GeForce GTX 470 vs ATI Radeon HD 4870

Place in the ranking	716	514
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.27	1.28
Power efficiency	1.64	2.59
Architecture	TeraScale (2005−2013)	Fermi (2010−2014)
GPU code name	RV770	GF100
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)	26 March 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$299	$349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 470 has 374% better value for money than ATI HD 4870.

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	800	448
Core clock speed	750 MHz	607 MHz
Number of transistors	956 million	3,100 million
Manufacturing process technology	55 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	215 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	no data	105 °C
Texture fill rate	30.00	34.05
Floating-point processing power	1.2 TFLOPS	1.089 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	40
TMUs	40	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	16x PCI-E 2.0
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	250 mm	241 mm
Height	no data	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-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	1 GB	1280 MB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	320 Bit
Memory clock speed	900 MHz	1674 MHz (3348 data rate)
Memory bandwidth	115.2 GB/s	133.9 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	2x DVI, 1x S-Video	Two Dual Link DVIMini HDMI
Multi monitor support	no data	+
HDMI	-	+
Maximum VGA resolution	no data	2048x1536
Audio input for HDMI	no data	Internal

API compatibility

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

DirectX	10.1 (10_1)	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	4.1	5.1
OpenGL	3.3	4.2
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	N/A	N/A
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.

ATI HD 4870 3.56

GTX 470 8.05
+126%

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.

ATI HD 4870 1375

GTX 470 3106
+126%

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	24−27 −129%	55 +129%
Full HD	27−30 −133%	63 +133%
1200p	21−24 −152%	53 +152%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

11.07

5.54

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

12−14

+0%

12−14

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Battlefield 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Hitman 3	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Metro Exodus	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Battlefield 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Hitman 3	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Metro Exodus	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Hitman 3	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

21−24

+0%

21−24

+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Far Cry 5	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Hitman 3	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Metro Exodus	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

14−16

+0%

14−16

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Hitman 3	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Metro Exodus	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Far Cry 5	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

8−9

+0%

8−9

+0%

This is how ATI HD 4870 and GTX 470 compete in popular games:

GTX 470 is 129% faster in 900p
GTX 470 is 133% faster in 1080p
GTX 470 is 152% faster in 1200p

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.56	8.05
Recency	25 June 2008	26 March 2010
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	1280 MB
Chip lithography	55 nm	40 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	215 Watt

ATI HD 4870 has 43.3% lower power consumption.

GTX 470, on the other hand, has a 126.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, a 25% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 37.5% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 470 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 4870 in performance tests.

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