AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head comparison recorded in the database is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it is a decisive victory for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970. The GTX 970 scores 29,982 points, while the AMD Radeon HD 8870M manages 8,462 points. This gives the GTX 970 a 71.8% advantage over the HD 8870M in this specific workload, a gap that places the two cards in entirely different performance tiers despite both being end-of-life products.

The Radeon HD 8870M’s lone benchmark score places it at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 scores 8,458 (just 0.1% behind), the AMD Radeon 880M scores 8,436 (0.3% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX scores 8,427 (0.4% behind). The only rival ahead of it in this cluster is the Intel Arc A380 at 8,558, which leads by 1.1%. This tight grouping suggests the HD 8870M sits at a well-populated performance plateau where many competing mobile and entry-level desktop parts converge.

The GTX 970, by contrast, has a much wider benchmark portfolio. Its average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 7,157, which lands it at the 39th percentile. Its nearest rivals are all within a narrow band: the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 scores 7,170 (0.2% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE scores 7,171 (0.2% ahead), the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7,203 (0.6% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 scores 7,222 (0.9% ahead). The average score is dragged down by several low DirectX tests, including a 41 in Passmark DirectX 12 and a 46 in Passmark DirectX 10, but the card shows its real strength in other workloads.

Looking at the GTX 970’s individual scores reveals a split personality. In compute-oriented benchmarks it excels: Geekbench OpenCL at 29,982, Geekbench Vulkan at 20,005, and Geekbench Metal at 13,595. In Passmark G3D it posts a solid 9,638, while Passmark GPU Compute reaches 4,073. The legacy DirectX tests are far less impressive, with Passmark DirectX 9 at 143, DirectX 11 at 71, and DirectX 12 at 41. The Passmark G2D score of 764 shows modest 2D performance relative to the 3D results.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and are built for different market segments. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M uses the Venus chip based on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 1,500 million transistors onto a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 uses the GM204 chip based on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, also manufactured by TSMC on 28 nm, but with 5,200 million transistors on a much larger 398 mm² die, giving a density of 13.1 million per square millimeter.

The core configurations differ dramatically. The HD 8870M has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output pipelines. The GTX 970 has 1,664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 56 ROPs, which is roughly 2.6 times the shading units, 2.6 times the TMUs, and 3.5 times the ROPs. These numbers directly explain the GTX 970’s massive lead in pixel and texture throughput: the HD 8870M delivers 12.40 GPixel/s pixel rate and 31.00 GTexel/s texture rate, while the GTX 970 delivers 65.97 GPixel/s and 122.5 GTexel/s respectively.

Clock speeds also favor the GTX 970. The HD 8870M runs at a base clock of 725 MHz with a boost of 775 MHz, while the GTX 970 runs at 1,050 MHz base and 1,178 MHz boost. The memory subsystem reinforces the gap. The HD 8870M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth and 1,125 MHz memory clock (4.5 Gbps effective). The GTX 970 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 224.4 GB/s bandwidth, more than three times the bandwidth, and a 1,753 MHz memory clock (7 Gbps effective).

The FP32 compute output shows the scale of difference: the HD 8870M produces 992.0 GFLOPS, while the GTX 970 produces 3.920 TFLOPS, nearly four times as much. Neither card has dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. In API support, the GTX 970 supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 8870M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data indicates that the GTX 970 wins the only direct comparison, but the broader picture depends on the workload. In OpenCL compute, the GTX 970 is overwhelmingly faster, posting a score nearly 3.5 times higher than the HD 8870M. The GTX 970 also shows strong Vulkan performance at 20,005, which is notable given the HD 8870M has no recorded Vulkan score in the database.

For the HD 8870M, its strengths are more relative than absolute. Its single Geekbench OpenCL score of 8,462 places it in a competitive neighborhood with the MX330, Radeon 880M, and GTX 675MX, all within 0.4% of each other. This suggests that in lightweight or older workloads, the HD 8870M holds its own against many mobile GPUs from later generations. Its 43rd percentile ranking is actually higher than the GTX 970’s 39th percentile, which reflects the fact that the GTX 970’s average score is pulled down by its weaker legacy DirectX results.

The GTX 970’s Passmark results show a clear pattern: it scales well with API modernity. Its DirectX 9 score of 143 is the highest among its recorded DirectX tests, but its DirectX 11 score drops to 71 and DirectX 12 falls to 41. This indicates the card is far more efficient in compute-oriented or modern API workloads than in older fixed-function pipeline tests. The HD 8870M has no recorded DirectX or Vulkan benchmarks, so no direct comparison is possible for those workloads.

The Verdict

The data in the database points to a clear overall winner: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 dominates the AMD Radeon HD 8870M in compute performance, memory bandwidth, and raw throughput metrics. The 71.8% lead in the only head-to-head OpenCL test is decisive, and the GTX 970’s larger memory pool, wider bus, and higher clock speeds give it a structural advantage that shows across nearly every measured category.

However, the GTX 970’s 39th percentile ranking versus the HD 8870M’s 43rd percentile is a useful nuance. The GTX 970’s average benchmark score of 7,157 is lower than the HD 8870M’s 8,462, but this is an artifact of the GTX 970 having a much broader and more varied benchmark portfolio. The HD 8870M’s single recorded test is a compute benchmark where it performs adequately, while the GTX 970’s average includes several low-scoring legacy DirectX tests that drag down its mean.

For users prioritizing modern compute workloads, OpenCL, Vulkan, or any task that scales with memory bandwidth and shading unit count, the GTX 970 is the clear choice. For users in the mobile space where the HD 8870M resides, the card is competitive with its immediate peers, sitting within 1% of the MX330, Radeon 880M, and GTX 675MX. The GTX 970, with its 4 GB frame buffer and 224.4 GB/s bandwidth, is better suited for higher-resolution textures and more demanding rendering scenarios. The HD 8870M, with 2 GB and 72.00 GB/s, is adequate for lighter workloads but will bottleneck in memory-intensive tasks.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 scores 29,982, which is 71.8% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 8870M’s 8,462.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two cards?

A: The GTX 970 has 224.4 GB/s bandwidth on a 256-bit bus with 4 GB GDDR5, while the HD 8870M has 72.00 GB/s on a 128-bit bus with 2 GB GDDR5.

Q: How do their transistor counts compare?

A: The GTX 970 has 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, while the HD 8870M has 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer version of Vulkan?

A: The GTX 970 supports Vulkan 1.4, while the HD 8870M supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What is the GTX 970’s average benchmark score across all tests?

A: The GTX 970 has an average benchmark score of 7,157, placing it at the 39th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Are there any direct benchmark comparisons besides Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The database only contains one head-to-head test between these two cards, which is the Geekbench OpenCL test won by the GTX 970.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs:

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8870M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | Venus | GM204 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Generation | Solar System (HD 8800M) | GeForce 900 |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 5,200 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 398 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 13.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 725 MHz | 1050 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 775 MHz | 1178 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) | 1753 MHz (7 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 72.00 GB/s | 224.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 640 | 1664 |

| TMUs | 40 | 104 |

| ROPs | 16 | 56 |

| Pixel Rate | 12.40 GPixel/s | 65.97 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 31.00 GTexel/s | 122.5 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 992.0 GFLOPS | 3.920 TFLOPS |

| TDP | Not specified | 148 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | Dual-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | 2x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 300 W |

| Display Outputs | Not specified | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2 |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Dimensions | Not specified | 267 mm (10.5 inches) length, 111 mm (4.4 inches) height, 40 mm (1.6 inches) width |

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2014-09-18 |

| Predecessor | London | GeForce 700 |

| Successor | Gem System | GeForce 10 |