Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870 vs HD 7870

Place in the ranking	403	372
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.91	no data
Power efficiency	4.75	14.83
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	Vega (2017−2020)
GPU code name	Pitcairn	Vega Kaby Lake-G
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	5 March 2012 (12 years ago)	7 January 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$349	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	1280	1280
Core clock speed	1000 MHz	931 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1011 MHz
Number of transistors	2,800 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	65 Watt
Texture fill rate	80.00	no data
Floating-point processing power	2.56 TFLOPS	no data
ROPs	32	no data
TMUs	80	no data

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).

Laptop size	no data	medium sized
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	no data
Length	241 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	no data

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	HBM2
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	256 Bit	no data
Memory clock speed	1200 MHz	no data
Memory bandwidth	153.6 GB/s	no data
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 mini-DisplayPort	no data
Eyefinity	+	-
HDMI	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_1)	12_1
Shader Model	5.1	no data
OpenGL	4.6	no data
OpenCL	1.2	no data
Vulkan	1.2.131	-

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.

HD 7870 12.02

RX Vega M GL / 870 13.93
+15.9%

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.

HD 7870 6194

RX Vega M GL / 870 9862
+59.2%

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	84 −13.1%	95−100 +13.1%
Full HD	68 +65.9%	41 −65.9%
1440p	24−27 −16.7%	28 +16.7%
4K	10−12 −30%	13 +30%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	5.13	no data
1440p	14.54	no data
4K	34.90	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

18−20

−15.8%

21−24
+15.8%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −67.9%	47 +67.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 −21.1%	21−24 +21.1%
Battlefield 5	35−40 −21.1%	45−50 +21.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 −37.5%	33 +37.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −15.8%	21−24 +15.8%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −17.9%	30−35 +17.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 −18.2%	35−40 +18.2%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −16.3%	90−95 +16.3%
Hitman 3	21−24 −17.4%	27−30 +17.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65 −14.1%	70−75 +14.1%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −32.5%	53 +32.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −45.5%	48 +45.5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −17.9%	45−50 +17.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 −10.1%	75−80 +10.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −17.9%	30−35 +17.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 −21.1%	21−24 +21.1%
Battlefield 5	35−40 −21.1%	45−50 +21.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 −25%	30 +25%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −15.8%	21−24 +15.8%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −17.9%	30−35 +17.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 −18.2%	35−40 +18.2%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −16.3%	90−95 +16.3%
Hitman 3	21−24 −17.4%	27−30 +17.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65 −14.1%	70−75 +14.1%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −2.5%	41 +2.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −12.1%	37 +12.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −17.9%	45−50 +17.9%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−33 −13.3%	30−35 +13.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 −10.1%	75−80 +10.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 +21.7%	23 −21.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 −21.1%	21−24 +21.1%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 +20%	20 −20%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −15.8%	21−24 +15.8%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −17.9%	30−35 +17.9%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −16.3%	90−95 +16.3%
Hitman 3	21−24 −17.4%	27−30 +17.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65 −14.1%	70−75 +14.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −17.9%	45−50 +17.9%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20 −20%	24 +20%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 −10.1%	75−80 +10.1%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−35
+3.1%

−3.1%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	21−24 −21.7%	27−30 +21.7%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 −22.2%	21−24 +22.2%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 −41.7%	17 +41.7%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 −37.5%	10−12 +37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	12−14 +8.3%	12 −8.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 −16.7%	7−8 +16.7%
Far Cry 5	14−16 −14.3%	16−18 +14.3%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 −25.9%	70−75 +25.9%
Hitman 3	14−16 −13.3%	16−18 +13.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	24−27 −16%	27−30 +16%
Metro Exodus	18−20 −42.1%	27 +42.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	18−20 −31.6%	24−27 +31.6%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 −25%	14−16 +25%
Watch Dogs: Legion	75−80 −17.3%	85−90 +17.3%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

20−22

−5%

21
+5%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	9−10 −11.1%	10−11 +11.1%
Hitman 3	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 −26.8%	70−75 +26.8%
Metro Exodus	10−12 −36.4%	15 +36.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 −40%	14 +40%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 −57.1%	11 +57.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 −40%	7−8 +40%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	6−7 +50%	4 −50%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Far Cry 5	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −18.8%	18−20 +18.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−11 −30%	12−14 +30%
Watch Dogs: Legion	5−6 −20%	6−7 +20%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

10−12
+10%

−10%

This is how HD 7870 and RX Vega M GL / 870 compete in popular games:

RX Vega M GL / 870 is 13% faster in 900p
HD 7870 is 66% faster in 1080p
RX Vega M GL / 870 is 17% faster in 1440p
RX Vega M GL / 870 is 30% faster in 4K

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

in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7870 is 50% faster.
in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the RX Vega M GL / 870 is 68% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

HD 7870 is ahead in 6 tests (8%)
RX Vega M GL / 870 is ahead in 65 tests (90%)
there's a draw in 1 test (1%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	12.02	13.93
Recency	5 March 2012	7 January 2018
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	175 Watt	65 Watt

RX Vega M GL / 870 has a 15.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 169.2% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7870 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 7870 is a desktop card while Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870 is a notebook one.

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