Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon HD 7770

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 5870 vs Radeon HD 7770 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 5870 vs Radeon HD 7770: 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 5870

2009

Why buy it

✅104.2% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

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.
❌
150.9% HIGHER MSRP
$399 MSRPvs$159 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.5 vs 13.7 G3D/$ ($399 MSRP vs $159 MSRP).
❌135% higher power demand at 188W vs 80W.
❌33.3% longer card at 280mm vs 210mm.

Radeon HD 7770

2012

Why buy it

✅Costs $240 less on MSRP ($159 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Delivers 150.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 13.7 vs 5.5 G3D/$ ($159 MSRP vs $399 MSRP).
✅Draws 80W instead of 188W, a 108W reduction.
✅Measures 210mm instead of 280mm, a 70mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 5870 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2012 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 5870 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 104.2% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.3% in PassMark G3D (2,180 vs 2,173), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 5870 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 7770 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $240 cheaper on MSRP at $159 vs $399, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 150.1% (13.7 vs 5.5), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 7770 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 5870 has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon HD 7770 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 5870

The Radeon HD 5870 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 23 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 850 MHz. It has 1600 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 188W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,180 points. Launch price was $399.

Radeon HD 7770

The Radeon HD 7770 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in February 15 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,173 points. Launch price was $159.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 5870 scores 2,180 and the Radeon HD 7770 reaches 2,173 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 5870 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon HD 7770 uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,600 (Radeon HD 5870) vs 640 (Radeon HD 7770). Raw compute: 2.72 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 5870) vs 1.28 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7770).

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
G3D Mark Score	2,180	2,173
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1600+150%	640
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.72 TFLOPS+113%	1.28 TFLOPS
ROPs	32+100%	16
TMUs	80+100%	40
L1 Cache	160 KB	160 KB
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
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 128-bit on the Radeon HD 5870 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 7770. L2 Cache: 512 KB (Radeon HD 5870) vs 256 KB (Radeon HD 7770) — the Radeon HD 5870 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	72 GB/s
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.2 (Radeon HD 5870) vs 12_0 (Radeon HD 7770). Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
DirectX	11.2	12_0+7%
Max Displays	3	4+33%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD 2.2 (Radeon HD 5870) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7770). Decoder: UVD 2.2 vs UVD 3.1. Supported codecs: H.264 (Radeon HD 5870) vs H.264 (Radeon HD 7770).

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
Encoder	UVD 2.2	VCE 1.0
Decoder	UVD 2.2	UVD 3.1
Codecs	H.264	H.264

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 5870 draws 188W versus the Radeon HD 7770's 80W — a 80.6% difference. The Radeon HD 7770 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon HD 5870) vs 450W (Radeon HD 7770). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 280mm vs 210mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
TDP	188W	80W-57%
Recommended PSU	500W	450W-10%
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Length	280mm	210mm
Slots	2	2
Perf/Watt	11.6	27.2+134%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 5870 came in at $399, while the Radeon HD 7770 launched at $159. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7770 was 60.2% cheaper ($240 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.5 (Radeon HD 5870) vs 13.7 (Radeon HD 7770) — the Radeon HD 7770 offers 149.1% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 7770 (2012 vs 2009).

Feature	Radeon HD 5870	Radeon HD 7770
MSRP	$399	$159-60%
Performance per Dollar	5.5	13.7+149%
Codename	Cypress	Cape Verde
Release	September 23 2009	February 15 2012
Ranking	#663	#664

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