GeForce GT 820M vs Mobility 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 GT 820M vs Mobility 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 GT 820M vs Mobility 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 GT 820M

2014

Why buy it

✅More future proof: Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2014 hardware with 512 MB 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 4.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $129 MSRP).
❌100% higher power demand at 100W vs 50W.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

2010

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 50W instead of 100W, a 50W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2010 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (548 vs 542), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.

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

GeForce GT 820M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2014 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 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 3870 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 820M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 820M vs Mobility Radeon HD 3870 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GT 820M

The GeForce GT 820M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 7 2014. It features the Maxwell 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1038 MHz to 1127 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 542 points.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 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: 548 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 820M scores 542 and the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 reaches 548 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 820M is built on Maxwell 2.0 while the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GT 820M) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870). Raw compute: 1.659 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 820M) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 3870).

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility Radeon HD 3870
G3D Mark Score	542	548+1%
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0	TeraScale 2
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	1536+92%	800
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.659 TFLOPS+48%	1.12 TFLOPS
ROPs	64+300%	16
TMUs	96+140%	40
L1 Cache	576 KB+620%	80 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+700%	0.25 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

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

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility 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)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce GT 820M and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3870. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GT 820M) vs 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) — the GeForce GT 820M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility Radeon HD 3870
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%
L2 Cache	2 MB+700%	0.25 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 820M) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870). Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 0.

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility Radeon HD 3870
DirectX	11.0+9%	10.1
Max Displays	1	0

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GT 820M) vs UVD (Mobility Radeon HD 3870). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD.

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility Radeon HD 3870
Encoder	No	UVD
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP4	UVD
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP	—

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 820M draws 100W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 3870's 50W — a 66.7% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 820M) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3870). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 1mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots.

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility Radeon HD 3870
TDP	100W	50W-50%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	PCIe-powered
Length	0mm	1mm
Height	0mm	—
Slots	0	0
Temp (Load)	70°C	—
Perf/Watt	5.4	11.0+104%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce GT 820M (2014 vs 2010).

Feature	GeForce GT 820M	Mobility Radeon HD 3870
MSRP	—	$129
Codename	GM204	Broadway
Release	October 7 2014	January 7 2010
Ranking	#344	#846

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