GRID K140Q vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870

GRID K140Q

2013Core: 745 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

2009Core: 550 MHz

GRID K140Q 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.

GRID K140Q 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.

GRID K140Q

2013

Why buy it

  • Costs $174 less on MSRP ($125 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • Delivers 141.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.8 vs 2.4 G3D/$ ($125 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 650% higher power demand at 225W vs 30W.

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

2009

Why buy it

  • 100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
  • Draws 30W instead of 225W, a 195W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2009 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 139.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $299 MSRPvs$125 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.4 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $125 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GRID K140Q is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (728 vs 720), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GRID K140Q is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 55nm and a newer 2013 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GRID K140Q makes the most sense to buy today. It is $174 cheaper on MSRP at $125 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 141.9% (5.8 vs 2.4), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GRID K140Q vs Mobility Radeon HD 4870 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GRID K140Q

The GRID K140Q is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 28 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 745 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 728 points. Launch price was $469.

AMD

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

The GRID K140Q scores 728 and the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 reaches 720 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GRID K140Q is built on Kepler while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 uses TeraScale, both on 28 nm vs 55 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GRID K140Q) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Raw compute: 2.289 TFLOPS (GRID K140Q) vs 0.88 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 4870).

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
G3D Mark Score
728+1%
720
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale
Process Node
28 nm
55 nm
Shading Units
1536+92%
800
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.289 TFLOPS+160%
0.88 TFLOPS
ROPs
32+100%
16
TMUs
128+220%
40
L1 Cache
128 KB
160 KB+25%
L2 Cache
512 KB+100%
256 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GRID K140Q has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 carries 1 GB. Mobility Radeon HD 4870 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GRID K140Q and 64-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 4870. L2 Cache: 512 KB (GRID K140Q) vs 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) — the GRID K140Q has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
1 GB+100%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
64-bit
64-bit
L2 Cache
512 KB+100%
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11_0 (GRID K140Q) vs 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 2.

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
DirectX
11_0+9%
10.1
Max Displays
0
2
🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: NVDEC 1st Gen vs UVD 2.0.

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
Encoder
NVENC 3rd Gen
Decoder
NVDEC 1st Gen
UVD 2.0
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GRID K140Q draws 225W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 4870's 30W — a 152.9% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GRID K140Q) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 4870). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
TDP
225W
30W-87%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
267mm
Slots
1
0-100%
Perf/Watt
3.2
24.0+650%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GRID K140Q came in at $125, while the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 launched at $299. On MSRP, GRID K140Q was 58.2% cheaper ($174 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.8 (GRID K140Q) vs 2.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) — the GRID K140Q offers 141.7% better value. The newer card here is GRID K140Q (2013 vs 2009).

FeatureGRID K140QMobility Radeon HD 4870
MSRP
$125-58%
$299
Performance per Dollar
5.8+142%
2.4
Codename
GK104
M98
Release
June 28 2013
January 9 2009
Ranking
#628
#927

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