Radeon HD 6870 vs GeForce GT 1030

Place in the ranking	574	595
Place by popularity	36	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.31	0.93
Power efficiency	14.78	2.65
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)
GPU code name	GP108	Barts
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Design	no data	reference
Release date	17 May 2017 (7 years ago)	21 October 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$79	$239

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GT 1030 has 148% better value for money than HD 6870.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	384	1120
Core clock speed	1228 MHz	no data
Boost clock speed	1468 MHz	900 MHz
Number of transistors	1,800 million	1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	30 Watt	151 Watt
Texture fill rate	35.23	50.40
Floating-point processing power	1.127 TFLOPS	2.016 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	32
TMUs	24	56

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support	no data	PCIe 2.0 x16
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x4	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	145 mm	220 mm
Width	1-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	2x 6-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1502 MHz	1050 MHz
Memory bandwidth	48.06 GB/s	134.4 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	-	+
HDMI	+	+
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

CrossFire	-	+
VR Ready	+	no data

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (12_1)	DirectX® 11
Shader Model	6.4	5.0
OpenGL	4.6	4.4
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	-
CUDA	6.1	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GT 1030 6.37
+10.8%

HD 6870 5.75

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GT 1030 2456
+10.8%

HD 6870 2217

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GT 1030 4728
+12.1%

HD 6870 4218

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GT 1030 20192
+13.6%

HD 6870 17773

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GT 1030 3625
+15.4%

HD 6870 3141

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GT 1030 22069

HD 6870 26437
+19.8%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	65−70 +6.6%	61 −6.6%
Full HD	24 −158%	62 +158%
1200p	40−45 +2.6%	39 −2.6%
1440p	19 +18.8%	16−18 −18.8%
4K	9 +12.5%	8−9 −12.5%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	3.29	3.85
1440p	4.16	14.94
4K	8.78	29.88

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

15
+66.7%

9−10

−66.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18 +20%	14−16 −20%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Battlefield 5	22 +37.5%	16−18 −37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18 +50%	12−14 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	11 +22.2%	9−10 −22.2%
Far Cry 5	21 +61.5%	12−14 −61.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	27 +68.8%	16−18 −68.8%
Forza Horizon 4	93 +151%	35−40 −151%
Hitman 3	16 +33.3%	12−14 −33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	152 +322%	35−40 −322%
Metro Exodus	26 +73.3%	14−16 −73.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	31 +93.8%	16−18 −93.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	37 +85%	20−22 −85%
Watch Dogs: Legion	93 +89.8%	45−50 −89.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24 +60%	14−16 −60%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Battlefield 5	18−20 +12.5%	16−18 −12.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16 +33.3%	12−14 −33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	7 −28.6%	9−10 +28.6%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +7.7%	12−14 −7.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	20 +25%	16−18 −25%
Forza Horizon 4	84 +127%	35−40 −127%
Hitman 3	15 +25%	12−14 −25%
Horizon Zero Dawn	123 +242%	35−40 −242%
Metro Exodus	20 +33.3%	14−16 −33.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	15 −6.7%	16−18 +6.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	19 −5.3%	20−22 +5.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20−22 +5.3%	18−20 −5.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	84 +71.4%	45−50 −71.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7 −114%	14−16 +114%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 +14.3%	7−8 −14.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	5 −140%	12−14 +140%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−11 +11.1%	9−10 −11.1%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +7.7%	12−14 −7.7%
Forza Horizon 4	16 −131%	35−40 +131%
Hitman 3	12−14 +8.3%	12−14 −8.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	19 −89.5%	35−40 +89.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	16 −25%	20−22 +25%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12 −58.3%	18−20 +58.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	6 −717%	45−50 +717%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

19
+18.8%

16−18

−18.8%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 +9.1%	10−12 −9.1%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−11 +11.1%	9−10 −11.1%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6−7 +20%	5−6 −20%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	2−3 +100%	1−2 −100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	6−7 +20%	5−6 −20%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Far Cry 5	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	20−22 +25%	16−18 −25%
Hitman 3	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14 +7.7%	12−14 −7.7%
Metro Exodus	6−7 +50%	4−5 −50%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	11 +1000%	1−2 −1000%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	48 +33.3%	35−40 −33.3%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

10−12
+10%

10−11

−10%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	5−6 +25%	4−5 −25%
Far Cry New Dawn	4 +0%	4−5 +0%
Hitman 3	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Horizon Zero Dawn	16−18 +30.8%	12−14 −30.8%
Metro Exodus	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	1 −200%	3−4 +200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +50%	2−3 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	0−1	0−1
Far Cry 5	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	7 +40%	5−6 −40%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	6 +20%	5−6 −20%
Watch Dogs: Legion	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

7−8
+16.7%

6−7

−16.7%

This is how GT 1030 and HD 6870 compete in popular games:

GT 1030 is 7% faster in 900p
HD 6870 is 158% faster in 1080p
GT 1030 is 3% faster in 1200p
GT 1030 is 19% faster in 1440p
GT 1030 is 13% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GT 1030 is 1000% faster.
in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6870 is 717% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GT 1030 is ahead in 51 test (73%)
HD 6870 is ahead in 11 tests (16%)
there's a draw in 8 tests (11%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	6.37	5.75
Recency	17 May 2017	21 October 2010
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	1 GB
Chip lithography	14 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	30 Watt	151 Watt

GT 1030 has a 10.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 185.7% more advanced lithography process, and 403.3% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GT 1030 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6870 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.