GeForce RTX 3060
Mobility Radeon HD 4870
GeForce RTX 3060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870 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 RTX 3060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870 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 RTX 3060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870: 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 RTX 3060
2021Why buy it
- ✅+2260.4% higher PassMark G3D performance.
- ✅Delivers 2045.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 51.7 vs 2.4 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
- ✅Access to DLSS 2 Super Resolution (2020).
- ✅1100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (12 GB vs 1 GB).
- ✅Better long-term bet: Ampere on 8nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
Trade-offs
- ❌466.7% higher power demand at 170W vs 30W.
Mobility Radeon HD 4870
2009Why buy it
- ✅Costs $30 less on MSRP ($299 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
- ✅Draws 30W instead of 170W, a 140W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (720 vs 16,995).
- ❌Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 12 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌No DLSS support; it relies on FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead.
- ❌2009 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.4 vs 51.7 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
Quick Answers
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GeForce RTX 3060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870 Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce RTX 3060
The GeForce RTX 3060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 12 2021. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1320 MHz to 1777 MHz. It has 3584 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 170W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 28 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 16,995 points. Launch price was $329.
Mobility Radeon HD 4870
The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 550 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 720 points.
Graphics Performance
In G3D Mark, the GeForce RTX 3060 scores 16,995 versus the Mobility Radeon HD 4870's 720 — the GeForce RTX 3060 leads by 2260.4%. The GeForce RTX 3060 is built on Ampere while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 uses TeraScale, both on 8 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 3,584 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Raw compute: 12.74 TFLOPS (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 0.88 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 4870).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 16,995+2260% | 720 |
| Architecture | Ampere | TeraScale |
| Process Node | 8 nm | 55 nm |
| Shading Units | 3584+348% | 800 |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 12.74 TFLOPS+1348% | 0.88 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 48+200% | 16 |
| TMUs | 112+180% | 40 |
| L1 Cache | 3.5 MB+2088% | 0.16 MB |
| L2 Cache | 3 MB+1100% | 0.25 MB |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce RTX 3060 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | DLSS 2 Super Resolution | 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 RTX 3060 has 12 GB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 carries 1 GB. GeForce RTX 3060 gives you 1100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce RTX 3060 and 64-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 4870. L2 Cache: 3 MB (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) — the GeForce RTX 3060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 12 GB+1100% | 1 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 360 GB/s | Unknown |
| Bus Width | 192-bit+200% | 64-bit |
| L2 Cache | 3 MB+1100% | 0.25 MB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 Ultimate (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). OpenGL: 4.6 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 2.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 Ultimate+19% | 10.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6+39% | 3.3 |
| Max Displays | 4+100% | 2 |
Media & Encoding
Decoder: NVDEC 5th Gen vs UVD 2.0. Supported codecs: AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC 7th Gen | — |
| Decoder | NVDEC 5th Gen | UVD 2.0 |
| Codecs | AV1,H.265,H.264,VP9 | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce RTX 3060 draws 170W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 4870's 30W — a 140% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 550W (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Power connectors: 8-pin vs PCIe-powered.
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 170W | 30W-82% |
| Recommended PSU | 550W | 350W-36% |
| Power Connector | 8-pin | PCIe-powered |
| Length | 242mm | — |
| Height | 112mm | — |
| Slots | 2 | 0-100% |
| Temp (Load) | 75 | — |
| Perf/Watt | 100.0+317% | 24.0 |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce RTX 3060 came in at $329, while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 launched at $299. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 4870 was 9.1% cheaper ($30 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 51.7 (GeForce RTX 3060) vs 2.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) — the GeForce RTX 3060 offers 2054.2% better value. The newer card here is GeForce RTX 3060 (2021 vs 2009).
| Feature | GeForce RTX 3060 | Mobility Radeon HD 4870 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $329 | $299-9% |
| Performance per Dollar | 51.7+2054% | 2.4 |
| Codename | GA106 | M98 |
| Release | January 12 2021 | January 9 2009 |
| Ranking | #114 | #927 |
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