Radeon HD 7870M vs Radeon R9 290X

In this comparison between Radeon HD 7870M and Radeon R9 290X 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 7870M will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 290X will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon HD 7870M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 7870M 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 HD 7870M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 7870M Radeon R9 290X
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 250 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon R9 290X has 455% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon R9 290X has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870M.
  • Radeon HD 7870M is used in Laptops, and Radeon R9 290X - in Desktops.
  • Radeon HD 7870M and Radeon R9 290X are build with GCN architecture.
  • Radeon HD 7870M and Radeon R9 290X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7870M is 2750 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 290X.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 6−7 35−40
ultra / 1080p 4−5 24−27
QHD / 1440p 0−1 18−20
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 16−18 60−65
medium / 1080p 8−9 45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 290X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 377% more, than Radeon HD 7870M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 7870M Radeon R9 290X
Architecture GCN GCN
Code name Heathrow XT Hawaii XT
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 24 April 2012 24 October 2013
Pipelines 640 2816
Core clock speed 800 MHz
Boost Clock 947 MHz
Transistor count 1,500 million 6,200 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 32.00 176.0
Floating-point performance 1,024 gflops 5,632 gflops
Length 275 mm
Memory bus width 128 Bit 512 Bit
Memory clock speed 4000 MHz 1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth 64 GB/s 320 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 6.3
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 2.0
Vulkan 1.2.131 +
Monero / XMR (CryptoNight) 0.76 kh/s
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 623 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
DisplayPort support +
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Decred / DCR (Decred) 1.07 Gh/s
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 25.75 Mh/s
Zcash / ZEC (Equihash) 350 Sol/s
AppAcceleration +
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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