Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 6570

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.

Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 6570 FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 6570: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

Radeon HD 3870

2012

Why buy it

✅Draws 200W instead of 250W, a 50W reduction.
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6570 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2012 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
177.2% HIGHER MSRP
$219 MSRPvs$79 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.5 vs 7.0 G3D/$ ($219 MSRP vs $79 MSRP).

Radeon HD 6570

2010

Why buy it

✅6.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Costs $140 less on MSRP ($79 MSRP vs $219 MSRP).
✅Delivers 179.2% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 7.0 vs 2.5 G3D/$ ($79 MSRP vs $219 MSRP).

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.
❌25% higher power demand at 250W vs 200W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 6570 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 6.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.7% in PassMark G3D (556 vs 552), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon HD 3870 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2012 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 6570 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $140 cheaper on MSRP at $79 vs $219, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 179.2% (7.0 vs 2.5), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 6570 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 3870 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 6570 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 3870

The Radeon HD 3870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 552 points. Launch price was $349.

Radeon HD 6570

The Radeon HD 6570 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 14 2010. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The boost clock speed is 880 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 556 points. Launch price was $369.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 3870 scores 552 and the Radeon HD 6570 reaches 556 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 3870 is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon HD 6570 uses TeraScale 3, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon HD 3870) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 6570). Raw compute: 2.56 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3870) vs 2.703 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6570).

Feature	Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 6570
G3D Mark Score	552	556
Architecture	GCN 1.0	TeraScale 3
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	1280	1536+20%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.56 TFLOPS	2.703 TFLOPS+6%
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	80	96+20%
L1 Cache	320 KB+67%	192 KB
L2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 6570
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 1 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3870 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6570.

Feature	Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 6570
VRAM Capacity	1 GB	1 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264 (Radeon HD 3870) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 6570).

Feature	Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 6570
Encoder	—	None
Decoder	—	UVD 3.0
Codecs	H.264	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 3870 draws 200W versus the Radeon HD 6570's 250W — a 22.2% difference. The Radeon HD 3870 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 300W (Radeon HD 3870) vs 250W (Radeon HD 6570). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs None.

Feature	Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 6570
TDP	200W-20%	250W
Recommended PSU	300W	250W-17%
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	None
Length	—	168mm
Height	—	111mm
Slots	—	1
Temp (Load)	—	75
Perf/Watt	2.8+27%	2.2

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Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 3870 came in at $219, while the Radeon HD 6570 launched at $79. On MSRP, Radeon HD 6570 was 63.9% cheaper ($140 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 2.5 (Radeon HD 3870) vs 7.0 (Radeon HD 6570) — the Radeon HD 6570 offers 180% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 3870 (2012 vs 2010).

Feature	Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 6570
MSRP	$219	$79-64%
Performance per Dollar	2.5	7.0+180%
Codename	Pitcairn	Cayman
Release	March 5 2012	December 14 2010
Ranking	#460	#596

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