GeForce GTX 960M
Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
GeForce GTX 960M 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 GTX 960M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire 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.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
GeForce GTX 960M 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 GTX 960M
2015Why buy it
- ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 2 GB).
- ✅Draws 75W instead of 120W, a 45W reduction.
- ✅More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
Trade-offs
- ❌2015 hardware with 4 GB 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 4.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $800 MSRP).
Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire
2010Why buy it
- ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($800 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
Trade-offs
- ❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2010 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌60% higher power demand at 120W vs 75W.
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GeForce GTX 960M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 960M
The GeForce GTX 960M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1096 MHz to 1176 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,375 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 960M scores 3,375 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire reaches 3,311 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 960M is built on Maxwell while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire uses Terascale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 640 (GeForce GTX 960M) vs 1,600 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 3,375+2% | 3,311 |
| Architecture | Maxwell | Terascale 2 |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 40 nm |
| Shading Units | 640 | 1600+150% |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GTX 960M 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.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | 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)
The GeForce GTX 960M has 4 GB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire carries 2 GB. GeForce GTX 960M gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 960M and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 4 GB+100% | 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 960M) vs 11.0 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Vulkan: 1.3 vs No. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (11_0)+9% | 11.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.3 | No |
| OpenGL | 4.6+5% | 4.4 |
| Max Displays | 4 | 6+50% |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC (4th Gen) (GeForce GTX 960M) vs UVD 2.3 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Decoder: NVDEC (1st Gen) vs UVD 2.3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,VC-1,H.264,H.265 (GeForce GTX 960M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC (4th Gen) | UVD 2.3 |
| Decoder | NVDEC (1st Gen) | UVD 2.3 |
| Codecs | MPEG-2,VC-1,H.264,H.265 | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 960M draws 75W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire's 120W — a 46.2% difference. The GeForce GTX 960M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 960M) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 82 vs 95°C.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 75W-38% | 120W |
| Recommended PSU | 350W | 350W |
| Power Connector | 1x 6-pin | PCIe-powered |
| Length | 0mm | — |
| Height | 0mm | — |
| Slots | 0 | — |
| Temp (Load) | 82-14% | 95°C |
| Perf/Watt | 45.0+63% | 27.6 |
Value Analysis
The newer card here is GeForce GTX 960M (2015 vs 2010).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 960M | Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | — | $800 |
| Codename | GM107 | Broadway-XT |
| Release | March 13 2015 | January 7 2010 |
| Ranking | #552 | #688 |
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