Radeon HD 7850M vs HD 7870M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7870M and Radeon HD 7850M, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

HD 7870M
2012
2 GB GDDR5, 45 Watt
3.91
+9.8%

HD 7870M outperforms HD 7850M by a moderate 10% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking695715
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency6.216.36
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameHeathrowHeathrow
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
Release date24 April 2012 (12 years ago)24 April 2012 (12 years ago)

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 cores640640
Core clock speed800 MHz675 MHz
Number of transistors1,500 million1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt40 Watt
Texture fill rate32.0027.00
Floating-point processing power1.024 TFLOPS0.864 TFLOPS
ROPs1616
TMUs4040

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 sizelargelarge
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB2 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz1000 MHz
Memory bandwidth64 GB/s64 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 ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputs

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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 7870M 3.91
+9.8%
HD 7850M 3.56

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.

HD 7870M 1507
+9.8%
HD 7850M 1372

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 7870M 2702
+9.5%
HD 7850M 2467

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.

HD 7870M 13065
+6.6%
HD 7850M 12254

Gaming performance

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

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Battlefield 5 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+15%
20−22
−15%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
+8%
24−27
−8%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+7.1%
14−16
−7.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
+2.4%
40−45
−2.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Battlefield 5 9−10
+28.6%
7−8
−28.6%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+15%
20−22
−15%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
+8%
24−27
−8%
Metro Exodus 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+7.1%
14−16
−7.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
+2.4%
40−45
−2.4%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 9−10
+12.5%
8−9
−12.5%
Cyberpunk 2077 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+15%
20−22
−15%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 27−30
+8%
24−27
−8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
+7.1%
14−16
−7.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+6.7%
14−16
−6.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
+2.4%
40−45
−2.4%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 10−11
+11.1%
9−10
−11.1%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 7−8
+16.7%
6−7
−16.7%
Far Cry New Dawn 6−7
+20%
5−6
−20%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+100%
2−3
−100%
Hitman 3 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 24−27
+9.1%
21−24
−9.1%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 8−9
+14.3%
7−8
−14.3%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Hitman 3 0−1 0−1
Metro Exodus 0−1 0−1

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
+50%
2−3
−50%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
+100%
1−2
−100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+25%
4−5
−25%

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

  • in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 7870M is 100% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 7870M is ahead in 47 tests (75%)
  • there's a draw in 16 tests (25%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.91 3.56
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 40 Watt

HD 7870M has a 9.8% higher aggregate performance score.

HD 7850M, on the other hand, has 12.5% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 7870M and Radeon HD 7850M.


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

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AMD Radeon HD 7870M
Radeon HD 7870M
AMD Radeon HD 7850M
Radeon HD 7850M

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


2.6 13 votes

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3.2 17 votes

Rate Radeon HD 7850M on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

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