The graphics card GeForce GTX 870M was released in 2014 and was intended for the assembly of high-performance laptops. He had advanced characteristics at that time, and due to this, he allowed to solve any problems. And even now, such an accelerator is still relevant, it allows you to solve most of the most resource-intensive tasks for computer hardware.
Accelerator positioning by manufacturer
As previously noted, the NVIDIA GTX 870M graphics card belonged to the niche of the most productive adapters. It was based on the advanced by the standards of 2014 microprocessor architecture Kepler. This chip was only slightly inferior in speed to the flagship device of that generation GTX 880M and provided a truly uncompromising level of performance.
Therefore, such an accelerator was perfect for implementing high-performance portable game plan computers. Also, such a device allows you to create mobile graphic stations. In addition to this, if necessary, the laptop can be turned into a portable server of a budget class. In all other cases, it is not advisable to use such mobile computers for the reason that the computing resources of the discrete accelerator will not be fully utilized, and there is no point in overpaying for such an expensive component.
Key Features
The characteristics of the GTX 870M emphasize that this accelerator is based on the N15P-GT chip. It refers to an architecture codenamed Kepler. The chip is manufactured according to 28nm technology. Moreover, all its transistor elements have a surface layout, which is currently obsolete. The total number of semiconductor components in this chip is 3540 million pieces. The thermal package of the adapter is 100 watts. Therefore, in the process, it must be cooled by an active heat sink system. Also, this accelerator needs additional power, which enters the graphics subsystem through a special connector on the side of the laptop power supply.
The hardware specifications of the GTX 870M indicate 1344 stream processors. Each of them operates at a frequency of 941 MHz.
At the software level, this accelerator model supports a number of important technologies. The latter allow in some cases to increase its performance at times. One of them is GPU Boost version 2.0. It determines the degree of heating of the GPU microprocessor and the level of complexity of the problem to be solved, and on the basis of these parameters, the frequency of the accelerator dynamically changes. This adapter also supports GameStaem technology. With its help, during the game, the battery life of the computing system increases. In turn, SLI technology allows you to combine NVidia into clusters, and due to this, significantly increase the speed of the graphics subsystem.
RAM
Nominally according to the specifications, the GTX 870M discrete accelerator should be equipped with 6 GB of RAM. But also in practice quite often there are “truncated” modifications of it, which are equipped with 3 GB. The type of memory used is GDDR5, the latter chips operate at a frequency of 5000 MHz. The graphics bus connection bus width in the GeForce GTX 870M is 192 bits.
Real level of performance
To begin with, it is necessary to note the moment that the DirectX 11 or 12 software package must be installed on the computer. This can significantly increase the speed of the PC. In the test package 3DMark'11 at a resolution of 1280 x 800 it scores 6637 points. According to this indicator, this adapter outperforms the Radeon HD6990 in Crossfire mode by as much as 3% and lags behind the GTX 680MX by only 1%.
With minimal settings and the same resolution, the graphics device in question in TitanFall 2, released in 2016, can produce 117fps. That is a quite comfortable amount of frame updates per second. If you increase the resolution to 1920 x 1080 and set the image to high quality, you can get 39.4fps. Again, in this mode it is also quite comfortable to play.
The considered graphic accelerator is excellent for displaying pictures in FullHD format. In this case, the image quality may be average or maximum. But in 4K this accelerator will not work quite comfortably. In this case, its hardware specifications will not be enough, and the level of gameplay will not be comfortable.
Owner reviews about the accelerator. Its relevance
The first advantage of the accelerator is its high speed. Moreover, the installation of DirectX 11 or a later version of it is to increase the speed of your PC at times. Also, such an accelerator has an acceptable level of energy efficiency, taking into account its performance. In addition, the availability of support for many software technologies allows the adapter to dynamically adjust the speed, thereby increasing the battery life of the mobile PC. These are the advantages of the accelerator, which owners of laptops with such an accelerator focus on.
But he has only one minus - this is the high cost of computers. Although this adapter was introduced by NVidia in 2014, it is still relevant. Its technical characteristics even now allow to solve most of the modern problems.
Conclusion
The graphics accelerator for laptops GTX 870M at the time of the start of sales provided an excellent combination of price and performance. That is, he could solve any problems. Now, of course, it is out of date. But its speed still allows the accelerator to solve any problems in the resolution of 1920 x 1080. It is no longer suitable for processing pictures in a larger format.