Radeon HD 7870 vs T550 Mobile

AMD

Radeon HD 7870

2012Core: 1000 MHz
VS

T550 Mobile

2022Core: 1065 MHzBoost: 1665 MHz

Radeon HD 7870 vs T550 Mobile 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.

Radeon HD 7870 vs T550 Mobile: 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

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 13.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($349 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • 2012 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 769.6% higher power demand at 200W vs 23W.

T550 Mobile

2022

Why buy it

  • Radeon HD 7870 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so T550 Mobile is the less risky modern option long term.
  • Draws 23W instead of 200W, a 177W reduction.
  • More future proof: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Older hardware, 2 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in newer AAA releases.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 13.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $349 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
T550 Mobile is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 4.3% in PassMark G3D (4,764 vs 4,568), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
T550 Mobile is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 12nm process instead of 28nm and a newer 2022 generation instead of 2012. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 7870 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 7870 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, T550 Mobile has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 7870 vs T550 Mobile Technical Specifications

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

AMD

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.

T550 Mobile

The T550 Mobile is manufactured by an unknown manufacturer. It was released in Maio 2022. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1065 MHz to 1665 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 23W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,764 points.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7870 scores 4,568 and the T550 Mobile reaches 4,764 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7870 is built on GCN 1.0 while the T550 Mobile uses Turing, both on 28 nm vs 12 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon HD 7870) vs 1,024 (T550 Mobile). Raw compute: 2.56 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7870) vs 3.41 TFLOPS (T550 Mobile).

FeatureRadeon HD 7870T550 Mobile
G3D Mark Score
4,568
4,764+4%
Architecture
GCN 1.0
Turing
Process Node
28 nm
12 nm
Shading Units
1280+25%
1024
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.56 TFLOPS
3.41 TFLOPS+33%
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
80+25%
64
L1 Cache
0.31 MB
1 MB+223%
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
1 MB+100%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon HD 7870T550 Mobile
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the Radeon HD 7870 and 128-bit on the T550 Mobile. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 7870) vs 1 MB (T550 Mobile) — the T550 Mobile has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon HD 7870T550 Mobile
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR6
Bus Width
256-bit+100%
128-bit
L2 Cache
0.5 MB
1 MB+100%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7870 draws 200W versus the T550 Mobile's 23W — a 158.7% difference. The T550 Mobile is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon HD 7870) vs 350W (T550 Mobile). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureRadeon HD 7870T550 Mobile
TDP
200W
23W-89%
Recommended PSU
500W
350W-30%
Power Connector
2x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
241mm
Height
111mm
Slots
2
Temp (Load)
80°C
Perf/Watt
22.8
207.1+808%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is T550 Mobile (2022 vs 2012).

FeatureRadeon HD 7870T550 Mobile
MSRP
$349
Codename
Pitcairn
TU117
Release
March 5 2012
Maio 2022
Ranking
#460
#452

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