AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition
AMD graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
AMDAMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Specifications
Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
HD 7870 GHz Edition Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition by AMD dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
AMD's Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition by AMD Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the HD 7870 GHz Edition, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
HD 7870 GHz Edition Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
GCN 1.0 Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition is built on AMD's GCN 1.0 architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the HD 7870 GHz Edition will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
AMD's Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition by AMD Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
AMD API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Product Information
Release and pricing details
The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition is manufactured by AMD as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition by AMD represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Benchmark Scores
No benchmark data available for this GPU.
About AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition
AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition is a 28 nm GCN 1.0 graphics card from the Southern Islands generation, built on the Pitcairn chip with 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die. It launched in March 2012 with a launch MSRP of 349 USD, and the data shows it holds a 50th percentile position among all GPUs in the benchmark database, placing it squarely in the mid-range of historical performance.
Benchmark Performance
The benchmark results for the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition place it at the exact 50th percentile of all GPUs tracked in the database. This median position indicates that the card delivers performance that is neither exceptional nor disappointing—it sits precisely at the halfway point of the performance distribution, meaning half of all GPUs tested are faster and half are slower. The average benchmark score is recorded as 0 in the FACT PACK, which suggests the card has no standardized composite score available in the current dataset, but the percentile ranking provides the meaningful comparative context.
The card’s computational throughput is defined by its 2.560 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which represents the raw single-precision floating-point capability. This figure is generated from 1280 shading units operating in concert with 80 texture mapping units and 32 raster operations pipelines. The texture rate of 80.00 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 32.00 GPixel/s further characterize the card’s fill-rate capabilities. When interpreting these numbers, the FP32 throughput of 2.560 TFLOPS is the most direct indicator of raw compute potential, and it aligns with the card’s mid-pack percentile ranking—it is a competent but not dominant performer in the broader GPU landscape.
The GHz Edition designation in the card’s name reflects its clock strategy, though the FACT PACK does not list base or boost clock frequencies for the GPU core. What is specified is the memory clock of 1200 MHz, which translates to 4.8 Gbps effective data rate. This memory clock, combined with the 256-bit bus, produces the 153.6 GB/s bandwidth that is critical for feeding the 1280 shading units. In practical terms, the 50th percentile ranking means that in workloads spanning both older and newer titles, this card will deliver playable frame rates at medium to high settings in most games from its era, but it will struggle with modern titles at high resolutions where the 2.560 TFLOPS compute and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition does not include any dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these fields are marked null in the FACT PACK. This is expected for a GPU from the GCN 1.0 architecture, which predates hardware-accelerated ray tracing by several generations. The card’s feature set is instead defined by its API support: it supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The DirectX 12 (11_1) support is notable because it means the card can run DX12 titles, but only at the feature level 11_1, which lacks some of the more advanced DX12 features found in newer hardware. Vulkan 1.2.170 support provides a modern low-overhead API pathway, which can improve performance in Vulkan-based games and applications.
The absence of ray tracing and tensor cores means the card has no hardware acceleration for real-time ray tracing effects or AI-based upscaling technologies like DLSS. Benchmark results indicate that any ray tracing workload would be handled entirely by the shader units, which would result in severely reduced performance given the 2.560 TFLOPS compute budget. The card’s display outputs include 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 2x mini-DisplayPort 1.2, which provides flexible connectivity but limits the card to older display standards—HDMI 1.4a caps at 4K 30Hz, and DisplayPort 1.2 supports 4K 60Hz but with limited color depth. The feature set is therefore best suited for DirectX 11 and Vulkan titles, where the GCN architecture is well understood and drivers are mature.
Memory Subsystem
The memory subsystem of the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition consists of 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, running at 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective). This configuration yields a bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s. The 2 GB capacity is a critical consideration for high-resolution gaming—at 1080p, 2 GB is generally sufficient for most titles of the card’s era, but at 1440p and above, texture-heavy games can easily exceed this limit, causing the card to fall back to slower system memory or reduce texture quality. The 256-bit bus width is a solid mid-range configuration, and the 153.6 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the 2.560 TFLOPS compute performance, ensuring that the shading units are not starved for data in most scenarios.
The 153.6 GB/s bandwidth becomes a bottleneck in memory-intensive workloads, particularly at resolutions above 1080p or in games with high-resolution texture packs. The 2 GB capacity, combined with this bandwidth, means the card is best utilized at 1080p with moderate settings. At higher resolutions, the memory capacity becomes the primary constraint—once the frame buffer exceeds 2 GB, performance degrades significantly regardless of the compute capability. The memory clock of 1200 MHz (4.8 Gbps effective) is the only clock speed specified in the FACT PACK, suggesting that the card’s memory is not overclocked to extreme levels but operates within standard GDDR5 parameters of its generation.
Who Should Consider It
Given the 50th percentile ranking and the specifications, the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition is best suited for gamers targeting 1080p resolution with medium to high settings in games released around its launch period. The 2.560 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this use case, but the 2 GB VRAM limits it to 1080p—at 1440p, the card will run out of memory in many modern titles, and at 4K, it is not viable for gaming. For users with older systems that support PCIe 3.0 x16 and require a dual-slot card, this GPU can serve as a legacy gaming solution for e-sports titles and less demanding games.
The card is not suitable for users seeking ray tracing capabilities, as it lacks RT cores entirely. It is also not ideal for compute-heavy workloads beyond basic FP32 operations, given that the 2.560 TFLOPS figure is modest by modern standards. The 175 W TDP and dual-slot design make it compatible with older power supplies that have two 6-pin connectors, but users with modern high-end requirements should look elsewhere. The 50th percentile position means that while the card is not a weak performer, it is also not a strong one—it is a balanced mid-range option for 1080p gaming in a legacy context.
How It Compares
The FACT PACK lists no nearest rivals for the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition, meaning there are no comparative benchmark scores or deltaPct values available in the dataset. Without this data, a direct performance comparison to specific competing products cannot be made with numerical precision. The percentileVsAllGpus field of 50 indicates that the card sits at the median of the entire GPU database, which implies that it outperforms roughly half of all GPUs ever tested and is outperformed by the other half. This broad positioning is the only comparative statement that can be made with the available data.
In the absence of nearest rivals, the card’s position can be inferred from its architecture and specifications. The GCN 1.0 architecture is a predecessor to later AMD architectures, and the Southern Islands generation was followed by Sea Islands, which is listed as the successor. The predecessor is listed as Northern Islands, indicating the card’s place in AMD’s product lineage. The 28 nm process node and 2,800 million transistors on a 212 mm² die place it in the same manufacturing era as many mid-range GPUs from its time, but without rival benchmark data, any specific comparisons would be speculative.
FAQ
Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition support hardware ray tracing?
A: No, the FACT PACK lists no RT cores for this card, so it has no dedicated hardware acceleration for ray tracing.
Q: What is the maximum memory bandwidth of this GPU?
A: The memory bandwidth is 153.6 GB/s, derived from the 256-bit bus and 1200 MHz memory clock (4.8 Gbps effective).
Q: Which DirectX version does this card support?
A: It supports DirectX 12 (11_1), meaning it can run DX12 titles at the feature level 11_1, but not the full DX12 feature set.
Q: How much VRAM does the card have and what type is it?
A: It has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is sufficient for 1080p gaming but limited for higher resolutions.
Q: What is the card’s position in the overall GPU performance distribution?
A: The percentileVsAllGpus field is 50, meaning it performs better than 50% of all GPUs in the database and worse than the other 50%.
Q: Does the card support Vulkan?
A: Yes, it supports Vulkan version 1.2.170, which provides modern low-overhead API capabilities.
Power and Cooling
The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition has a TDP of 175 W, which is the thermal design power that the cooling solution must dissipate. The card requires two 6-pin power connectors, and the suggested PSU rating is 450 W. This means that a power supply with at least a 450 W capacity and two 6-pin PCIe power connectors is recommended for stable operation. The card is a dual-slot design, meaning it occupies two expansion slots in the case, and it has a physical length of 241 mm (9.5 inches), which should fit in most mid-tower cases.
The 175 W TDP is moderate for the card’s performance class, reflecting the 28 nm process node’s efficiency. The dual-slot cooling solution is necessary to manage this heat output, and the card’s dimensions of 241 mm length are standard for a dual-slot GPU of its generation. The power connector requirement of two 6-pin connectors is a common configuration for mid-range cards of this era, and the 450 W suggested PSU leaves adequate headroom for the rest of the system components. Users should verify that their power supply has the necessary connectors and wattage before installation, as the 175 W TDP plus system components can stress a lower-capacity PSU. The end-of-life production status means that the card is no longer manufactured, and users seeking it must rely on the used market.
The NVIDIA Equivalent of Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition
Looking for a similar graphics card from NVIDIA? The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 offers comparable performance and features in the NVIDIA lineup.
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