Radeon HD 7870M vs Radeon R9 255

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 7870M vs Radeon R9 255 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 7870M vs Radeon R9 255: 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 7870M

2012

Why buy it

✅Draws 45W instead of 190W, a 145W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon R9 255 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.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 10.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $139 MSRP).

Radeon R9 255

2014

Why buy it

✅102.8% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 10.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($139 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅More future proof: GCN 3.0 (2014−2019) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2014 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌322.2% higher power demand at 190W vs 45W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon R9 255 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 102.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 7870M instead at 1,507 vs 1,501, 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 7870M 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 R9 255 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 R9 255 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 7870M has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 7870M vs Radeon R9 255 Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 7870M

The Radeon HD 7870M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 24 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 800 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 45W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,507 points.

Radeon R9 255

The Radeon R9 255 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 2 2014. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 918 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 190W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,501 points. Launch price was $249.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7870M scores 1,507 and the Radeon R9 255 reaches 1,501 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7870M is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon R9 255 uses GCN 3.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 640 (Radeon HD 7870M) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 255). Raw compute: 1.024 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7870M) vs 3.29 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 255).

Feature	Radeon HD 7870M	Radeon R9 255
G3D Mark Score	1,507	1,501
Architecture	GCN 1.0	GCN 3.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	640	1792+180%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.024 TFLOPS	3.29 TFLOPS+221%
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	40	112+180%
L1 Cache	160 KB	448 KB+180%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 7870M	Radeon R9 255
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 bus width is System on the Radeon HD 7870M and 128-bit on the Radeon R9 255. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Radeon HD 7870M) vs 512 KB (Radeon R9 255) — the Radeon R9 255 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870M	Radeon R9 255
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	Unknown
Bus Width	System	128-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7870M draws 45W versus the Radeon R9 255's 190W — a 123.4% difference. The Radeon HD 7870M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 7870M) vs 400W (Radeon R9 255). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 7870M	Radeon R9 255
TDP	45W-76%	190W
Recommended PSU	350W-13%	400W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Perf/Watt	33.5+324%	7.9

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon R9 255 (2014 vs 2012).

Feature	Radeon HD 7870M	Radeon R9 255
MSRP	—	$139
Codename	Heathrow	Tonga
Release	April 24 2012	September 2 2014
Ranking	#765	#365

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