Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 vs Radeon HD 5570

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2

2008Core: 660 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 5570

2009Core: 725 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 vs Radeon HD 5570 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 X2 vs Radeon HD 5570: 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 X2

2008

Why buy it

  • Draws 110W instead of 294W, a 184W reduction.
  • Measures 1mm instead of 168mm, a 167mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 2 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2008 hardware with 2 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 461.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $449 MSRPvs$80 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.1 vs 6.0 G3D/$ ($449 MSRP vs $80 MSRP).

Radeon HD 5570

2009

Why buy it

  • Costs $369 less on MSRP ($80 MSRP vs $449 MSRP).
  • Delivers 458.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.0 vs 1.1 G3D/$ ($80 MSRP vs $449 MSRP).
  • 99900% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 2 MB).
  • Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so Radeon HD 5570 is the less risky modern option long term.

Trade-offs

  • 2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 167.3% higher power demand at 294W vs 110W.
  • 16700% longer card at 168mm vs 1mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.4% in PassMark G3D (478 vs 476), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon HD 5570 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 2 GB vs 2 MB of VRAM, a 40nm process instead of 55nm, and a newer 2009 generation instead of 2008. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 5570 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $369 cheaper on MSRP at $80 vs $449, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 458.9% (6.0 vs 1.1), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 vs Radeon HD 5570 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 1 2008. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 660 MHz. It has 320 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 110W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 478 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 5570

The Radeon HD 5570 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 18 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 1600 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 294W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 476 points. Launch price was $699.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 scores 478 and the Radeon HD 5570 reaches 476 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon HD 5570 uses TeraScale 2, both on 55 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 320 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs 1,600 (Radeon HD 5570). Raw compute: 0.4224 TFLOPS ×2 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs 2.32 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 5570).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
G3D Mark Score
478
476
Architecture
TeraScale
TeraScale 2
Process Node
55 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
320 ×2
1600 ×2+400%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.4224 TFLOPS ×2
2.32 TFLOPS ×2+449%
ROPs
16 ×2
32 ×2+100%
TMUs
16 ×2
80 ×2+400%
L2 Cache
256 KB
512 KB+100%
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
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)

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 has 2 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 5570 carries 2 GB. Radeon HD 5570 gives you 99900% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5570. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 5570) — the Radeon HD 5570 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
VRAM Capacity
0.002 GB
2 GB+99900%
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
256 KB
512 KB+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs 11.2 (11_0) (Radeon HD 5570). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 3.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
DirectX
10.1
11.2 (11_0)+11%
Max Displays
0
3
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs None (Radeon HD 5570). Decoder: UVD vs UVD 2.2.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
Encoder
UVD
None
Decoder
UVD
UVD 2.2
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 draws 110W versus the Radeon HD 5570's 294W — a 91.1% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs 250W (Radeon HD 5570). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs None. Card length: 1mm vs 168mm, occupying 0 vs 1 slots.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
TDP
110W-63%
294W
Recommended PSU
350W
250W-29%
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
None
Length
1mm
168mm
Height
69mm
Slots
0-100%
1
Temp (Load)
70
Perf/Watt
4.3+169%
1.6
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 came in at $449, while the Radeon HD 5570 launched at $80. On MSRP, Radeon HD 5570 was 82.2% cheaper ($369 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2) vs 6.0 (Radeon HD 5570) — the Radeon HD 5570 offers 445.5% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 5570 (2009 vs 2008).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 3870 X2Radeon HD 5570
MSRP
$449
$80-82%
Performance per Dollar
1.1
6.0+445%
Codename
M88
Hemlock
Release
September 1 2008
November 18 2009
Ranking
#919
#651

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