AMD Radeon HD 8870M vs NVIDIA Quadro 5000 Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 8870M and the NVIDIA Quadro 5000 occupy different corners of the graphics hardware landscape, one aimed at mobile gaming and the other at professional workstation tasks. The recorded benchmark data shows a clear performance gap between the two, but the underlying architecture and feature sets tell a more nuanced story. This analysis walks through the measured scores, the architectural choices, and the specification differences to determine where each part stands.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results are unambiguous in one respect: the AMD Radeon HD 8870M wins the only recorded head-to-head test. In the Geekbench OpenCL workload, the AMD part scores 8462 against 7289 for the NVIDIA Quadro 5000, a delta of 16.1%. This is the sole benchmark in the database for these two products, and it accounts for the win tally of 1 for the AMD card and 0 for the NVIDIA card.

However, the use-case split goes beyond a single score. The Quadro 5000 belongs to NVIDIA’s professional Quadro Fermi generation, a product line historically associated with workstation graphics, certified drivers, and specialized compute roles. Its memory configuration of 2.5 GB on a 320 bit bus, with 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth, suggests a design oriented toward larger data sets and professional workloads that benefit from wider memory paths. The Radeon HD 8870M, by contrast, is a mobile part from AMD’s Solar System generation (HD 8800M series), built for laptops and portable gaming systems. Its 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128 bit bus delivers 72.00 GB/s, a narrower but still capable memory path.

For compute-heavy OpenCL tasks, the data favors the AMD card. The 16.1% lead in the recorded benchmark indicates that the Radeon HD 8870M has the raw compute throughput for such workloads. The Quadro 5000, while slower in this specific test, retains advantages in other areas: it has a dual-slot form factor, a 152 W TDP, a 450 W suggested PSU, and display outputs of 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort, all pointing to a desktop workstation environment rather than a mobile one. The AMD card has no recorded TDP, slot width, or display outputs in the database, so its physical footprint is not quantified here, but its mobile generation implies a lower-power design.

The architecture and feature differences reinforce this split. The Radeon HD 8870M supports Vulkan 1.2.170, while the Quadro 5000 has no Vulkan support recorded. In modern compute and gaming scenarios, Vulkan support can be a meaningful advantage. The Quadro 5000, meanwhile, supports DirectX 12 (11_0), one minor version behind the AMD card’s DirectX 12 (11_1). For professional software that relies on OpenGL, both cards support OpenGL 4.6, so that API is not a differentiator.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural eras and different design philosophies. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M uses the Venus chip, based on GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. The NVIDIA Quadro 5000 uses the GF100 chip, based on the Fermi architecture, fabricated on a 40 nm process, also at TSMC. The process node difference is substantial: 28 nm versus 40 nm, which affects transistor density and power characteristics.

The transistor counts tell a striking story. The Quadro 5000 packs 3,100 million transistors onto a die size of 529 mm², yielding a transistor density of 5.9M / mm². The Radeon HD 8870M, despite being the newer product, uses only 1,500 million transistors on a die size of 123 mm², giving a much higher transistor density of 12.2M / mm². This density advantage reflects the newer manufacturing process and the smaller, more efficient design of the AMD chip.

The compute resources differ significantly in configuration. The Radeon HD 8870M has 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 render output units (ROPs). The Quadro 5000 has 352 shading units, 44 TMUs, and 40 ROPs. Despite having fewer shading units, the Quadro 5000 has more TMUs and more than double the ROPs. This suggests the Fermi design was built with different priorities, possibly favoring fill-rate-heavy workloads, while the GCN design emphasizes shader throughput.

Neither GPU has ray tracing cores or tensor cores recorded in the database, so those modern features are absent from both. The memory subsystems also differ: the Radeon uses 2 GB of GDDR5 at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) with a 128 bit bus, while the Quadro uses 2.5 GB of GDDR5 at 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective) with a 320 bit bus. The Quadro’s wider bus gives it significantly higher bandwidth at 120.0 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s for the AMD card, despite its lower memory clock.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only recorded head-to-head benchmark is the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this test, the AMD Radeon HD 8870M scores 8462, while the NVIDIA Quadro 5000 scores 7289. The AMD card wins by 16.1%, a substantial margin in a compute workload. This result places the Radeon HD 8870M in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, while the Quadro 5000 sits in the 40th percentile. The percentile gap is smaller than the raw score gap might suggest, indicating that both parts are in a similar tier of overall performance relative to the broader GPU market.

The nearest rivals for each card provide additional context. The Radeon HD 8870M’s closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce MX330, which scores 8458, a delta of 0.1%. The AMD Radeon 880M (score 8436, delta 0.3%) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX (score 8427, delta 0.4%) are also nearby. The Intel Arc A380 scores 8558, which is 1.1% higher than the HD 8870M, making it the only rival in the list that beats the AMD card. These figures show that the HD 8870M is competitive with a range of modern and older GPUs, sitting in a tight performance cluster around 8400 to 8560.

The Quadro 5000’s nearest rivals are all within a narrow band below its score. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 scores 7222, a delta of 0.9%. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7203 (delta 1.2%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE scores 7171 (delta 1.6%), and the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 scores 7170 (delta 1.7%). This clustering suggests the Quadro 5000, despite its age and professional orientation, still performs at a level comparable to several mid-range consumer and integrated GPUs in OpenCL compute.

The 16.1% gap between the two reviewed cards is the headline number. In practical terms, this means the Radeon HD 8870M is meaningfully faster in OpenCL compute tasks, which are common in video encoding, physics simulations, and some machine learning workloads. For users whose primary workload is OpenCL-based, the AMD card is the clear choice based on this data.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ across nearly every recorded specification. The manufacturing process is a major divergence: the AMD card uses 28 nm, while the NVIDIA card uses 40 nm. Transistor counts also differ, with the Quadro 5000 containing 3,100 million transistors versus 1,500 million for the Radeon HD 8870M. Die size follows suit: 529 mm² for the Quadro versus 123 mm² for the Radeon. Transistor density is higher on the AMD side at 12.2M / mm², compared to 5.9M / mm² for NVIDIA.

Clock speeds show the AMD card running at a base clock of 725 MHz with a boost clock of 775 MHz. The Quadro 5000 has no base or boost clock recorded in the database. Memory clocks also differ: the Radeon runs at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective), while the Quadro runs at 750 MHz (3 Gbps effective). Despite the lower memory clock, the Quadro’s wider 320 bit bus gives it a bandwidth advantage: 120.0 GB/s versus 72.00 GB/s for the Radeon’s 128 bit bus.

Memory capacity is another difference. The Radeon HD 8870M has 2 GB, while the Quadro 5000 has 2.5 GB. Memory type is GDDR5 for both. The shading unit counts differ significantly: 640 for the AMD card versus 352 for the NVIDIA card. TMU counts are close, with 40 for the AMD card and 44 for the Quadro. ROP counts favor the Quadro heavily: 40 versus 16. Pixel rate is 12.40 GPixel/s for the Radeon and 11.29 GPixel/s for the Quadro. Texture rate favors the Radeon at 31.00 GTexel/s versus 22.57 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 992.0 GFLOPS for the Radeon versus 722.3 GFLOPS for the Quadro.

The bus interface differs: the Radeon uses PCIe 3.0 x16, while the Quadro uses PCIe 2.0 x16. Power and physical specifications exist only for the Quadro, which has a 152 W TDP, a dual-slot form factor, a 1x 6-pin power connector, a 450 W suggested PSU, and dimensions of 248 mm (9.8 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height. The Radeon has none of these fields recorded, consistent with its mobile positioning.

API support differs in two areas. The Radeon HD 8870M supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the Quadro 5000 supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and has no Vulkan support recorded. Both support OpenGL 4.6. Release dates place the Radeon at 2013-03-31 and the Quadro at 2011-02-22, a gap of roughly two years. The Quadro 5000 has a launch MSRP of 2,499 USD, which reflects its professional workstation positioning.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the recorded benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M scores 8462 in the Geekbench OpenCL test, compared to 7289 for the NVIDIA Quadro 5000, a 16.1% advantage for the AMD card.

Q: How do these cards compare to their nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon HD 8870M sits between the Intel Arc A380 (8558, 1.1% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (8458, 0.1% lower). The Quadro 5000 leads its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, by 0.9%, with the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile just 1.2% behind.

Q: What are the main architectural differences?

A: The Radeon HD 8870M uses the GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process with 1,500 million transistors and a 123 mm² die. The Quadro 5000 uses the Fermi architecture on a 40 nm process with 3,100 million transistors and a 529 mm² die.

Q: Which card has better memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro 5000 has 120.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 320 bit bus and 2.5 GB of GDDR5. The AMD Radeon HD 8870M has 72.00 GB/s from a 128 bit bus and 2 GB of GDDR5.

Q: Does either card support Vulkan?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8870M supports Vulkan 1.2.170. The NVIDIA Quadro 5000 has no Vulkan support recorded in the database.

Q: What is the form factor of the Quadro 5000?

A: The Quadro 5000 is a dual-slot card with a 152 W TDP, a 1x 6-pin power connector, a 450 W suggested PSU, and dimensions of 248 mm by 111 mm. The Radeon HD 8870M has no physical specifications recorded, consistent with a mobile design.

The Verdict

The data points to a straightforward conclusion for compute performance: the AMD Radeon HD 8870M is the faster card in OpenCL workloads, with a 16.1% lead over the NVIDIA Quadro 5000. It also offers modern API support including Vulkan 1.2.170 and a newer manufacturing process at 28 nm. For users prioritizing raw compute throughput and portable form factors, the Radeon HD 8870M is the logical pick based on the recorded measurements.

The NVIDIA Quadro 5000, however, is not without its strengths. It offers more memory capacity at 2.5 GB, substantially higher memory bandwidth at 120.0 GB/s, and more ROPs at 40. Its wider 320 bit memory bus and higher bandwidth could benefit workloads that are memory-bound rather than compute-bound, even if the OpenCL score does not reflect that advantage. Its professional Quadro branding and workstation-oriented features, including a dual-slot design and display outputs of 1x DVI and 2x DisplayPort, make it suitable for desktop professional environments.

The choice between these two hinges on the workload. For OpenCL compute, the Radeon HD 8870M wins decisively. For memory-intensive tasks or professional workstation use where the Quadro’s wider bus and certified driver ecosystem matter, the NVIDIA card may still hold value despite its lower benchmark score. The recorded data shows a clear performance winner in the AMD card, but the specification differences suggest that the Quadro 5000 remains a distinct product with its own niche.