AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK Comparison

The Verdict

The data in this comparison is unusually one-sided. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK and the AMD Radeon HD 8870M sit at opposite ends of the performance spectrum, and the benchmark results reflect that gap clearly. The TITAN BLACK wins the only head-to-head benchmark recorded, and it does so by a massive margin: 221.6% ahead in Geekbench OpenCL. Its average benchmark score of 9474 places it in the 46th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 8870M's average of 8462 lands in the 43rd percentile. The difference between these two is not a matter of tuning or driver maturity; it is a structural gap in hardware capability.

Who should pick which? Based strictly on the recorded data, the GTX TITAN BLACK is the only choice for anyone seeking serious compute performance. It delivers 5.645 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, a figure that dwarfs the HD 8870M's 992.0 GFLOPS. The TITAN BLACK also has 6 GB of memory versus 2 GB, a 384-bit bus versus 128-bit, and more than quadruple the shading units. The HD 8870M, by contrast, appears in the database with only a single benchmark result, making its profile far thinner and its standing harder to assess. If the goal is raw performance, the TITAN BLACK is the clear pick. If the goal is a compact, low-profile mobile part, the HD 8870M is the only one of the two that fits that description, though the data does not quantify its physical footprint.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX TITAN BLACK wins in every measurable category. It scores 27218 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 8462 for the HD 8870M, a 221.6% advantage. Its Passmark G3D score is 9184, and its Passmark GPU compute score is 3726. The HD 8870M has no recorded scores in those tests. The TITAN BLACK also leads in theoretical throughput: pixel rate of 58.80 GPixel/s versus 12.40 GPixel/s, texture rate of 235.2 GTexel/s versus 31.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 of 5.645 TFLOPS versus 992.0 GFLOPS. Memory bandwidth tells the same story, 336.0 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s.

The HD 8870M does not win a single benchmark in the head-to-head data. Its only recorded score, the Geekbench OpenCL result, is lower than every benchmark score the TITAN BLACK posts, including the TITAN BLACK's Passmark DirectX 9 score of 133, which is a legacy API test and not directly comparable. The HD 8870M's percentile ranking of 43 is close to the TITAN BLACK's 46, but that proximity is misleading: the percentile is computed across all GPUs in the database, and the TITAN BLACK's average score is pulled down by legacy DirectX tests that score in the dozens and hundreds, while the HD 8870M's average is based on a single OpenCL result.

Architecture Differences

The two chips come from different manufacturers and different design philosophies. The TITAN BLACK uses the GK110B chip, built on the Kepler architecture, fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 7,080 million transistors into a die size of 561 mm², for a transistor density of 12.6M per mm². The HD 8870M uses the Venus chip, built on GCN 1.0, also on TSMC's 28 nm node, but with only 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, giving a density of 12.2M per mm². The transistor densities are nearly identical, which suggests both chips are using the same process generation efficiently, but the TITAN BLACK simply has far more silicon to work with.

The compute resources differ by an order of magnitude. The TITAN BLACK has 2880 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The HD 8870M has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Clock speeds also favor the TITAN BLACK: base 889 MHz and boost 980 MHz versus 725 MHz and 775 MHz for the HD 8870M. Memory configuration reinforces the gap: 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, versus 2 GB on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s. Neither chip has ray tracing cores or tensor cores. Both support DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan, though the TITAN BLACK uses Vulkan 1.2.175 and the HD 8870M uses 1.2.170.

The TITAN BLACK is a desktop part with a 250 W TDP, dual-slot cooling, and power connectors requiring a 1x 6-pin plus 1x 8-pin setup. The HD 8870M has no recorded TDP, slot width, power connector, or dimensions in the database. It is a mobile GPU, as the "M" suffix indicates, and its lack of a TDP figure likely reflects that it is designed for laptop integration where thermal limits are set by the system, not the card. Both are end-of-life products. The TITAN BLACK launched on 2014-02-17, the HD 8870M on 2013-03-31. Notably, the HD 8870M's predecessor is listed as "London" and its successor as "Gem System," while the TITAN BLACK's predecessor is GeForce 600 and successor is GeForce 900.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK than the AMD Radeon HD 8870M in the recorded benchmark?

A: In the only head-to-head benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, the TITAN BLACK scores 27218 versus 8462 for the HD 8870M, a 221.6% advantage.

Q: Which GPU has more memory and bandwidth?

A: The TITAN BLACK has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The HD 8870M has 2 GB on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s.

Q: Are both chips built on the same manufacturing process?

A: Yes, both are fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. However, the TITAN BLACK has a die size of 561 mm² and 7,080 million transistors, while the HD 8870M has a 123 mm² die and 1,500 million transistors.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 8870M support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, it supports DirectX 12 (11_1), as does the GTX TITAN BLACK. Both also support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan, though the TITAN BLACK has a slightly newer Vulkan version at 1.2.175 versus 1.2.170.

Q: Which GPU has a higher percentile ranking in the database?

A: The TITAN BLACK is in the 46th percentile of all GPUs, while the HD 8870M is in the 43rd percentile. Despite the large score gap, the percentiles are close because the TITAN BLACK's average is dragged down by legacy DirectX benchmark scores.

Q: What is the FP32 compute throughput difference?

A: The TITAN BLACK delivers 5.645 TFLOPS, which is more than 5.7 times the HD 8870M's 992.0 GFLOPS.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only one direct comparison between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The TITAN BLACK scores 27218, the HD 8870M scores 8462. The delta is 221.6%, meaning the TITAN BLACK more than triples the HD 8870M's output. That is not a marginal win; it is a tier difference. The OpenCL result is a compute workload, and it aligns with the theoretical FP32 numbers: 5.645 TFLOPS versus 992.0 GFLOPS. The TITAN BLACK's advantage in shading units (2880 versus 640) and texture units (240 versus 40) directly feeds this compute lead.

The other benchmark scores for the TITAN BLACK show a pattern worth examining. Its Passmark G3D score is 9184, which is close to its nearest rivals: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 at 9458 (0.2% ahead of the TITAN BLACK), the AMD Radeon R7 M380 at 9313 (1.7% ahead), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5000 at 9637 (1.7% behind the TITAN BLACK). The GTX 960M scores 9645, 1.8% behind the TITAN BLACK. These deltas are tiny, meaning the TITAN BLACK sits in a crowded performance band around 9300 to 9600 in average score. Its 9474 average is within 2% of all four rivals. The HD 8870M, by contrast, has nearest rivals that are similarly close: the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 at 8458 (0.1% ahead of the HD 8870M), AMD Radeon 880M at 8436 (0.3% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX at 8427 (0.4% ahead), and Intel Arc A380 at 8558 (1.1% behind). Both GPUs are tightly clustered with their peers, but the clusters themselves are about 12% apart, the TITAN BLACK's cluster higher.

The TITAN BLACK also posts legacy DirectX scores that are dramatically lower than its modern scores: Passmark DirectX 9 at 133, DirectX 10 at 47, DirectX 11 at 73, and DirectX 12 at 34. These low numbers are typical for a Kepler GPU running older API tests, and they pull its average down. The HD 8870M has no such scores recorded, so its average is based solely on the OpenCL result. This is why the percentile difference is only 3 points despite a 221.6% head-to-head gap. The TITAN BLACK's raw capability in current workloads is far higher than its average suggests.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field. The TITAN BLACK uses the GK110B chip on Kepler architecture; the HD 8870M uses Venus on GCN 1.0. Both are 28 nm from TSMC, but transistor count differs: 7,080 million versus 1,500 million. Die size is 561 mm² versus 123 mm². Transistor density is close, 12.6M per mm² versus 12.2M per mm². Clock speeds: the TITAN BLACK runs at 889 MHz base and 980 MHz boost, the HD 8870M at 725 MHz base and 775 MHz boost. Memory speed is 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity is 6 GB versus 2 GB, both GDDR5. Bus width is 384 bit versus 128 bit. Bandwidth is 336.0 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s. Shading units are 2880 versus 640. TMUs are 240 versus 40. ROPs are 48 versus 16. Pixel rate is 58.80 GPixel/s versus 12.40 GPixel/s. Texture rate is 235.2 GTexel/s versus 31.00 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 5.645 TFLOPS versus 992.0 GFLOPS.

The TITAN BLACK has a TDP of 250 W, is dual-slot, requires 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin power connectors, and suggests a 600 W PSU. The HD 8870M has no TDP, slot width, power connector, or PSU data recorded. The TITAN BLACK has display outputs: 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The HD 8870M has no display output data. The TITAN BLACK has physical dimensions of 267 mm length, 111 mm height, and 38 mm width. The HD 8870M has no dimensions recorded. Both use PCIe 3.0 x16. The TITAN BLACK's API set includes Vulkan 1.2.175, the HD 8870M's includes Vulkan 1.2.170. The TITAN BLACK has a launch MSRP of 999 USD; the HD 8870M has no launch MSRP recorded.