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GeForce GT 740A vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GT 740A

2014Core: 993 MHz
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

2009Core: 550 MHz
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GeForce GT 740A vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GT 740A
0.5 GB 64
710
0.0%
brand logoGeForce GT 330
brand logoGeForce GT 540M
brand logoGeForce GT 820M
brand logoGeForce GTX 280M SLI
brand logoGeForce GTX 950
brand logoGeForce GTX 1060 6 GB
brand logoGeForce GTX 1070 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 2080 SUPER
Mobility Radeon HD 4870
1 GB 30
720
+1.4%
brand logoRadeon HD 3850
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 5000 Serisi
brand logoRadeon R7 M265
brand logoRadeon HD 7610M
brand logoRadeon 760M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M XT
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 GT 740A vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870: 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 GT 740A

2014

Why buy it

  • ✅Costs $210 less on MSRP ($89 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 231.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 8.0 vs 2.4 G3D/$ ($89 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌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.
  • ❌113.3% higher power demand at 64W vs 30W.

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

2009

Why buy it

  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
  • ✅Draws 30W instead of 64W, a 34W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2009 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    236% HIGHER MSRP
    $299 MSRPvs$89 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.4 vs 8.0 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $89 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.4% in PassMark G3D (720 vs 710), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GT 740A is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 55nm and a newer 2014 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GT 740A makes the most sense to buy today. It is $210 cheaper on MSRP at $89 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 231.3% (8.0 vs 2.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Mobility Radeon HD 4870 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GT 740A vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 740A

The GeForce GT 740A is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 29 2014. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 993 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 64W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 710 points. Launch price was $89.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 550 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 720 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 740A scores 710 and the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 reaches 720 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 740A is built on Kepler while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 uses TeraScale, both on 28 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 740A) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Raw compute: 0.7626 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 740A) vs 0.88 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 4870).

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
G3D Mark Score
710
720+1%
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale
Process Node
28 nm
55 nm
Shading Units
384
800+108%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.7626 TFLOPS
0.88 TFLOPS+15%
ROPs
16
16
TMUs
32
40+25%
L1 Cache
32 KB
160 KB+400%
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 740A gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
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 GT 740A has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 carries 1 GB. Mobility Radeon HD 4870 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce GT 740A and 64-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 4870.

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
1 GB+100%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
64-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce GT 740A) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). OpenGL: 4.6 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
DirectX
12 (11_0)+19%
10.1
OpenGL
4.6+39%
3.3
Max Displays
4+100%
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: PureVideo HD VP5 vs UVD 2.0. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GT 740A) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870).

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
Encoder
NVENC (Kepler)
—
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP5
UVD 2.0
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 740A draws 64W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 4870's 30W — a 72.3% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 250W (GeForce GT 740A) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Power connectors: None vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
TDP
64W
30W-53%
Recommended PSU
250W-29%
350W
Power Connector
None
PCIe-powered
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
75°C
—
Perf/Watt
11.1
24.0+116%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GT 740A came in at $89, while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 launched at $299. On MSRP, GeForce GT 740A was 70.2% cheaper ($210 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 8.0 (GeForce GT 740A) vs 2.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) — the GeForce GT 740A offers 233.3% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GT 740A (2014 vs 2009).

FeatureGeForce GT 740AMobility Radeon HD 4870
MSRP
$89-70%
$299
Performance per Dollar
8.0+233%
2.4
Codename
GK107
M98
Release
May 29 2014
January 9 2009
Ranking
#777
#927
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