Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Quadro 1000M

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
NVIDIA

Quadro 1000M

2015Core: 993 MHzBoost: 1072 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Quadro 1000M 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.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Quadro 1000M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

2010

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2010 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 25% higher power demand at 50W vs 40W.

Quadro 1000M

2015

Why buy it

  • 300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 512 MB).
  • Draws 40W instead of 50W, a 10W reduction.
  • More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 2 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 4.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $129 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Quadro 1000M is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.3% in PassMark G3D (555 vs 548), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Mobility Radeon HD 3870 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack. That still leaves it as the safer long-term option on hardware alone.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 3870 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Quadro 1000M still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Quadro 1000M Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 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 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 548 points.

NVIDIA

Quadro 1000M

The Quadro 1000M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 18 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 993 MHz to 1072 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 40W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 555 points. Launch price was $200.89.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 scores 548 and the Quadro 1000M reaches 555 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Quadro 1000M uses Maxwell, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 512 (Quadro 1000M). Raw compute: 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 1.017 TFLOPS (Quadro 1000M).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Quadro 1000M
G3D Mark Score
548
555+1%
Architecture
TeraScale 2
Maxwell
Process Node
40 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
800+56%
512
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.12 TFLOPS+10%
1.017 TFLOPS
ROPs
16
16
TMUs
40+25%
32
L1 Cache
80 KB
256 KB+220%
L2 Cache
0.25 MB
2 MB+700%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Quadro 1000M
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Quadro 1000M carries 2 GB. Quadro 1000M gives you 300% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 and 64-bit on the Quadro 1000M. L2 Cache: 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 2 MB (Quadro 1000M) — the Quadro 1000M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Quadro 1000M
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
2 GB+300%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
0.25 MB
2 MB+700%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 draws 50W versus the Quadro 1000M's 40W — a 22.2% difference. The Quadro 1000M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 350W (Quadro 1000M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Quadro 1000M
TDP
50W
40W-20%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
1mm
Slots
0
Perf/Watt
11.0
13.9+26%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Quadro 1000M (2015 vs 2010).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Quadro 1000M
MSRP
$129
Codename
Broadway
GM107
Release
January 7 2010
August 18 2015
Ranking
#846
#594

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