Radeon HD 7870 vs Radeon RX 480 mobile

When choosing between Radeon HD 7870 and Radeon RX 480 mobile, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between Radeon HD 7870 and Radeon RX 480 mobile.

Radeon RX 480 mobile is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon RX 480 mobile 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 480 mobile here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 7870 Radeon RX 480 mobile
Power consumption (TDP) 175 Watt 100 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0)
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 8 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
  Check Price Check Price
  • Radeon HD 7870 has 75% more power consumption, than Radeon RX 480 mobile.
  • Radeon RX 480 mobile has 6 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870.
  • Radeon HD 7870 is used in Desktops, and Radeon RX 480 mobile - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 7870 is build with GCN architecture, and Radeon RX 480 mobile - with Polaris.
  • Radeon HD 7870 is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 480 mobile - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 480 mobile is 3200 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 24−27 12−14
ultra / 1080p 14−16 7−8
QHD / 1440p 9−10 0−1
4K / 2160p 6−7
low / 720p 45−50 27−30
medium / 1080p 30−33 14−16
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 81% more, than Radeon RX 480 mobile.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 7870 Radeon RX 480 mobile
Architecture GCN Polaris
Code name Pitcairn XT Polaris
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 5 March 2012 1 August 2016
Pipelines 1280 2304
Core clock speed 1000 MHz
Boost Clock 1077 MHz
Transistor count 2800 Million 5,700 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 155.1
Floating-point performance 4,963 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz 8000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 256.0 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX DirectX 11.1, Shader 5.1 12 (12_0)
Shader Model 6.4
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 2.0
Vulkan 1.2.131
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.39 kh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 0.63 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 16.6 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 145 Sol/s
  Check Price Check Price