Radeon HD 7870 vs GeForce GTX 1070

Place in the ranking	145	406
Place by popularity	28	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	23.55	3.00
Power efficiency	16.04	4.71
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code name	GP104	Pitcairn
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	10 June 2016 (8 years ago)	5 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$379	$349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 1070 has 685% better value for money than HD 7870.

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	1920	1280
Core clock speed	1506 MHz	1000 MHz
Boost clock speed	1683 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	7,200 million	2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	175 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	94 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	202.0	80.00
Floating-point processing power	6.463 TFLOPS	2.56 TFLOPS
ROPs	64	32
TMUs	120	80

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	PCIe 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	267 mm	241 mm
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)	500 Watt	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-pin	2x 6-pin
SLI options	+	-

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	8 GB	2 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	8 GB/s	1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth	256 GB/s	153.6 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	DP 1.42, HDMI 2.0b, Dual Link-DVI	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Multi monitor support	+	no data
Eyefinity	-	+
HDMI	+	+
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

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

GPU Boost	3.0	no data
VR Ready	+	no data
Ansel	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (11_1)
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.5	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	+	1.2.131
CUDA	+	-

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.

GTX 1070 35.07
+192%

HD 7870 12.01

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.

GTX 1070 13508
+192%

HD 7870 4627

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.

GTX 1070 24652
+298%

HD 7870 6194

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.

GTX 1070 50995
+139%

HD 7870 21348

Unigine Heaven 4.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark, a newer version of Unigine 3.0 with relatively small differences. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. The benchmark is still sometimes used, despite its significant age, as it was released back in 2013.

GTX 1070 2815
+272%

HD 7870 756

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	240−250 +186%	84 −186%
Full HD	116 +68.1%	69 −68.1%
1440p	68 +224%	21−24 −224%
4K	47 +194%	16−18 −194%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	3.27	5.06
1440p	5.57	16.62
4K	8.06	21.81

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

60−65
+216%

18−20

−216%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	89 +218%	27−30 −218%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	60−65 +216%	18−20 −216%
Battlefield 5	164 +332%	35−40 −332%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	91 +279%	24−27 −279%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 +216%	18−20 −216%
Far Cry 5	109 +289%	27−30 −289%
Far Cry New Dawn	110 +233%	30−35 −233%
Forza Horizon 4	284 +255%	80−85 −255%
Hitman 3	70−75 +222%	21−24 −222%
Horizon Zero Dawn	150−160 +134%	60−65 −134%
Metro Exodus	127 +218%	40−45 −218%
Red Dead Redemption 2	115 +248%	30−35 −248%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	176 +351%	35−40 −351%
Watch Dogs: Legion	120−130 +76.8%	65−70 −76.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	121 +332%	27−30 −332%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	60−65 +216%	18−20 −216%
Battlefield 5	152 +300%	35−40 −300%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	82 +242%	24−27 −242%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 +216%	18−20 −216%
Far Cry 5	88 +214%	27−30 −214%
Far Cry New Dawn	86 +161%	30−35 −161%
Forza Horizon 4	261 +226%	80−85 −226%
Hitman 3	70−75 +222%	21−24 −222%
Horizon Zero Dawn	150−160 +134%	60−65 −134%
Metro Exodus	112 +180%	40−45 −180%
Red Dead Redemption 2	94 +185%	30−35 −185%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	120−130 +221%	35−40 −221%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	70−75 +143%	30−33 −143%
Watch Dogs: Legion	120−130 +76.8%	65−70 −76.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55 +96.4%	27−30 −96.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	60−65 +216%	18−20 −216%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	61 +154%	24−27 −154%
Cyberpunk 2077	60−65 +216%	18−20 −216%
Far Cry 5	66 +136%	27−30 −136%
Forza Horizon 4	94 +17.5%	80−85 −17.5%
Hitman 3	70−75 +222%	21−24 −222%
Horizon Zero Dawn	150−160 +134%	60−65 −134%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	120−130 +221%	35−40 −221%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	63 +215%	20 −215%
Watch Dogs: Legion	120−130 +76.8%	65−70 −76.8%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

93
+182%

30−35

−182%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	71 +209%	21−24 −209%
Far Cry New Dawn	58 +222%	18−20 −222%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	45 +275%	12−14 −275%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	35−40 +375%	8−9 −375%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	43 +231%	12−14 −231%
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27 +333%	6−7 −333%
Far Cry 5	47 +236%	14−16 −236%
Forza Horizon 4	248 +328%	55−60 −328%
Hitman 3	40−45 +193%	14−16 −193%
Horizon Zero Dawn	75−80 +200%	24−27 −200%
Metro Exodus	71 +274%	18−20 −274%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	80−85 +337%	18−20 −337%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 +308%	12−14 −308%
Watch Dogs: Legion	170−180 +139%	75−80 −139%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

69
+245%

20−22

−245%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	50 +355%	10−12 −355%
Far Cry New Dawn	30 +233%	9−10 −233%
Hitman 3	27−30 +250%	8−9 −250%
Horizon Zero Dawn	160−170 +200%	55−60 −200%
Metro Exodus	38 +245%	10−12 −245%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	43 +330%	10−11 −330%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	26 +271%	7−8 −271%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	21−24 +320%	5−6 −320%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24 +300%	6−7 −300%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +450%	2−3 −450%
Far Cry 5	23 +283%	6−7 −283%
Forza Horizon 4	52 +225%	16−18 −225%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +370%	10−11 −370%
Watch Dogs: Legion	16−18 +240%	5−6 −240%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

34
+209%

10−12

−209%

This is how GTX 1070 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

GTX 1070 is 186% faster in 900p
GTX 1070 is 68% faster in 1080p
GTX 1070 is 224% faster in 1440p
GTX 1070 is 194% faster in 4K

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

in Cyberpunk 2077, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 1070 is 450% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, GTX 1070 surpassed HD 7870 in all 72 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	35.07	12.01
Recency	10 June 2016	5 March 2012
Maximum RAM amount	8 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	175 Watt

GTX 1070 has a 192% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 75% more advanced lithography process, and 16.7% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1070 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.

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