Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 5670

Speed and memory

The Radeon HD 3870 and the Radeon HD 5670 are within a few percent of each other for gaming in our model, so you will not see a difference in play.

The Radeon HD 3870 has shared GB of video memory and the Radeon HD 5670 has 1 GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Cyberpunk 2077 (3 against 1 fps), and the smallest is in Grand Theft Auto V Legacy (14 against 10 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon HD 3870 is rated at 106 W and the Radeon HD 5670 at 61 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 450 W for the first and 450 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon HD 3870 cost $199 and the Radeon HD 5670 $99. Per dollar, the Radeon HD 5670 gave more performance (0.7 points per $100 against 0.4). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon HD 3870 if you want the faster card, and you can accept 0 GB of memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon HD 5670 if the price gap matters more than the small speed difference, and you value the extra video memory. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.