Mobility Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon R7 M460

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5870

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon R7 M460

2016Core: 1100 MHzBoost: 1125 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon R7 M460 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 5870 vs Radeon R7 M460: 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 5870

2010

Why buy it

  • 100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
  • Draws 50W instead of 75W, a 25W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 59.6% HIGHER MSRP
    $399 MSRPvs$250 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.7 vs 4.3 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $250 MSRP).

Radeon R7 M460

2016

Why buy it

  • Costs $149 less on MSRP ($250 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
  • Delivers 56.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.3 vs 2.7 G3D/$ ($250 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
  • More future proof: GCN 3.0 (2014−2019) 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.
  • 2016 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 50% higher power demand at 75W vs 50W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 5870 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1.8% in PassMark G3D (1,088 vs 1,069), 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 5870 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 M460 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $149 cheaper on MSRP at $250 vs $399, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 56.8% (4.3 vs 2.7), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon R7 M460 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Mobility Radeon HD 5870 has the stronger long-term case.

Mobility Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon R7 M460 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5870

The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 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: 1,088 points.

AMD

Radeon R7 M460

The Radeon R7 M460 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 15 2016. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1100 MHz to 1125 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,069 points.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 scores 1,088 and the Radeon R7 M460 reaches 1,069 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon R7 M460 uses GCN 3.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870) vs 384 (Radeon R7 M460). Raw compute: 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5870) vs 0.864 TFLOPS (Radeon R7 M460).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5870Radeon R7 M460
G3D Mark Score
1,088+2%
1,069
Architecture
TeraScale 2
GCN 3.0
Process Node
40 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
800+108%
384
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.12 TFLOPS+30%
0.864 TFLOPS
ROPs
16+100%
8
TMUs
40+67%
24
L1 Cache
80 KB
96 KB+20%
L2 Cache
256 KB+100%
128 KB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5870Radeon R7 M460
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 5870 has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R7 M460 carries 512 MB. Mobility Radeon HD 5870 gives you 100% 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 5870 and 128-bit on the Radeon R7 M460. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 5870) vs 128 KB (Radeon R7 M460) — the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5870Radeon R7 M460
VRAM Capacity
1 GB+100%
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB+100%
128 KB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 draws 50W versus the Radeon R7 M460's 75W — a 40% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 5870 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5870) vs 350W (Radeon R7 M460). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs Mobile.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5870Radeon R7 M460
TDP
50W-33%
75W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
Mobile
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
Temp (Load)
85
Perf/Watt
21.8+52%
14.3
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 came in at $399, while the Radeon R7 M460 launched at $250. On MSRP, Radeon R7 M460 was 37.3% cheaper ($149 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.7 (Mobility Radeon HD 5870) vs 4.3 (Radeon R7 M460) — the Radeon R7 M460 offers 59.3% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R7 M460 (2016 vs 2010).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5870Radeon R7 M460
MSRP
$399
$250-37%
Performance per Dollar
2.7
4.3+59%
Codename
Broadway
Meso
Release
January 7 2010
May 15 2016
Ranking
#846
#861

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