Radeon HD 7870 XT vs Radeon R9 M280X

Find out if it is worth upgrading your current GPU setup by comparing Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon R9 M280X. Here you can take a closer look at graphics cards specs, such as core clock speed, memory type and size, display connectors, etc. The price, overall benchmark and gaming performances are usually defining factors when it comes to choosing between Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon R9 M280X. Make sure that the graphics card has compatible dimensions and will properly fit in your new or current computer case. Also these graphics cards may have different system power recommendations, so take that into consideration and upgrade your PSU if necessary.

Radeon R9 M280X is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R9 M280X 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 R9 M280X here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 7870 XT Radeon R9 M280X
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 Not Listed
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M280X - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT is build with GCN 1.0 architecture, and Radeon R9 M280X - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 7870 XT is 25 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 M280X.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon R9 M280X are manufactured by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 2−3
ultra / 1080p 21−24 1−2
QHD / 1440p 16−18 0−1
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 14−16
medium / 1080p 40−45 4−5
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 720% more, than Radeon R9 M280X.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 7870 XT Radeon R9 M280X
Architecture GCN 1.0 GCN
Code name Tahiti Saturn XT
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 19 November 2012 1 February 2015
Pipelines 1536 896
Core clock speed 925 MHz 900 MHz
Boost Clock 975 MHz
Transistor count 4,313 million 2,080 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 93.60 61.60
Floating-point performance 2,995 gflops 1,792 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 192.0 GB/s 96 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.1 6.3
OpenGL 4.6 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan 1.2.131
FreeSync +
Bus support Not Listed
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 346 Mh/s
Laptop size large
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.5 Mh/s
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