GeForce GTS 450 vs Radeon HD 4870 X2

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 vs Radeon HD 4870 X2 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 GTS 450 vs Radeon HD 4870 X2: 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

2010

Why buy it

✅Costs $421 less on MSRP ($129 MSRP vs $550 MSRP).
✅Delivers 335.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 10.4 vs 2.4 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs $550 MSRP).
✅Draws 106W instead of 286W, a 180W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 4870 X2 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 4870 X2

2008

Why buy it

✅3.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2008 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
326.4% HIGHER MSRP
$550 MSRPvs$129 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.4 vs 10.4 G3D/$ ($550 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).
❌169.8% higher power demand at 286W vs 106W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 4870 X2 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 3.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTS 450 instead at 1,337 vs 1,309, 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 GTS 450 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 40nm process instead of 55nm and a newer 2010 generation instead of 2008. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce GTS 450 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $421 cheaper on MSRP at $129 vs $550, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 335.5% (10.4 vs 2.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 4870 X2 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTS 450 vs Radeon HD 4870 X2 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTS 450

The GeForce GTS 450 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 13 2010. It features the Fermi 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: 1,337 points. Launch price was $129.

Radeon HD 4870 X2

The Radeon HD 4870 X2 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 12 2008. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 286W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,309 points. Launch price was $550.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTS 450 scores 1,337 and the Radeon HD 4870 X2 reaches 1,309 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTS 450 is built on Fermi while the Radeon HD 4870 X2 uses TeraScale, both on 40 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 192 (GeForce GTS 450) vs 800 (Radeon HD 4870 X2). Raw compute: 0.6013 TFLOPS (GeForce GTS 450) vs 1.12 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 4870 X2).

Feature	GeForce GTS 450	Radeon HD 4870 X2
G3D Mark Score	1,337+2%	1,309
Architecture	Fermi	TeraScale
Process Node	40 nm	55 nm
Shading Units	192	800 ×2+317%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6013 TFLOPS	1.12 TFLOPS ×2+86%
ROPs	16	16 ×2
TMUs	32	40 ×2+25%
L1 Cache	256 KB+60%	160 KB
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTS 450 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 4870 X2 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTS 450	Radeon HD 4870 X2
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 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTS 450 and 64-bit on the Radeon HD 4870 X2.

Feature	GeForce GTS 450	Radeon HD 4870 X2
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit+100%	64-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264 (GeForce GTS 450) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4,DivX (Radeon HD 4870 X2).

Feature	GeForce GTS 450	Radeon HD 4870 X2
Decoder	—	UVD 2
Codecs	H.264	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4,DivX

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTS 450 draws 106W versus the Radeon HD 4870 X2's 286W — a 91.8% difference. The GeForce GTS 450 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTS 450) vs 650W (Radeon HD 4870 X2). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin.

Feature	GeForce GTS 450	Radeon HD 4870 X2
TDP	106W-63%	286W
Recommended PSU	400W-38%	650W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin
Length	—	267mm
Slots	—	2
Temp (Load)	—	90°C
Perf/Watt	12.6+174%	4.6

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTS 450 came in at $129, while the Radeon HD 4870 X2 launched at $550. On MSRP, GeForce GTS 450 was 76.5% cheaper ($421 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 10.4 (GeForce GTS 450) vs 2.4 (Radeon HD 4870 X2) — the GeForce GTS 450 offers 333.3% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTS 450 (2010 vs 2008).

Feature	GeForce GTS 450	Radeon HD 4870 X2
MSRP	$129-77%	$550
Performance per Dollar	10.4+333%	2.4
Codename	GF106	R700
Release	September 13 2010	August 12 2008
Ranking	#791	#796

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