Radeon HD 7870 vs RX 560

Place in the ranking	469	407
Place by popularity	86	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	1.48	2.96
Power efficiency	8.71	4.73
Architecture	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code name	Polaris 21	Pitcairn
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	18 April 2017 (7 years ago)	5 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$99	$349

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

HD 7870 has 100% better value for money than RX 560.

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	1024	1280
Core clock speed	1175 MHz	1000 MHz
Boost clock speed	1275 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	3,000 million	2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	175 Watt
Texture fill rate	81.60	80.00
Floating-point processing power	2.611 TFLOPS	2.56 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	32
TMUs	64	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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x8	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	170 mm	241 mm
Width	2-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	2 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1750 MHz	1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth	112.0 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	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
Eyefinity	-	+
HDMI	+	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_0)	12 (11_1)
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	2.0	1.2
Vulkan	1.2.131	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.

RX 560 9.49

HD 7870 12.02
+26.7%

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.

RX 560 3650

HD 7870 4620
+26.6%

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 −29.2%	84 +29.2%
Full HD	35 −88.6%	66 +88.6%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

2.83

+86.9%

5.29
−86.9%

RX 560 has 87% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Elden Ring	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Valorant	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Dota 2	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Elden Ring	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Fortnite	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Valorant	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
World of Tanks	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Dota 2	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Far Cry 5	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Valorant	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Elden Ring	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
World of Tanks	85−90 +0%	85−90 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Metro Exodus	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Valorant	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Dota 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Elden Ring	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Dota 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Fortnite	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Valorant	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%

This is how RX 560 and HD 7870 compete in popular games:

HD 7870 is 29% faster in 900p
HD 7870 is 89% faster in 1080p

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	9.49	12.02
Recency	18 April 2017	5 March 2012
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	2 GB
Chip lithography	14 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	75 Watt	175 Watt

RX 560 has an age advantage of 5 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 133.3% lower power consumption.

HD 7870, on the other hand, has a 26.7% higher aggregate performance score.

The Radeon HD 7870 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon RX 560 in performance tests.

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