Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual

2013Core: 720 / 775 MHz
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Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual 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 Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual: 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

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 29% HIGHER MSRP
    $129 MSRPvs$100 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.2 vs 5.5 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).

Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual

2013

Why buy it

  • Costs $29 less on MSRP ($100 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).
  • Delivers 28.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.5 vs 4.2 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).
  • More future proof: Unknown architecture on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 3870 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.6% in PassMark G3D (548 vs 545), 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 because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual makes the most sense to buy today. It is $29 cheaper on MSRP at $100 vs $129, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 28.3% (5.5 vs 4.2), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Mobility Radeon HD 3870 has the stronger long-term case.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual 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.

AMD

Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual

The Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 1 2013. The core clock speed is 720 / 775 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 545 points.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 scores 548 and the Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual reaches 545 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 768 (Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual
G3D Mark Score
548
545
Process Node
40 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
800+4%
768
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual's 50W — a 0% difference. The Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual
TDP
50W
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
1mm
Slots
0
Perf/Watt
11.0
10.9
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 came in at $129, while the Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual launched at $100. On MSRP, Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual was 22.5% cheaper ($29 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.2 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 5.5 (Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual) — the Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual offers 31% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual (2013 vs 2010).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870Radeon HD 8450G + 8600M Dual
MSRP
$129
$100-22%
Performance per Dollar
4.2
5.5+31%
Codename
Broadway
Release
January 7 2010
August 1 2013
Ranking
#846
#881

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