AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA GeForce 945M Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 8870M and NVIDIA GeForce 945M are two end-of-life mobile graphics solutions that, despite their age, still appear in benchmark databases. The data shows a clear, albeit narrow, winner in raw compute performance. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M edges out the NVIDIA GeForce 945M based on the sole benchmark provided, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 8462 against 8099. This represents a 4.5% performance advantage for the AMD part, placing it in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, while the NVIDIA chip sits just behind in the 42nd percentile. This slim margin means that in most practical scenarios, the two would feel nearly interchangeable, but the numbers give the edge to AMD.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available in the data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance. In this single head-to-head matchup, the AMD Radeon HD 8870M wins decisively, though not by a landslide. The scores are 8462 for the AMD part versus 8099 for the NVIDIA GeForce 945M, yielding a delta of 4.5%. This indicates that for compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL-accelerated content creation or certain scientific workloads, the AMD solution is the faster option.

To contextualize this performance, look at the nearest rivals for each card. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce MX330, which scores 8458, a mere 0.1% behind. This suggests that the HD 8870M is essentially performance-equivalent to a much newer entry-level discrete GPU. The AMD part also sits 0.3% ahead of the integrated AMD Radeon 880M and 0.4% ahead of the older NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX. However, it trails the Intel Arc A380 by 1.1%, showing that it is not competitive with even lower-end modern dedicated cards.

On the other side, the NVIDIA GeForce 945M finds itself in a tight pack of rivals. Its closest competitor is the NVIDIA GRID K2, which scores 8080, a 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon R9 M360 is 0.4% ahead, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M is also 0.4% ahead, scoring 8135. The GeForce 945M does manage to edge out the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost by 0.4%, with that card scoring 8067. This clustering shows that the 945M is firmly in the mid-range of older mobile GPUs, but it is clearly at the bottom of that pack.

The data points to a simple conclusion: the AMD Radeon HD 8870M is the faster card in raw compute. The 4.5% delta is consistent across the percentile rankings, and the rival comparisons reinforce that the AMD card performs like a slightly faster version of the 945M. There are no other benchmark tests to analyze, so this single data point must carry the weight of the comparison.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is significant, reflecting different design philosophies from their respective manufacturers. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M is built on the Graphics Core Next 1.0 (GCN 1.0) architecture, utilizing the Venus chip. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce 945M employs the Maxwell architecture, built around the GM107 chip. Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the transistor counts and die sizes differ. The AMD chip houses 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, while the NVIDIA chip packs 1,870 million transistors onto a larger 148 mm² die. This results in a slightly higher transistor density for NVIDIA at 12.6M per mm² compared to AMD’s 12.2M per mm².

Memory configuration is a major point of divergence. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 72.00 GB/s. The memory clock is rated at 1125 MHz, which translates to 4.5 Gbps effective. The NVIDIA GeForce 945M, on the other hand, uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on the same 128-bit bus, but this results in a significantly lower bandwidth of just 28.80 GB/s. Its memory clock is 900 MHz, or 1800 Mbps effective. This is a massive difference; the AMD card has 2.5 times the memory bandwidth of the NVIDIA card. This disparity is likely to impact performance in texture-heavy or high-resolution workloads, even if the raw compute scores are close.

The compute configurations are identical in terms of core counts. Both the AMD and NVIDIA cards feature 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster operation pipelines (ROPs). However, the clock speeds differ substantially. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M operates at a base clock of 725 MHz with a boost clock of 775 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce 945M runs much faster, with a base clock of 928 MHz and a boost clock of 1020 MHz. Despite this clock speed advantage, the NVIDIA card produces lower fill rates in this data. The AMD card achieves a pixel rate of 12.40 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 31.00 GTexel/s, while the NVIDIA card achieves 16.32 GPixel/s and 40.80 GTexel/s, respectively. Wait, the data shows the NVIDIA card has higher fill rates, which contradicts the clock speed comparison. The NVIDIA card’s higher clocks do push its fill rates ahead. In terms of raw floating-point performance (FP32), the NVIDIA GeForce 945M wins with 1,305.6 GFLOPS versus the AMD card’s 992.0 GFLOPS.

API support also differs. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA GeForce 945M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and the data shows a Vulkan version of 1.4. The bus interface is another point of difference: the AMD card uses a standard PCIe 3.0 x16 connection, while the NVIDIA card is designed for an MXM-B (3.0) module slot. The NVIDIA card also has a listed TDP of 75 W, while the AMD card’s TDP is not provided. The NVIDIA card is described as an MXM Module with no power connectors, and its display outputs are listed as portable device dependent.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon HD 8870M wins in general compute performance. The 4.5% lead in Geekbench OpenCL suggests that applications leveraging OpenCL for tasks like video encoding, image processing, or physics simulations will run slightly faster on the AMD card. Its substantial memory bandwidth advantage, at 72.00 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s, also points to a win in scenarios that are heavily bandwidth-limited. This could include gaming at higher resolutions with larger textures, where the NVIDIA card’s DDR3 memory could become a bottleneck.

The NVIDIA GeForce 945M, despite losing the overall compute benchmark, has its own strengths based on the architecture data. Its higher FP32 throughput of 1,305.6 GFLOPS, compared to the AMD card’s 992.0 GFLOPS, suggests that in raw shader math, it is the more capable processor. This could translate to better performance in games that are not bandwidth-limited but rather compute-limited. The NVIDIA card also shows higher pixel and texture fill rates, at 16.32 GPixel/s and 40.80 GTexel/s versus AMD’s 12.40 GPixel/s and 31.00 GTexel/s. This means it can fill the screen with pixels and apply textures faster, which is beneficial for standard rasterization workloads at lower resolutions where bandwidth is less of an issue.

The NVIDIA card also has a lower TDP of 75 W, whereas the AMD card’s TDP is not listed. This indicates that the NVIDIA card is designed with power efficiency in mind, which is a crucial factor for laptops. For a user upgrading an older laptop, the GeForce 945M might be the safer choice for thermals and battery life. The AMD card, with its older GCN architecture, is likely to consume more power, though the data does not provide a specific number to confirm this. The NVIDIA card’s support for a newer Vulkan version (1.4) could also be a point in its favor for compatibility with the latest games that require newer API features.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M is faster, scoring 8462 compared to the NVIDIA GeForce 945M’s 8099. This gives the AMD card a 4.5% performance lead.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does each card have?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M has a bandwidth of 72.00 GB/s using GDDR5 memory. The NVIDIA GeForce 945M has a bandwidth of 28.80 GB/s using DDR3 memory.

Q: What are the core clock speeds of these two GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M has a base clock of 725 MHz and a boost clock of 775 MHz. The NVIDIA GeForce 945M has a base clock of 928 MHz and a boost clock of 1020 MHz.

Q: Do these GPUs have the same number of shading units?

A: Yes, both the AMD Radeon HD 8870M and the NVIDIA GeForce 945M have 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs.

Q: Which GPU has a higher raw floating-point performance?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce 945M has a higher FP32 performance at 1,305.6 GFLOPS. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M achieves 992.0 GFLOPS.

Q: What is the process node for both chips?

A: Both the AMD Radeon HD 8870M and the NVIDIA GeForce 945M are manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC.

Specification Differences

The following table highlights the key specification differences between the two GPUs, based only on the data provided.

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8870M | NVIDIA GeForce 945M |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Chip | Venus | GM107 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 1,870 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 148 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 725 MHz | 928 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 775 MHz | 1020 MHz |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bandwidth | 72.00 GB/s | 28.80 GB/s |

| Pixel Rate | 12.40 GPixel/s | 16.32 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 31.00 GTexel/s | 40.80 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 992.0 GFLOPS | 1,305.6 GFLOPS |

| TDP | Not listed | 75 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| Vulkan Version | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2015-10-26 |

The Verdict

Based purely on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon HD 8870M is the superior choice for compute performance. Its 4.5% lead in the Geekbench OpenCL score is a concrete advantage that will show up in any application that utilizes OpenCL. The massive difference in memory bandwidth, 72.00 GB/s versus 28.80 GB/s, also makes the AMD card the better option for tasks that are sensitive to memory throughput, such as high-resolution texture loading or data-intensive compute jobs. If your primary concern is raw compute capability, the AMD card is the clear winner.

However, the NVIDIA GeForce 945M should not be dismissed. The data shows it has a significantly higher FP32 compute rate and faster pixel and texture fill rates. This indicates that in traditional rendering workloads, like older DirectX 11 games, it may actually deliver smoother frame rates than the AMD card, despite losing the synthetic OpenCL test. The NVIDIA card’s higher clocks and newer architecture could compensate for its low bandwidth in many gaming scenarios. Furthermore, its listed TDP of 75 W suggests it might be a more power-efficient option for a laptop, which is a critical consideration for mobile users.

The choice between these two depends on the intended use case. For a user running OpenCL-based productivity applications, the AMD Radeon HD 8870M is the logical pick. For a user looking to play games from that era, the NVIDIA GeForce 945M’s higher fill rates and shader performance might provide a better experience, despite the benchmark loss. The data supports both conclusions. The AMD card wins the compute crown, but the NVIDIA card offers competitive rendering potential and likely better power characteristics. Neither card is a clear all-around victor; they are two different tools for two different jobs.