Mobility Radeon HD 4870 vs Radeon R7 A8-8650

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 4870

2009Core: 550 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon R7 A8-8650

2014Core: 725 MHzBoost: 825 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon HD 4870 vs Radeon R7 A8-8650 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 4870 vs Radeon R7 A8-8650: 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 4870

2009

Why buy it

  • 100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).

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.
  • 510.2% HIGHER MSRP
    $299 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.4 vs 14.7 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).

Radeon R7 A8-8650

2014

Why buy it

  • Costs $250 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • Delivers 509.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 14.7 vs 2.4 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) 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.
  • 2014 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 4870 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.1% in PassMark G3D (720 vs 719), 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 4870 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 1 GB vs 512 MB of VRAM. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon R7 A8-8650 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $250 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 509.4% (14.7 vs 2.4), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R7 A8-8650 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Mobility Radeon HD 4870 has the stronger long-term case.

Mobility Radeon HD 4870 vs Radeon R7 A8-8650 Technical Specifications

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

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.

AMD

Radeon R7 A8-8650

The Radeon R7 A8-8650 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2014. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 725 MHz to 825 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 719 points.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 scores 720 and the Radeon R7 A8-8650 reaches 719 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon R7 A8-8650 uses GCN 1.0, both on 55 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) vs 384 (Radeon R7 A8-8650). Raw compute: 0.88 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) vs 0.6336 TFLOPS (Radeon R7 A8-8650).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
G3D Mark Score
720
719
Architecture
TeraScale
GCN 1.0
Process Node
55 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
800+108%
384
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.88 TFLOPS+39%
0.6336 TFLOPS
ROPs
16+100%
8
TMUs
40+67%
24
L1 Cache
160 KB+67%
96 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
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 4870 has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R7 A8-8650 carries 512 MB. 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 Mobility Radeon HD 4870 and 128-bit on the Radeon R7 A8-8650.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
VRAM Capacity
1 GB+100%
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) vs 12 (12_0) (Radeon R7 A8-8650). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 3.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
DirectX
10.1
12 (12_0)+19%
OpenGL
3.3
4.6+39%
Max Displays
2
3+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: UVD 2.0 vs UVD 6.0. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon R7 A8-8650).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
Encoder
VCE 2.0
Decoder
UVD 2.0
UVD 6.0
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 4870 draws 30W versus the Radeon R7 A8-8650's 30W — a 0% difference. The Radeon R7 A8-8650 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) vs 350W (Radeon R7 A8-8650). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
TDP
30W
30W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
72
Perf/Watt
24.0
24.0
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 4870 came in at $299, while the Radeon R7 A8-8650 launched at $49. On MSRP, Radeon R7 A8-8650 was 83.6% cheaper ($250 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 4870) vs 14.7 (Radeon R7 A8-8650) — the Radeon R7 A8-8650 offers 512.5% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R7 A8-8650 (2014 vs 2009).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 4870Radeon R7 A8-8650
MSRP
$299
$49-84%
Performance per Dollar
2.4
14.7+513%
Codename
M98
Opal
Release
January 9 2009
January 9 2014
Ranking
#927
#890

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