Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon R9 M280X
If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon R9 M280X, 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 R9 M280X, check out specs charts below.
Radeon R9 M280X is a Laptop Graphics Card
Note: Radeon R9 M280X 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 R9 M280X here:
Main Specs
Radeon HD 6870
Radeon R9 M280X
Power consumption (TDP)
151 Watt
Interface
PCIe 2.0 x16
PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors
2x 6-pin
Memory type
GDDR5
Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount
1 GB
Display Connectors
2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
No outputs
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Radeon HD 6870 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 M280X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon HD 6870 is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M280X - in Laptops.
Radeon HD 6870 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 M280X - with GCN.
Radeon HD 6870 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M280X - by 28 nm process technology.
Game benchmarks
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Battlefield 5
Call of Duty: Warzone
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Cyberpunk 2077
Dota 2
Far Cry 5
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4
Grand Theft Auto V
Metro Exodus
Minecraft
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
World of Tanks
high / 1080p
10−12
2−3
ultra / 1080p
6−7
1−2
QHD / 1440p
1−2
0−1
low / 720p
24−27
14−16
medium / 1080p
12−14
4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 180% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
18−20
7−8
ultra / 1080p
14−16
5−6
QHD / 1440p
1−2
0−1
low / 720p
35−40
18−20
medium / 1080p
20−22
7−8
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Battlefield 5 is 155% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
45−50
50−55
high / 1080p
−
30−35
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
180−190
110−120
medium / 768p
140−150
90−95
ultra / 1080p
75−80
40−45
QHD / 1440p
40−45
24−27
4K / 2160p
30−33
18−20
high / 768p
110−120
65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 65% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
55−60
70−75
ultra / 1080p
30−33
21−24
medium / 1080p
45−50
45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M280X in Cyberpunk 2077 is 4% more, than Radeon HD 6870.
low / 768p
95−100
70−75
medium / 768p
75−80
50−55
ultra / 1080p
50−55
27−30
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Dota 2 is 47% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
12−14
3−4
ultra / 1080p
12−14
3−4
4K / 2160p
5−6
2−3
low / 720p
27−30
14−16
medium / 1080p
14−16
4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Far Cry 5 is 200% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
20−22
10−12
ultra / 1080p
14−16
5−6
QHD / 1440p
−
2−3
low / 720p
80−85
50−55
medium / 1080p
35−40
14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Fortnite is 85% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
18−20
6−7
ultra / 1080p
14−16
−
QHD / 1440p
5−6
4−5
4K / 2160p
−
2−3
low / 720p
40−45
21−24
medium / 1080p
21−24
9−10
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Forza Horizon 4 is 120% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
70−75
45−50
medium / 768p
60−65
40−45
high / 1080p
21−24
7−8
ultra / 1080p
9−10
3−4
QHD / 1440p
0−1
0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Grand Theft Auto V is 64% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
7−8
2−3
ultra / 1080p
5−6
0−1
4K / 2160p
1−2
0−1
low / 720p
21−24
8−9
medium / 1080p
9−10
4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Metro Exodus is 160% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
100−110
80−85
ultra / 1080p
90−95
70−75
medium / 1080p
100−105
−
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Minecraft is 27% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
18−20
−
ultra / 1080p
16−18
12−14
low / 720p
45−50
27−30
medium / 1080p
21−24
14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 61% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
high / 1080p
12−14
−
ultra / 1080p
8−9
6−7
QHD / 1440p
0−1
−
low / 720p
20−22
8−9
medium / 1080p
12−14
7−8
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 100% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
40−45
16−18
medium / 768p
24−27
10−12
high / 1080p
14−16
6−7
ultra / 1080p
8−9
4−5
4K / 2160p
7−8
2−3
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 137% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
low / 768p
95−100
70−75
medium / 768p
55−60
35−40
ultra / 1080p
27−30
16−18
high / 768p
45−50
30−35
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6870 in World of Tanks is 46% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.
Full Specs
Radeon HD 6870
Radeon R9 M280X
Architecture
Terascale 2
GCN
Code name
RV940 Barts
Saturn XT
Type
Desktop
Laptop
Release date
22 October 2010
1 February 2015
Pipelines
1120
896
Core clock speed
900 MHz
Boost Clock
900 MHz
Transistor count
1,700 million
2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology
40 nm
28 nm
Texture fill rate
50.40
61.60
Floating-point performance
2,016.0 gflops
1,792 gflops
Length
220 mm
Memory bus width
256 Bit
Memory clock speed
1050 MHz
Memory bandwidth
134.4 GB/s
96 GB/s
Shared memory
-
-
Shader Model
5.0
6.3
OpenGL
4.4
4.4
OpenCL
1.2
Not Listed
FreeSync
+
Bus support
PCIe 2.0 x16
Not Listed
HDMI
+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)
213 Mh/s
Laptop size
large
Eyefinity
+
HD3D
+
PowerTune
+
DualGraphics
+
ZeroCore
+
Switchable graphics
+
Mantle
+
Design
reference
CrossFire
+
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