Radeon HD 7870 vs Radeon R9 Nano

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 7870 vs Radeon R9 Nano 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 7870 vs Radeon R9 Nano: 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 7870

2012

Why buy it

✅Costs $300 less on MSRP ($349 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).
✅Delivers 84.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 13.1 vs 7.1 G3D/$ ($349 MSRP vs $649 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 Nano 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.
❌58.6% longer card at 241mm vs 152mm.

Radeon R9 Nano

2015

Why buy it

✅43.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Measures 152mm instead of 241mm, a 89mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
✅More future proof: GCN 3.0 (2014−2019) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2015 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
86% HIGHER MSRP
$649 MSRPvs$349 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.1 vs 13.1 G3D/$ ($649 MSRP vs $349 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 Nano is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 43.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 0.9% in PassMark G3D (4,609 vs 4,568), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 7870 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 7870 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $300 cheaper on MSRP at $349 vs $649, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 84.3% (13.1 vs 7.1), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon R9 Nano still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 7870 vs Radeon R9 Nano Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 7870

The Radeon HD 7870 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: 4,568 points. Launch price was $349.

Radeon R9 Nano

The Radeon R9 Nano is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 27 2015. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 175W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,609 points. Launch price was $649.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7870 scores 4,568 and the Radeon R9 Nano reaches 4,609 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7870 is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R9 Nano uses GCN 3.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon HD 7870) vs 4,096 (Radeon R9 Nano). Raw compute: 2.56 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7870) vs 8.192 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 Nano).

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
G3D Mark Score	4,568	4,609
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 3.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1280	4096+220%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.56 TFLOPS	8.192 TFLOPS+220%
ROPs	32	64+100%
TMUs	80	256+220%
L1 Cache	0.31 MB	1 MB+223%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	2 MB+300%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
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 video memory. Memory bandwidth: 153.6 GB/s (Radeon HD 7870) vs 512 GB/s (Radeon R9 Nano) — a 233.3% advantage for the Radeon R9 Nano. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the Radeon HD 7870 and 4096-bit on the Radeon R9 Nano. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 7870) vs 2 MB (Radeon R9 Nano) — the Radeon R9 Nano has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	HBM
Memory Bandwidth	153.6 GB/s	512 GB/s+233%
Bus Width	256-bit	4096-bit+1500%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	2 MB+300%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 7870) vs 12 (Radeon R9 Nano). Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
DirectX	12 (11_1)	12
Max Displays	6+50%	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7870) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 Nano). Decoder: UVD 4.0 vs UVD 6.0.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
Encoder	VCE 1.0	VCE 3.0
Decoder	UVD 4.0	UVD 6.0
Codecs	H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1	—

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7870 draws 200W versus the Radeon R9 Nano's 175W — a 13.3% difference. The Radeon R9 Nano is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon HD 7870) vs 550W (Radeon R9 Nano). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 1x 8-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 152mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
TDP	200W	175W-13%
Recommended PSU	500W-9%	550W
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	1x 8-pin
Length	241mm	152mm
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	80°C	—
Perf/Watt	22.8	26.3+15%

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 7870 came in at $349, while the Radeon R9 Nano launched at $649. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7870 was 46.2% cheaper ($300 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 13.1 (Radeon HD 7870) vs 7.1 (Radeon R9 Nano) — the Radeon HD 7870 offers 84.5% better value. The newer card here is Radeon R9 Nano (2015 vs 2012).

Feature	Radeon HD 7870	Radeon R9 Nano
MSRP	$349-46%	$649
Performance per Dollar	13.1+85%	7.1
Codename	Pitcairn	Fiji
Release	March 5 2012	August 27 2015
Ranking	#460	#306

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