Radeon HD 6870 vs Radeon R9 M390X

When choosing between Radeon HD 6870 and Radeon R9 M390X, 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 6870 and Radeon R9 M390X.

Radeon R9 M390X is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon R9 M390X 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 M390X here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 6870 Radeon R9 M390X
Power consumption (TDP) 151 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 6870 has 51% more power consumption, than Radeon R9 M390X.
  • Radeon HD 6870 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 M390X uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon R9 M390X has 3 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6870.
  • Radeon HD 6870 is used in Desktops, and Radeon R9 M390X - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 6870 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 M390X - with GCN 3.
  • Radeon HD 6870 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 M390X - by 28 nm process technology.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 10−12 21−24
ultra / 1080p 6−7 12−14
QHD / 1440p 1−2 8−9
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 24−27 40−45
medium / 1080p 12−14 27−30
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 M390X in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 109% more, than Radeon HD 6870.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6870 Radeon R9 M390X
Architecture Terascale 2 GCN 3
Code name RV940 Barts Amethyst (XT) / Tonga
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 22 October 2010 9 June 2015
Pipelines 1120 2048
Core clock speed 723 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 1,700 million 5,000 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 50.40 92.54
Floating-point performance 2,016.0 gflops 2,961 gflops
Length 220 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 1050 MHz
Memory bandwidth 134.4 GB/s 160.0 GB/s
Shared memory - -
Shader Model 5.0 6.3
OpenGL 4.4 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 Not Listed
Vulkan +
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 213 Mh/s
Laptop size large
Eyefinity + +
HD3D +
PowerTune +
DualGraphics +
ZeroCore +
Switchable graphics +
Mantle +
Design reference
CrossFire +
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