Radeon HD 7870 XT vs Radeon RX 5500M

When choosing between Radeon HD 7870 XT and Radeon RX 5500M, 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 7870 XT and Radeon RX 5500M.

Radeon RX 5500M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon RX 5500M 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 RX 5500M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 7870 XT Radeon RX 5500M
Power consumption (TDP) 185 Watt 85 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 4.0 x8
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 7870 XT has 117% more power consumption, than Radeon RX 5500M.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT is connected by PCIe 3.0 x16, and Radeon RX 5500M uses PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.
  • Radeon RX 5500M has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT is used in Desktops, and Radeon RX 5500M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT is build with GCN 1.0 architecture, and Radeon RX 5500M - with Navi / RDNA.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon RX 5500M is 402 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.
  • Radeon HD 7870 XT is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 5500M - by 7 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 5500M is 8000 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7870 XT.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 21−24
ultra / 1080p 21−24 12−14
QHD / 1440p 16−18 7−8
4K / 2160p 10−11 5−6
low / 720p 60−65 40−45
medium / 1080p 40−45 24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 7870 XT in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 68% more, than Radeon RX 5500M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 7870 XT Radeon RX 5500M
Architecture GCN 1.0 Navi / RDNA
Code name Tahiti Navi 14 / R19M-E85
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 19 November 2012 29 September 2019
Pipelines 1536 1408
Core clock speed 925 MHz 1327 MHz
Boost Clock 975 MHz 1645 MHz
Transistor count 4,313 million 6,400 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 7 nm
Texture fill rate 93.60 144.8
Floating-point performance 2,995 gflops
Length 267 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 6000 MHz 14000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 192.0 GB/s 224.0 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 12 (11_1) 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 5.1 6.5
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 2.0
Vulkan 1.2.131 1.2.131
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 346 Mh/s
Laptop size medium sized
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 14.5 Mh/s
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