GeForce GTX 485M SLI vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 485M SLI

2011

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 120W, a 20W reduction.
✅More future proof: Fermi (2010−2014) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2011-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 4.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $800 MSRP).

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

2010

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($800 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2010-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌20% higher power demand at 120W vs 100W.

GeForce GTX 485M SLI

2011

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

2010

Why buy it

✅Draws 100W instead of 120W, a 20W reduction.
✅More future proof: Fermi (2010−2014) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($800 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2011-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 4.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $800 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2010-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌20% higher power demand at 120W vs 100W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 485M SLI better than Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 3,360 vs 3,311 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 485M SLI is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (100W vs 120W).

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 485M SLI is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2011 generation instead of 2010 and the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 485M SLI is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 485M SLI is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus $800 MSRP, and you are getting 1.5% higher G3D Mark. Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire is 2010 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM, 3,311 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 485M SLI Benchmark Check

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
1080p
low	77 FPS	98 FPS
medium	64 FPS	81 FPS
high	49 FPS	62 FPS
ultra	32 FPS	37 FPS
1440p
low	67 FPS	84 FPS
medium	55 FPS	69 FPS
high	38 FPS	48 FPS
ultra	24 FPS	28 FPS
4K
low	24 FPS	27 FPS
medium	22 FPS	26 FPS
high	14 FPS	17 FPS
ultra	12 FPS	14 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 485M SLI Open Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
1080p
low	67 FPS	73 FPS
medium	45 FPS	49 FPS
high	33 FPS	36 FPS
ultra	21 FPS	24 FPS
1440p
low	38 FPS	41 FPS
medium	21 FPS	23 FPS
high	15 FPS	16 FPS
ultra	11 FPS	12 FPS
4K
low	13 FPS	14 FPS
medium	8 FPS	8 FPS
high	6 FPS	7 FPS
ultra	5 FPS	5 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 485M SLI Open Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
1080p
low	151 FPS	149 FPS
medium	121 FPS	119 FPS
high	101 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	76 FPS	74 FPS
1440p
low	113 FPS	112 FPS
medium	91 FPS	89 FPS
high	76 FPS	74 FPS
ultra	57 FPS	56 FPS
4K
low	76 FPS	74 FPS
medium	60 FPS	60 FPS
high	50 FPS	50 FPS
ultra	38 FPS	37 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 485M SLI Open Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
1080p
low	135 FPS	149 FPS
medium	108 FPS	119 FPS
high	92 FPS	99 FPS
ultra	74 FPS	74 FPS
1440p
low	101 FPS	112 FPS
medium	82 FPS	89 FPS
high	70 FPS	74 FPS
ultra	56 FPS	56 FPS
4K
low	58 FPS	69 FPS
medium	45 FPS	54 FPS
high	36 FPS	44 FPS
ultra	27 FPS	32 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 485M SLI Open Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 485M SLI and Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire

GeForce GTX 485M SLI

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 6 2011. It features the Fermi architecture. The core clock speed is 575 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 100W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,360 points.

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 GTX 485M SLI scores 3,360 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire reaches 3,311 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 485M SLI is built on Fermi while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire uses Terascale 2, both on a 40 nm process. Shader units: 768 (GeForce GTX 485M SLI) vs 1,600 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire).

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
G3D Mark Score	3,360+1%	3,311
Architecture	Fermi	Terascale 2
Process Node	40 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	768	1600+108%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility 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 feature 2 GB of GDDR5. Bus width: 128-bit vs 128-bit.

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility 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 GTX 485M SLI) vs 11.0 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Vulkan: 1.2 vs No. OpenGL: 4.0 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
DirectX	12 (11_0)+9%	11.0
Vulkan	1.2	No
OpenGL	4.0	4.4+10%
Max Displays	2	6+200%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: PureVideo HD VP4 (GeForce GTX 485M SLI) 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,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GTX 485M SLI) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire).

Feature	GeForce GTX 485M SLI	Mobility 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,MPEG-4 ASP	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 485M SLI draws 100W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire's 120W — a 18.2% difference. The GeForce GTX 485M SLI is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 485M SLI) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 92°C vs 95°C.