Radeon HD 8870M vs Radeon RX 540

When choosing between Radeon HD 8870M and Radeon RX 540, 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 8870M and Radeon RX 540.

Radeon HD 8870M and Radeon RX 540 are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: Radeon HD 8870M and Radeon RX 540 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 Radeon HD 8870M or Radeon RX 540 here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 8870M Radeon RX 540
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5, DDR3 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs
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  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon RX 540 has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 8870M.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 8870M is build with GCN architecture, and Radeon RX 540 - with Polaris.
  • Radeon HD 8870M is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 540 - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 540 is 1500 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 8870M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 7−8 14−16
ultra / 1080p 4−5 8−9
QHD / 1440p 0−1 3−4
low / 720p 18−20 30−33
medium / 1080p 9−10 18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 80% more, than Radeon HD 8870M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 8870M Radeon RX 540
Architecture GCN Polaris
Code name Venus Polaris 12
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 18 December 2012 21 March 2017
Pipelines 640 512
Core clock speed 725 MHz
Boost Clock 775 MHz 1219 MHz
Transistor count 1,500 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 31.00 39.01
Floating-point performance 992.0 gflops 1,248 gflops
Memory bus width 128 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 4500 MHz 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 72 GB/s 96 GB/s
Shared memory - -
DirectX 12 (11_1) 12.0
Shader Model 5.1 5.0
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131
FreeSync +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 107 Mh/s
Laptop size large large
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