GeForce 820A vs Radeon HD 3870

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce 820A vs Radeon HD 3870 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

GeForce 820A vs Radeon HD 3870: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 820A

2014

Why buy it

✅Costs $119 less on MSRP ($100 MSRP vs $219 MSRP).
✅Delivers 120.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.6 vs 2.5 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $219 MSRP).
✅Draws 33W instead of 200W, a 167W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 3870 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2014 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 3870

2012

Why buy it

✅22.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).

Trade-offs

❌2012 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
119% HIGHER MSRP
$219 MSRPvs$100 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.5 vs 5.6 G3D/$ ($219 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
❌506.1% higher power demand at 200W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 3870 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 22.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce 820A instead at 556 vs 552, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce 820A is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2014 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce 820A makes the most sense to buy today. It is $119 cheaper on MSRP at $100 vs $219, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 120.6% (5.6 vs 2.5), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 3870 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce 820A vs Radeon HD 3870 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce 820A

The GeForce 820A is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 22 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1150 MHz. It has 256 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 556 points.

Radeon HD 3870

The Radeon HD 3870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 552 points. Launch price was $349.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 820A scores 556 and the Radeon HD 3870 reaches 552 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 820A is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 3870 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 256 (GeForce 820A) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 3870). Raw compute: 0.5888 TFLOPS (GeForce 820A) vs 2.56 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3870).

Feature	GeForce 820A	Radeon HD 3870
G3D Mark Score	556	552
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	256	1280+400%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.5888 TFLOPS	2.56 TFLOPS+335%
ROPs	8	32+300%
TMUs	16	80+400%
L1 Cache	128 KB	320 KB+150%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 820A gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 3870 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 820A	Radeon HD 3870
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

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Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce 820A has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 3870 carries 1 GB. Radeon HD 3870 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 820A and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3870. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 820A) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 3870) — the GeForce 820A has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 820A	Radeon HD 3870
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	1 GB+100%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce 820A) vs H.264 (Radeon HD 3870).

Feature	GeForce 820A	Radeon HD 3870
Encoder	N/A	—
Decoder	PureVideo HD (VP5)	—
Codecs	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2	H.264

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 820A draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 3870's 200W — a 143.3% difference. The GeForce 820A is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 820A) vs 300W (Radeon HD 3870). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	GeForce 820A	Radeon HD 3870
TDP	33W-84%	200W
Recommended PSU	350W	300W-14%
Power Connector	Legacy	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	—
Height	0mm	—
Slots	0	—
Temp (Load)	70	—
Perf/Watt	16.8+500%	2.8

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 820A came in at $100, while the Radeon HD 3870 launched at $219. On MSRP, GeForce 820A was 54.3% cheaper ($119 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.6 (GeForce 820A) vs 2.5 (Radeon HD 3870) — the GeForce 820A offers 124% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 820A (2014 vs 2012).

Feature	GeForce 820A	Radeon HD 3870
MSRP	$100-54%	$219
Performance per Dollar	5.6+124%	2.5
Codename	GM108	Pitcairn
Release	July 22 2014	March 5 2012
Ranking	#832	#460

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