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GeForce 840M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce 840M

2014Core: 1029 MHzBoost: 1124 MHz
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5870

2010Core: 700 MHz
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GeForce 840M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Performance Spectrum

GeForce 840M
2 GB 33
1,100
+1.1%
brand logoGeForce 9800 GX2
brand logoGeForce GTX 285M SLI
brand logoGeForce 920A
brand logoGeForce GT 1010
brand logoGeForce GTX 970M
brand logoGeForce GTX 1070 (móvel)
brand logoRTX 2000 Ada Generation Mobile
brand logoGeForce RTX 4060
Mobility Radeon HD 5870
1 GB 50
1,088
0.0%
brand logoRadeon HD 7570
brand logoRadeon HD 6670
brand logoRadeon R7 A8-7670K
brand logoRadeon HD 6770M
brand logoRadeon RX 5500M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 6700S
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 XT

About G3D Mark

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 840M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870: 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 840M

2014

Why buy it

  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 1 GB).
  • ✅Draws 33W instead of 50W, a 17W reduction.
  • ✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2014 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 2.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $399 MSRP).

Mobility Radeon HD 5870

2010

Why buy it

  • ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌51.5% higher power demand at 50W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce 840M is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (1,100 vs 1,088), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 840M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 2 GB vs 1 GB of VRAM, a 28nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2014 generation instead of 2010. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 5870 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon HD 5870 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 840M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 840M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 840M

The GeForce 840M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 12 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1029 MHz to 1124 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,100 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5870

The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2010. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,088 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 840M scores 1,100 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 reaches 1,088 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 840M is built on Maxwell while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 840M) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870). Raw compute: 0.8632 TFLOPS (GeForce 840M) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5870).

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
G3D Mark Score
1,100+1%
1,088
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
800+108%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.8632 TFLOPS
1.12 TFLOPS+30%
ROPs
8
16+100%
TMUs
16
40+150%
L1 Cache
192 KB+140%
80 KB
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 840M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
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
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce 840M has 2 GB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 carries 1 GB. GeForce 840M 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 840M and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5870. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 840M) vs 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 5870) — the GeForce 840M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
VRAM Capacity
2 GB+100%
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce 840M) vs 11 (5.0) (Mobility Radeon HD 5870). Vulkan: 1.2 vs N/A. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 0.

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
DirectX
11.0
11 (5.0)
Vulkan
1.2
N/A
OpenGL
4.5+2%
4.4
Max Displays
1
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 2.0 (GeForce 840M) vs None (Mobility Radeon HD 5870). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs UVD 2.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP,H.265 (GeForce 840M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870).

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
Encoder
NVENC 2.0
None
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP6
UVD 2.2
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP,H.265
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 840M draws 33W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5870's 50W — a 41% difference. The GeForce 840M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 840M) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5870). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 85.

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
TDP
33W-34%
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
0mm
Height
0mm
0mm
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
75°C-12%
85
Perf/Watt
33.3+53%
21.8
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce 840M (2014 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce 840MMobility Radeon HD 5870
MSRP
—
$399
Codename
GM108
Broadway
Release
March 12 2014
January 7 2010
Ranking
#854
#846
Search GeForce 840M on AmazonSearch Mobility Radeon HD 5870 on Amazon

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