Radeon HD 7870 XT vs Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU

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 XT vs Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU 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 XT vs Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU: 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 XT

2012

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 16.6 vs 0 G3D/$ ($270 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Draws 185W instead of 300W, a 115W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU 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.

Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU

2017

Why buy it

✅47.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅More future proof: GCN 5.0 (2017−2020) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2017 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 16.6 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $270 MSRP).
❌62.2% higher power demand at 300W vs 185W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 47.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 7870 XT instead at 4,470 vs 4,403, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

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

Radeon HD 7870 XT 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 XT makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 7870 XT vs Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 7870 XT

The Radeon HD 7870 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 19 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 925 MHz to 975 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 185W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,470 points. Launch price was $270.

Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU

The Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 27 2017. It features the GCN 5.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1400 MHz to 1500 MHz. It has 4096 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,403 points.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7870 XT scores 4,470 and the Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU reaches 4,403 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7870 XT is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU uses GCN 5.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (Radeon HD 7870 XT) vs 4,096 (Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU). Raw compute: 2.995 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7870 XT) vs 12.29 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU). Boost clocks: 975 MHz vs 1500 MHz.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870 XT	Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU
G3D Mark Score	4,470+2%	4,403
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 5.0
Process Node	28 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	1536	4096 ×2+167%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.995 TFLOPS	12.29 TFLOPS ×2+310%
Boost Clock	975 MHz	1500 MHz+54%
ROPs	32	64 ×2+100%
TMUs	96	256 ×2+167%
L1 Cache	0.38 MB	1 MB+163%
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	4 MB+700%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 7870 XT	Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU
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 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 256-bit on the Radeon HD 7870 XT and 64-bit on the Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU. L2 Cache: 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 7870 XT) vs 4 MB (Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU) — the Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870 XT	Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	256-bit+300%	64-bit
L2 Cache	0.5 MB	4 MB+700%

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7870 XT draws 185W versus the Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU's 300W — a 47.4% difference. The Radeon HD 7870 XT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (Radeon HD 7870 XT) vs 350W (Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870 XT	Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU
TDP	185W-38%	300W
Recommended PSU	500W	350W-30%
Power Connector	2x 6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	267mm	—
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	—
Temp (Load)	80	—
Perf/Watt	24.2+65%	14.7

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Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU (2017 vs 2012).

Feature	Radeon HD 7870 XT	Radeon Instinct MI25 MxGPU
MSRP	$270	—
Codename	Tahiti	Vega 10
Release	November 19 2012	June 27 2017
Ranking	#469	#474

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