz	4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth	134.4 GB/s	153.6 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-
DirectX		12 (11_1)
Shader Model	5.0	5.1
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan		1.2.131
Bus support	PCIe 2.0 x16
HDMI	+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)	213 Mh/s	273 Mh/s
Laptop size		large
Eyefinity	+
Design	reference
CrossFire	+
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon HD 8970M

Radeon HD 8970M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

Similar compares