Difference Between HD 6870 and HD 7870

[pkthedj]

Simple, what is the difference between the two, and why is the 7870 priced alot higher?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

6870 = last generation
7870 = current generation

If ya can afford the latter, I'd step up to the 670

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite: Hard Reset, COD-MW2, Far Cry 2, ANNO 1404, Metro 2033, ANNO 2070, BFBC2, BF3, Crysis 2, AvP, Lost Planet 2. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:


Card - Cost ( Single / 2-way SLI /CF ) $ / Frame - $ / Frame SLI/CF
GTX 670 - $ 400 ( 917 / 1539 ) $ 0.44 - $ 0.52
670 DCII Cu TOP - $ 420 ( 999 / 1679 ) $ 0.42 - $ 0.50
7870 - $ 360 ( 701 / NA ) $ 0.51 - NA
7850 - $ 260 ( 596 / NA ) $ 0.44 - NA

The AMD cards w/ NA did not complete all games in the etst suite. This should be resolved in an upcoming driver fix.

For example:

7870 @ $360 gets 701 fps at a cost of $0.51 per frame
670 @ $400 gets 917 fps at a cost of $0.44 per frame

 

[willard]

AnandTech's GPU Bench is my new favorite tool for comparing video cards.

 

[Project X]

The 7870 is far better than the 6870, hence the price difference. The 7870 isn't intended to replace the 6870. It's in a different tier.

 

[willard]

Get a hd7850 and by overclocking it you can easily achive stock speed of hd7870.

I don't understand this argument, and I see it all the time. You can also overclock the 7870.

Why do people insist on comparing overclocked components to stock components? The process almost always applies to both parts.

 

[photonboy]

Overclocking:
The new 28nm process that the HD7000 series uses has more overclocking potential than the previous 40nm process that the HD6870.

Anyone considering the HD7000 series would be best served with a better after market cooler, not just for overclocking but for lower noise. The difference in price is not significant.

Frame Rates:
An HD7870 provides better frame rates. See benchmarks.

Future:
Some of the architectural changes will be utilized more in future games so the newer HD7000 would perform relatively better.

OTHER:
There are other differences such as Zero Core Power which mainly matters for Crossfire.

Summary:
the HD7870
- performs better,
- has more overclocking potential,
- has more VRAM (will benefit some games)
- runs cooler, and
- is slightly more future-proofed.