GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

NVIDIA

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2

2011Core: 783 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire Performance Spectrum

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 GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire: 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 GTS 450 Rev. 2

2011

Why buy it

  • Costs $671 less on MSRP ($129 MSRP vs $800 MSRP).
  • Delivers 523.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 25.8 vs 4.1 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs $800 MSRP).
  • More future proof: Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2011 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

2010

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 520.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $800 MSRPvs$129 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.1 vs 25.8 G3D/$ ($800 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.6% in PassMark G3D (3,331 vs 3,311), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2011 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $671 cheaper on MSRP at $129 vs $800, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 523.9% (25.8 vs 4.1), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 15 2011. It features the Fermi 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 783 MHz. It has 192 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 106W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,331 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire 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 1600 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 120W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,311 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 scores 3,331 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire reaches 3,311 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is built on Fermi 2.0 while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire uses Terascale 2, both on a 40 nm process. Shader units: 192 (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 1,600 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire).

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
G3D Mark Score
3,331
3,311
Architecture
Fermi 2.0
Terascale 2
Process Node
40 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
192
1600+733%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
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)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire.

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 11.0 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Vulkan: 1.2 vs No. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
DirectX
12 (11_0)+9%
11.0
Vulkan
1.2
No
OpenGL
4.6+5%
4.4
Max Displays
2
6+200%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: PureVideo HD VP4 (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs UVD 2.3 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 2.3. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire).

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
Encoder
PureVideo HD VP4
UVD 2.3
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP4
UVD 2.3
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 draws 106W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire's 120W — a 12.4% difference. The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 68°C vs 95°C.

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
TDP
106W-12%
120W
Recommended PSU
400W
350W-13%
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
210mm
Height
111mm
Slots
2
Temp (Load)
68°C-28%
95°C
Perf/Watt
31.4+14%
27.6
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 came in at $129, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire launched at $800. On MSRP, GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 was 83.9% cheaper ($671 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 25.8 (GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2) vs 4.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire) — the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 offers 529.3% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2 (2011 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce GTS 450 Rev. 2Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
MSRP
$129-84%
$800
Performance per Dollar
25.8+529%
4.1
Codename
GF116
Broadway-XT
Release
March 15 2011
January 7 2010
Ranking
#739
#688

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