GeForce GTX 280M SLI vs Radeon HD 7870M

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 280M SLI and Radeon HD 7870M 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 280M SLI will be the best choice, for others Radeon HD 7870M will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

GeForce GTX 280M SLI and Radeon HD 7870M are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 280M SLI and Radeon HD 7870M are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 280M SLI or Radeon HD 7870M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 280M SLI Radeon HD 7870M
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 45 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Memory type GDDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
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  • GeForce GTX 280M SLI has 233% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • GeForce GTX 280M SLI and Radeon HD 7870M have maximum RAM of 2 GB.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 280M SLI is build with G9x architecture, and Radeon HD 7870M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 215 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 280M SLI.
  • GeForce GTX 280M SLI is manufactured by 55 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7870M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 3050 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 280M SLI.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 12−14 6−7
ultra / 1080p 7−8 4−5
QHD / 1440p 2−3 0−1
low / 720p 24−27 16−18
medium / 1080p 14−16 8−9
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 280M SLI in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 66% more, than Radeon HD 7870M.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 280M SLI Radeon HD 7870M
Architecture G9x GCN
Code name N10E-GTX Heathrow XT
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 2 March 2009 24 April 2012
Pipelines 256 640
Core clock speed 585 MHz 800 MHz
Transistor count 1508 Million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 55 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 32.00
Floating-point performance 1,024 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 950 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 64 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX DirectX 10, Shader 4.0 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1
OpenGL 4.6
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
CUDA +
Laptop size large large
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