Radeon HD 6950 vs Radeon HD 7870 XT

In this comparison between Radeon HD 6950 and Radeon HD 7870 XT 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 6950 will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 7870 XT will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon HD 6950 Check Price

Radeon HD 7870 XT

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 6950	Radeon HD 7870 XT
Power consumption (TDP)	500 Watt	185 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	2x 6-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	2 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
	Check Price

Radeon HD 6950 has 170% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.
Radeon HD 6950 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7870 XT uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon HD 6950 and Radeon HD 7870 XT have maximum RAM of 2 GB.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
Radeon HD 6950 is build with TeraScale 3 architecture, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - with GCN 1.0.
Radeon HD 6950 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870 XT - by 28 nm process technology.
Both graphics cards are the same length of 267 mm.
Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870 XT is 4750 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6950.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	14−16	35−40
ultra / 1080p	8−9	21−24
QHD / 1440p	3−4	16−18
4K / 2160p	−	10−11
low / 720p	27−30	60−65
medium / 1080p	16−18	40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 157% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	21−24	55−60
ultra / 1080p	18−20	45−50
QHD / 1440p	5−6	35−40
4K / 2160p	5−6	18−20
low / 720p	45−50	100−110
medium / 1080p	24−27	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Battlefield 5 is 170% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	200−210	250−260
medium / 768p	170−180	220−230
ultra / 1080p	90−95	180−190
QHD / 1440p	50−55	110−120
4K / 2160p	30−33	70−75
high / 768p	130−140	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 53% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	35−40	−
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Cyberpunk 2077 is 15% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	100−110	120−130
medium / 768p	90−95	110−120
ultra / 1080p	60−65	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Dota 2 is 33% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	16−18	45−50
ultra / 1080p	14−16	40−45
QHD / 1440p	−	27−30
4K / 2160p	6−7	14−16
low / 720p	35−40	80−85
medium / 1080p	18−20	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Far Cry 5 is 147% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	21−24	60−65
ultra / 1080p	18−20	45−50
QHD / 1440p	16−18	27−30
4K / 2160p	−	27−30
low / 720p	90−95	180−190
medium / 1080p	45−50	110−120
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Fortnite is 123% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	24−27	60−65
ultra / 1080p	18−20	45−50
QHD / 1440p	8−9	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	24−27
low / 720p	45−50	100−110
medium / 1080p	27−30	65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Forza Horizon 4 is 152% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	80−85	140−150
medium / 768p	70−75	120−130
high / 1080p	27−30	70−75
ultra / 1080p	10−12	30−35
QHD / 1440p	2−3	21−24
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Grand Theft Auto V is 102% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	9−10	24−27
ultra / 1080p	7−8	20−22
QHD / 1440p	−	16−18
4K / 2160p	2−3	8−9
low / 720p	27−30	65−70
medium / 1080p	12−14	30−35
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Metro Exodus is 158% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	110−120	130−140
ultra / 1080p	100−110	−
medium / 1080p	100−110	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Minecraft is 18% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	21−24	−
ultra / 1080p	16−18	14−16
low / 720p	50−55	100−110
medium / 1080p	21−24	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 53% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
high / 1080p	14−16	24−27
ultra / 1080p	9−10	16−18
QHD / 1440p	0−1	10−11
4K / 2160p	−	7−8
low / 720p	24−27	65−70
medium / 1080p	14−16	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 125% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	50−55	130−140
medium / 768p	30−35	85−90
high / 1080p	16−18	45−50
ultra / 1080p	10−11	24−27
4K / 2160p	8−9	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 158% more, than Radeon HD 6950.
low / 768p	100−105	90−95
medium / 768p	60−65	60−65
ultra / 1080p	30−35	50−55
high / 768p	50−55	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in World of Tanks is 8% more, than Radeon HD 6950.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 6950	Radeon HD 7870 XT
Architecture	TeraScale 3	GCN 1.0
Code name	Cayman	Tahiti
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	14 December 2010	19 November 2012
Pipelines	1408	1536
Core clock speed		925 MHz
Boost Clock	800 MHz	975 MHz
Transistor count	2,640 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	70.40	93.60
Floating-point performance	2,252.8 gflops	2,995 gflops
Length	267 mm	267 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1250 MHz	6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth		192.0 GB/s
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)	244 Mh/s	346 Mh/s
Eyefinity	+
Design	reference
CrossFire	+
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)		14.5 Mh/s
	Check Price

Radeon HD 6950 vs Radeon HD 7870 XT

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

Similar compares