AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 scores 9294 in the recorded OpenCL test, while the AMD Radeon HD 8870M scores 8462. That puts the GTX 465 ahead by 9.8% in this head-to-head comparison.

Q: How do these two cards rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The GTX 465 sits at the 46th percentile, while the HD 8870M sits at the 43rd percentile. Both are near the middle of the pack, but the GTX 465 edges out the AMD part in overall standing.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the GTX 465?

A: The GTX 465 is nearly tied with the GTX 850M (9302, only 0.1% higher), the Radeon R7 M380 (9313, 0.2% higher), and the GTX 960 (9273, 0.2% lower). The Radeon Vega 8 is 0.8% behind at 9221.

Q: What is the closest competitor to the HD 8870M?

A: The HD 8870M sits between the Intel Arc A380 (8558, which is 1.1% ahead) and the NVIDIA MX330 (8458, only 0.1% behind). The Radeon 880M (8436) and GTX 675MX (8427) are 0.3% and 0.4% behind, respectively.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 465 uses 1024 MB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 102.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 8870M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 72.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher shading unit count?

A: The HD 8870M has 640 shading units, compared to 352 on the GTX 465. However, the GTX 465 has more texture mapping units (44 vs 40) and double the ROPs (32 vs 16).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from entirely different architectural generations and design philosophies. The GTX 465 is built on NVIDIA's Fermi architecture, using the GF100 chip. This is a 40 nm design produced at TSMC, with 3,100 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. The transistor density is 5.9 million per square millimeter.

The HD 8870M uses AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture, built around the Venus chip. It is a much smaller and denser design: 28 nm process at TSMC, 1,500 million transistors on just 123 mm². That gives a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter, more than double the Fermi part.

The GTX 465 belongs to the GeForce 400 generation and was released in May 2010. Its predecessor was the GeForce 200 series, and its successor is the GeForce 500. The HD 8870M belongs to the Solar System (HD 8800M) generation, released in March 2013. Its predecessor is London and its successor is Gem System.

Both cards are now marked end-of-life in the database. The GTX 465 uses a PCIe 2.0 x16 bus interface, while the HD 8870M uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head benchmark in the database is Geekbench OpenCL. The GTX 465 scores 9294, and the HD 8870M scores 8462. The delta is 9.8% in favor of the NVIDIA card.

That 9.8% margin is meaningful given how close these cards are to their nearest rivals. The GTX 465's score puts it within 0.1% of the GTX 850M and 0.2% of the R7 M380, meaning the GTX 465 is essentially trading blows with those parts. A 9.8% gap over the HD 8870M is a decisive win.

The HD 8870M's score of 8462 places it just 0.1% behind the MX330 and 0.3% behind the Radeon 880M. It is 1.1% behind the Intel Arc A380. So the HD 8870M operates in a slightly lower performance tier overall.

In terms of compute throughput, the numbers paint a similar picture. The GTX 465 delivers 855.4 GFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the HD 8870M delivers 992.0 GFLOPS. The AMD card actually has a 16% FP32 advantage. However, the GTX 465 wins in pixel throughput: 13.38 GPixel/s versus 12.40 GPixel/s. The HD 8870M has the texture rate advantage at 31.00 GTexel/s versus 26.75 GTexel/s.

So the raw compute numbers are mixed, but the OpenCL benchmark clearly favors the GTX 465. That suggests the NVIDIA architecture handles the workload more efficiently, despite having fewer shading units and lower peak FP32.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every major specification category.

Process and Die:

• GTX 465: 40 nm, 529 mm² die, 3,100 million transistors
• HD 8870M: 28 nm, 123 mm² die, 1,500 million transistors

Clock Speeds:

• GTX 465: Memory at 802 MHz (3.2 Gbps effective)
• HD 8870M: Base 725 MHz, boost 775 MHz, memory at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective)

Memory:

• GTX 465: 1024 MB, GDDR5, 256-bit bus, 102.7 GB/s bandwidth
• HD 8870M: 2 GB, GDDR5, 128-bit bus, 72.00 GB/s bandwidth

Compute Units:

• GTX 465: 352 shading units, 44 TMUs, 32 ROPs
• HD 8870M: 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, 16 ROPs

Performance Rates:

• GTX 465: 13.38 GPixel/s, 26.75 GTexel/s, 855.4 GFLOPS FP32
• HD 8870M: 12.40 GPixel/s, 31.00 GTexel/s, 992.0 GFLOPS FP32

Power and Physical:

• GTX 465: 200 W TDP, dual-slot, 2x 6-pin power connectors, 550 W suggested PSU, 241 mm (9.5 inches) length
• HD 8870M: no TDP figure, no slot width, no power connector data, no dimensions

Bus and Outputs:

• GTX 465: PCIe 2.0 x16, 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.3a
• HD 8870M: PCIe 3.0 x16, no display outputs listed

API Support:

• GTX 465: DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, no Vulkan
• HD 8870M: DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.2.170

Launch MSRP:

• GTX 465: 279 USD (stated once as launch MSRP)
• HD 8870M: no launch MSRP recorded

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 465 wins the only direct benchmark comparison, scoring 9.8% higher in Geekbench OpenCL. It also has a higher pixel rate (13.38 vs 12.40 GPixel/s), higher memory bandwidth (102.7 vs 72.00 GB/s), a wider memory bus (256-bit vs 128-bit), and double the ROPs (32 vs 16). If your workload is memory-bandwidth hungry or relies on pixel fill, the GTX 465 is the clear choice.

The HD 8870M has advantages in several raw compute specifications. It has nearly double the shading units (640 vs 352), higher texture rate (31.00 vs 26.75 GTexel/s), higher FP32 throughput (992.0 vs 855.4 GFLOPS), and double the memory capacity (2 GB vs 1024 MB). It also runs on a smaller, more modern 28 nm process. In workloads that scale with shading units or FP32 compute, the HD 8870M should theoretically pull ahead, even though the recorded benchmark does not show it.

The HD 8870M also has API support advantages: DirectX 12 (11_1) versus 11_0, and Vulkan 1.2.170 support, which the GTX lacks entirely. For modern game compatibility, the HD 8870M is the safer choice.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the GTX 465 wins the only recorded head-to-head test, and it wins by 9.8%. It also carries significant advantages in memory bandwidth (102.7 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s) and pixel fill rate. If your workload is measured by this OpenCL benchmark, the NVIDIA card is the correct pick.

However, the HD 8870M is not without merit. It offers double the VRAM, a newer API set including Vulkan, a far smaller die (123 mm² versus 529 mm²), and more shading units. For notebook applications, where the GTX 465's 200 W TDP and dual-slot size would be impractical, the HD 8870M is likely the intended mobile part.

The data shows two GPUs from different eras solving different problems. The GTX 465 was a high-power desktop part with a 279 USD launch MSRP, built for bandwidth and fill rate. The HD 8870M is a dense, power-efficient mobile chip with more compute units but narrower memory. The GTX 465 wins the benchmark, the HD 8870M wins the specification sheet for compute flexibility.

For a builder choosing strictly based on recorded performance data, the GTX 465 is the winner. For a user who needs modern API support, lower power, and more memory, the HD 8870M is the more practical option even though it loses in the OpenCL score. The 43rd percentile standing of the HD 8870M versus the 46th percentile of the GTX 465 confirms that the NVIDIA card sits slightly higher in the overall database ranking.