AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Review | 118 Data compared

The HEXUS review covers the launch of AMD’s Radeon HD 7870 (Pitcairn XT) and HD 7850 (Pitcairn Pro) graphics cards, which are built on the 28nm Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture to fill the upper-mid-range market gap. The faster HD 7870 is priced at $349 (£260) and relies on a high core clock of 1,000MHz alongside 1,280 stream processors to outpace the older HD 6970 and sit comfortably between NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580 in benchmarks like Battlefield 3 and Crysis 2. Meanwhile, the lower-tier HD 7850 launches at $249 (£185) with 1,024 cores clocked at 860MHz. Equipped with standard 2GB framebuffers and a 256-bit memory bus, both PCIe 3.0-certified cards excel in power efficiency. They utilize a single 6-pin connector for the HD 7850 (130W TDP) and dual 6-pin connectors for the HD 7870 (175W TDP), ensuring cool, quiet operation, and strong "bang4buck" and "bang4watt" value metrics. The primary pros highlighted in the evaluation include excellent tessellation and core efficiency inherited from the GCN architecture, low power consumption assisted by an 8W drop during idle ZeroCore mode,...

The TechSpot review of the Pitcairn-based AMD Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 highlights these 28nm cards as strong mid-range performers offering 2GB GDDR5, low power consumption, and excellent overclocking. The $349 7870 GHz Edition beats the GTX 570 by 18%, while the $249 7850 outperforms the GTX 560 Ti by 9%, delivering superior price-to-performance. YouTube · Conversely, the $249 7850's exceptional value overshadows the 7870, rendering the more expensive model less appealing. Minor issues include rare performance stutters for the 7850 in specific titles at high resolutions and reference fans that become audible under heavy, sustained load. TechSpot ultimately awarded the 7850 a 90, marking it as the superior value option over the 7870 (scored 85).

The Legit Reviews overview covers the 2012 launch of the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition and the Radeon HD 7850. Built on TSMC's 28nm manufacturing process, these "Pitcairn" core graphics cards bridged a major market gap between the entry-level HD 7770 and high-end HD 7950. The premium HD 7870 GHz Edition features 1,280 stream processors and a 1GHz core clock speed, while the scaled-back HD 7850 operates at 860MHz with 1,024 stream processors. Both options boast 2GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, offering a potent 153.6 GB/s of bandwidth designed to provide mainstream gamers with high-performing, fluid gameplay. The main advantages highlighted are exceptional performance value, robust power efficiency, and outstanding overclocking headroom. Specifically, the HD 7870 easily outperforms the previous generation's flagship HD 6970 and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 570 while consuming significantly less power. Furthermore, the review emphasizes that the HD 7870 operates quietly and stably pushes up to a massive 1.2GHz core clock when overclocked. On the downside, the primary drawbacks consist of a "paper launch" delay, lack of multi-GPU scaling layout flexibility, and internal...

AMD Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 Review Summary The AMD Radeon HD 7870 and 7850 graphics cards successfully fill the price gap between the higher-end HD 7950 and budget-tier HD 7700, delivering surprisingly high gaming performance relative to their power footprint. On the positive side, both Pitcairn-based boards run very coolly, quietly, and consume very little power. The $350 Radeon HD 7870 stands out as a highly compelling option, aggressively matching the performance of the more expensive $465 Radeon HD 7950 and Nvidia’s $470-tier GeForce GTX 580. However, the review highlights significant stability and hardware readiness concerns, particularly for the $250 Radeon HD 7850. Testers encountered severe texture quality anomalies and driver bugs across both cards. The HD 7850 specifically suffered from platform compatibility issues on Core i7-3000 systems, failed to boot reliably, and frequently crashed in popular software like World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, LightWave, and 3ds Max. Ultimately, while the HD 7870 is heavily praised for its price-to-performance value, the HD 7850 launched with unresolved bugs that require driver or hardware revisions before it is truly ready for...

The TechPowerUp review of the AMD Radeon HD 7850 and HD 7870 2 GB highlights the 28 nm "Pitcairn" silicon utilizing Graphics CoreNext (GCN) architecture to improve mid-to-high-end performance. Pros include a 40% performance increase over previous-generation cards, exceptional power efficiency, and outstanding overclocking headroom, with the HD 7870 pushing past 1200 MHz core. However, the review cites drawbacks, including high cooling fan noise, as AMD prioritized low temperatures over acoustics. Furthermore, high launch pricing of $249 for the HD 7850 and $349 for the HD 7870, combined with restrictive Catalyst Control Center overclocking limits, dampened the overall value proposition.

The Digital Foundry hardware review evaluates the Club 3D Radeon HD 7870 "royalAce" edition, a factory-overclocked mid-range graphics card based on AMD's 28nm Pitcairn architecture. Retailing around the £200 mark, this specific variant boosts core clock speeds by 10% to 1100MHz. It features a wider 256-bit memory bus and 32 ROPs, allowing it to outperform its primary competitor, the Nvidia GTX 660 Ti, in specific memory-heavy gaming scenarios like Batman: Arkham City and Metro 2033 benchmarks. The card includes a custom CoolStream twin-fan open cooler, requires two 6-pin PCIe connectors, and comes with an extensive array of bundled video converter cables, adding excellent baseline value to the package. However, the card struggles to hit a fluid 1080p at 60 FPS on maxed-out "Ultra" settings in heavier DirectX 11 titles like Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3. In synthetic 3DMark tests and intensive shootouts, it is comprehensively beaten by the pricier GTX 660 Ti, which boasts higher shader counts and memory clocks. Pros include exceptional pricing value (costing £30–£40 less than Nvidia's option), quiet acoustic performance, efficient low-power desktop idling at 15W...

The WSGF review of the AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition and HD 7850 highlights these 28nm cards as highly efficient, bringing 2GB VRAM performance to a lower price point ($250–$350). They offer improved power consumption, noise levels, and heat management, effectively replacing the older HD 6900 family with similar, or slightly improved, performance metrics. While providing great efficiency, the cards exhibit minimal raw performance gains over the previous generation and generally perform on par with the older HD 6900 family in standard and Eyefinity tests. Consequently, owners of 6000-series cards may find little incentive to upgrade to these models, which the review suggests are better suited for users moving up from much older hardware.

The AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition is a powerful entry point into enthusiast-level gaming, striking a solid balance between mid-range and high-end performance within AMD’s 7000 "Southern Islands" lineup. Built on the 28nm Graphics Core Next architecture, this card is uniquely clocked at 1GHz and paired with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. In terms of pros, the card delivers excellent gaming performance that successfully outperforms competing previous-generation options like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 570 across multiple benchmarks, including Aliens versus Predator and DiRT 3. Furthermore, it features an impressively low power draw, utilizing innovations like ZeroCore Power to dramatically minimize energy usage when idle, and it offers a comprehensive suite of current display technologies like DirectX 11, Eyefinity for multi-monitor setups, and DisplayPort 1.2. Despite its strong performance, the card has notable cons, primarily concerning its launching price-to-performance ratio. At a list price of $349, competing GPUs offered similar gaming power for noticeably less money, giving Nvidia a value advantage at the time. From a hardware installation perspective, the Radeon HD 7870 is physically restrictive, requiring two six-pin PCIe power...

The AMD Radeon HD 7870 is an upper-mid-range graphics card featuring the 28nm "Pitcairn" processor, equipped with 1,280 stream processors, 2GB of RAM, and a 256-bit memory bus. Launched at a reviewed price of £260, it offers excellent value by delivering performance close to the more expensive £350 Radeon HD 7950. In gaming benchmarks, it achieves an impressive 74.3fps in Dirt 3 at 1080p Ultra detail, and manages a playable 31.1fps even when stretched across three monitors in Eyefinity mode. Structurally, the card is a reasonably sized 242mm long, uses two six-pin power connectors, and includes dual-link DVI-I, HDMI, and twin DisplayPort outputs. The card's main advantages (pros) are its strong cost-to-performance ratio and power efficiency compared to older models like the HD 6970, as it can shut down most circuits when the screen is turned off. However, its drawbacks (cons) include limited manual overclocking headroom, only stable up to 1.1GHz during testing. It also slightly struggles with highly demanding games at stock speeds; for instance, it drops into "jerky territory" at 28.8fps in Crysis 2 at 1080p Ultra settings,...

The Sapphire HD 7870 Flex GHz Edition is a custom-cooled, feature-rich graphics card that capitalizes on AMD's recent $50 price cut to a more competitive $299 (£250) retail point. A major standout feature of this specific model is its integrated third clock generator, which allows users to connect three low-cost DVI monitors simultaneously for multi-display setups without requiring an active, expensive DisplayPort adapter. The card features high-quality construction on a signature blue PCB and relies on a Dual-X custom cooler equipped with four heatpipes and dual aerofoil fans. Additionally, it includes a hidden dual-BIOS switch that bumps the default 1,000MHz core clock up to a 1,050MHz factory overclock, while raising the 2GB GDDR5 memory buffer from 4,800MHz to an effective 5,000MHz. The primary advantages of this graphics card include its excellent thermal and noise management, as the Dual-X cooler keeps the GPU under 60°C and runs nearly silently even under full gaming loads. Its flexible output design is also highly praised for making budget-friendly multi-monitor setups exceptionally straightforward. However, the card is not without its downsides; the review notes that...

The TechPowerUp review of the Sapphire HD 7870 Flex highlights its impressive raw performance, which rivals the NVIDIA GTX 580, alongside a highly effective Dual-X cooling system and low power consumption. A key advantage is the Flex technology, which allows for three-monitor Eyefinity setups without requiring expensive active DisplayPort adapters. However, the card lacks a factory overclock and utilizes Elpida memory chips that restrict memory overclocking capability to only 1365 MHz, significantly lower than competing models that reach 1600 MHz. Despite its efficient design and competitive pricing, it faces stiff performance competition from higher-end cards.

The AMD Radeon HD 7870 is built on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture and a 28nm production process, delivering impressive efficiency and support for modern features like PCI Express 3.0 and ZeroCore Power tech. At stock 1GHz speeds, its performance matches the previous high-end HD 6970, though this similarity in performance and its initial launch price make the base card relatively unexciting. However, it is an ideal, sub-£300 enthusiast upgrade path for gamers moving away from older hardware like the HD 5800 series. Core Pros & Cons Pro: Outstanding overclocking headroom that easily pushes the GPU clock from 1GHz to 1.2GHz using basic Catalyst tools. Pro: Overclocked performance rivals the significantly more expensive Nvidia GeForce GTX 580. Pro: ZeroCore Power tech cuts down idle consumption by up to 90% when the screen is off. Con: Stock speeds offer no performance incentive or better price-to-performance metrics over last-generation cards. Con: The stock cooling fan becomes quite loud once you manually crank it up past the 50% mark.

The Guru3D review introduces the AMD Radeon HD 7800 mid-range graphics card series, which utilizes the 28nm "Pitcairn" GPU architecture based on AMD's Graphics Core Next (GCN) design. The higher-end Radeon HD 7870 "GHz Edition" features 1280 Stream Processors, a 1000 MHz core clock speed, and a 175W power profile. The slightly scaled-down Radeon HD 7850 comes equipped with 1024 Stream Processors, an 860 MHz core clock, and a lower 130W power draw. Both reference models include 2GB of GDDR5 memory running across a 256-bit interface, providing excellent performance matching or exceeding previous enthusiast-grade cards like the GeForce GTX 570 and 580. Key features include native DirectX 11 capability, Eyefinity 2.0 multi-monitor configurations reaching massive 16k x 16k canvas boundaries, and custom Windows taskbar positioning. The primary pros highlighted in the review focus on the significant efficiency gains from shifting to a 28nm fabrication process. The reference cooling solutions operate exceptionally quietly, maintain low operating temperatures, and effectively exhaust heat outside the PC chassis. Furthermore, both cards offer massive overclocking headroom, letting hardware enthusiasts easily push core clocks past default...