Radeon HD 4870 vs Radeon HD 5770

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 4870 vs Radeon HD 5770 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 4870 vs Radeon HD 5770: 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 4870

2008

Why buy it

✅14.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2008 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
88.1% HIGHER MSRP
$299 MSRPvs$159 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.6 vs 8.5 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $159 MSRP).
❌38.9% higher power demand at 150W vs 108W.

Radeon HD 5770

2009

Why buy it

✅Costs $140 less on MSRP ($159 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
✅Delivers 82.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 8.5 vs 4.6 G3D/$ ($159 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
✅Draws 108W instead of 150W, a 42W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 4870 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2009 hardware with 2 GB 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?

Radeon HD 4870 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 14.2% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.8% in PassMark G3D (1,386 vs 1,348), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 4870 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 5770 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $140 cheaper on MSRP at $159 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 82.9% (8.5 vs 4.6), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 5770 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 4870 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 4870 vs Radeon HD 5770 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 4870

The Radeon HD 4870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 25 2008. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 750 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,386 points. Launch price was $299.

Radeon HD 5770

The Radeon HD 5770 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in October 13 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 108W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,348 points. Launch price was $159.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 4870 scores 1,386 and the Radeon HD 5770 reaches 1,348 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 4870 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon HD 5770 uses TeraScale 2, both on 55 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 800 (Radeon HD 4870) vs 800 (Radeon HD 5770). Raw compute: 1.2 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 4870) vs 1.36 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 5770).

Feature	Radeon HD 4870	Radeon HD 5770
G3D Mark Score	1,386+3%	1,348
Architecture	TeraScale	TeraScale 2
Process Node	55 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	800	800
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.2 TFLOPS	1.36 TFLOPS+13%
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	40	40
L1 Cache	160 KB+100%	80 KB
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 4870	Radeon HD 5770
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 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Radeon HD 4870 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5770.

Feature	Radeon HD 4870	Radeon HD 5770
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	64-bit	128-bit+100%
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264 (Radeon HD 4870) vs H.264 (Radeon HD 5770).

Feature	Radeon HD 4870	Radeon HD 5770
Encoder	—	UVD 2.2
Decoder	—	UVD 2.2
Codecs	H.264	H.264

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 4870 draws 150W versus the Radeon HD 5770's 108W — a 32.6% difference. The Radeon HD 5770 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon HD 4870) vs 450W (Radeon HD 5770). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 4870	Radeon HD 5770
TDP	150W	108W-28%
Recommended PSU	500W	450W-10%
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	—	208mm
Slots	—	2
Perf/Watt	9.2	12.5+36%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 4870 came in at $299, while the Radeon HD 5770 launched at $159. On MSRP, Radeon HD 5770 was 46.8% cheaper ($140 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.6 (Radeon HD 4870) vs 8.5 (Radeon HD 5770) — the Radeon HD 5770 offers 84.8% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 5770 (2009 vs 2008).

Feature	Radeon HD 4870	Radeon HD 5770
MSRP	$299	$159-47%
Performance per Dollar	4.6	8.5+85%
Codename	RV770	Juniper
Release	June 25 2008	October 13 2009
Ranking	#784	#730

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