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In Ari Altman’s 2013 comparison, two Radeon HD 7870s in CrossFire usually delivered much higher average benchmark performance than one HD 7870, but the gain varied by game and did not always extend to minimum frame rates or smoothness. A GeForce GTX 670 generally beat a single HD 7870 in several tests, though the size of its lead depended on the workload. These are historical results from a specific Windows 7 test system and driver set—not a current GPU ranking.
What the 2013 comparison tested
The direct three-way comparison appeared in Ari Altman’s The Tech Buyer’s Guru review, published in 2013 and updated in 2015. It compared one HD 7870, a pair of HD 7870 cards in CrossFire, and one GTX 670.
| Part of test setup | Configuration reported by the review |
|---|---|
| Radeon cards | Sapphire HD 7870 OC and XFX HD 7870 Core Edition, set to reference clocks of 1000 MHz core and 1200 MHz memory |
| GeForce card | GTX 670 at a reported boost clock of 1084 MHz and memory clock of 1500 MHz |
| Test system | Intel Core i7-3770K at 4.4 GHz, Asus Maximus V Gene motherboard, 16 GB RAM, Windows 7 x64 |
| Drivers | Catalyst 13.2 beta 3 for Radeon; GeForce 314.22 for GTX 670 |
The numbers below are selected results from that review, not a pooled average across games. Benchmark name, resolution, settings and metric matter: a graphics score, average FPS, minimum FPS and perceived smoothness do not measure the same thing.
How the CrossFire pair compared in synthetic benchmarks
| Benchmark and reported metric | One HD 7870 | One GTX 670 | HD 7870 CrossFire | Reported CrossFire scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Fire Strike graphics score | 5,394 | 6,419 | 8,938 | 65.7% |
| 3DMark 11 graphics score | 7,349 | 9,187 | 13,131 | 78.7% |
Scores and scaling in this table are from Altman’s 2013 review. It directs readers to the graphics score for GPU comparison because 3DMark’s overall score also reflects CPU performance. In these two tests, the pair led the single-card configurations, but did not approach a simple doubling of the single-HD-7870 graphics score.
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How scaling changed between games and resolutions
Metro 2033: averages improved more than minimums
In the review’s Metro 2033 Frontline benchmark, the CrossFire pair’s average performance scaled 91% over one HD 7870 at 1920×1080 and 85% at 2560×1440. Altman reported weaker minimum-frame scaling, particularly at the higher resolution. The result illustrates why an average alone can make a two-GPU setup look more consistently beneficial than it feels in demanding moments.
Hitman Absolution: strong average gains
Altman reported average gains over one HD 7870 of 88% at 1080p and 97% at 2560×1440 in Hitman Absolution. Those figures describe that game and test, not a general CrossFire scaling rate.
Rank #2
- Chipset: AMD RX 7600
- Memory: 8GB GDDR6
- XFX SWFT Dual Fan Cooling Solution
- Boost Clock: Up to 2655 MHz
Just Cause 2: GTX 670 led the single-card comparison
In the review’s Just Cause 2 Dark Tower benchmark at 1080p, the GTX 670 averaged 90 FPS and the CrossFire pair reached 138 FPS. Altman described the single GTX 670 as about 30% faster than one HD 7870 in that test. The review also reported that the GTX 670 averaged about 31% higher than one HD 7870 in Unigine Heaven and Valley, while the CrossFire pair’s averages in those two benchmarks scaled around 100%. Minimum-frame behavior differed between Heaven and Valley: the review described Heaven’s minimum scaling as poor and Valley’s as near-perfect.
Additional historical evidence is narrower
AnandTech’s historical GPU 2012 benchmark database search-result excerpt shows 48 FPS for the GTX 670 and 39.9 FPS for the HD 7870 in Crysis: Warhead at 1920×1200, Enthusiast quality and 4×AA. The page could not be opened for this comparison, so those displayed figures offer limited corroboration only; they do not establish the test system or additional conditions. See AnandTech’s GPU 2012 benchmark database.
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- Interface: PCIe x16
- Memory: 1GB
- Memory type: DDR3
- Connectors: 1 x DVI, 1 x DisplayPort
- Thermal Solution: Fan with Heatsink
A separate 2012 suite from TweakTown’s HD 7870 CrossFire review also reported large gains in several game benchmarks. Its power measurements were for the whole test system, not just the graphics cards, and TweakTown cautioned that system draw would increase with additional installed components. They should not be read as a card-only power figure or compared directly with measurements from a different test bench.
Why average FPS does not settle the comparison
CrossFire performance depends on whether a benchmark or game can use both GPUs effectively. Even where average FPS rises, minimums and frame pacing may not improve by the same amount. Altman warned that CrossFire could scale poorly in some current or future games and could stutter without VSync. He described several hours of Battlefield 3 multiplayer play as perceptually uncompromised by microstutter; that is his experience in that session, not a guarantee for other games, systems or players.
Rank #4
- AMD Radeon RX 550 Chipset, Silver plated PCB & all solid capacitors provide lower temperature, higher efficiency & stability
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- GPU Boost Clock / Memory Speed : up to 1183 MHz / 4GB GDDR5 / 6000 MHz Memory, Stream Processors 512, Perfect for 3D CAD/CAM working, video and photo editing, Video Games @1080p
- Support: DirectX 12, Shader Model 5.0, OpenGL 4.6/4.5, 4K Video Decode
- Workload: A synthetic graphics test and a particular game engine can produce different scaling.
- Resolution and settings: Results at 1920×1080 cannot automatically be carried over to 2560×1440 or to different quality and antialiasing settings.
- Metric: Average FPS, minimum FPS and smoothness are separate considerations; the cited review does not provide a universal measure that combines them.
- Configuration: CPU, GPU clocks, drivers and operating system are part of the tested result, not incidental details.
What a CrossFire build requires
Tom’s Hardware’s 2012 HD 7870 and HD 7850 review describes the reference HD 7870 as a 2 GB card with two six-pin auxiliary PCIe power inputs, and notes that HD 7870/7850 cards could be paired for CrossFire. Partner-board designs can vary, so those reference details do not establish the connectors, dimensions or cooling needs of any specific card.
- Check that the exact cards and motherboard support the intended CrossFire configuration; the cited reference describes pairing, not four-card scaling for this family.
- Confirm that the power supply has the required connectors and capacity for the exact board models and the rest of the system.
- Allow for card spacing, airflow and heat: Altman’s review notes thermal and spacing concerns when two cards are installed close together.
- Check support for the specific games and software you intend to run; the benchmarks do not establish present-day driver support or compatibility.
How to use these results today
These tests answer a historical comparison, not whether either GPU is a suitable purchase now. The sources establish no current prices, inventory, condition of used cards, present-day driver support or performance against modern GPUs. If assessing a particular legacy setup, verify the exact card model, condition, power and case fit, then look for results matching the intended game, resolution and settings rather than relying on one headline scaling figure.
Quick Recap
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