GeForce GTX 980M vs Radeon HD 7870

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon HD 7870 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 GeForce GTX 980M will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 7870 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

GeForce GTX 980M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 980M 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 GeForce GTX 980M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon HD 7870
Power consumption (TDP) 175 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
  Check Price Check Price
  • GeForce GTX 980M has 6 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 7870 - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon HD 7870 - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 980M is 38 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870.
  • GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon HD 7870 are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870 is 2300 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 24−27
ultra / 1080p 24−27 14−16
QHD / 1440p 18−20 9−10
4K / 2160p 10−11 6−7
low / 720p 60−65 45−50
medium / 1080p 45−50 30−33
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 50% more, than Radeon HD 7870.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon HD 7870
Architecture Maxwell GCN
Code name GM204 Pitcairn XT
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 7 October 2014 5 March 2012
Pipelines 1536 1280
Core clock speed 1038 MHz 1000 MHz
Boost Clock 1127 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 2800 Million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 51.84
Floating-point performance 3,462 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 160 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) DirectX 11.1, Shader 5.1
Shader Model 6.4
OpenGL 4.5
OpenCL 1.1
Vulkan 1.1.126
CUDA +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.39 kh/s
CUDA cores 1536
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 383 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
Eyefinity +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 0.63 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 16.6 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 145 Sol/s
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
  Check Price Check Price