ATI Radeon HD 4850 vs GeForce GTX 680

Place in the ranking	368	822
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.95	0.25
Power efficiency	5.14	1.67
Architecture	Kepler (2012−2018)	TeraScale (2005−2013)
GPU code name	GK104	RV770
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	22 March 2012 (12 years ago)	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$499	$199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

GTX 680 has 1080% better value for money than ATI HD 4850.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1536	800
Core clock speed	1006 MHz	625 MHz
Boost clock speed	1058 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	3,540 million	956 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	195 Watt	110 Watt
Texture fill rate	135.4	25.00
Floating-point processing power	3.25 TFLOPS	1 TFLOPS
ROPs	32	16
TMUs	128	40

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	254 mm	246 mm
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
SLI options	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	2048 MB	512 MB
Memory bus width	256-bit GDDR5	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1502 MHz	993 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	63.55 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	One Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x S-Video
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
HDMI	+	-
HDCP	+	-
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

API and SDK compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (11_0)	10.1 (10_1)
Shader Model	5.1	4.1
OpenGL	4.2	3.3
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	1.1.126	N/A
CUDA	+	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

GTX 680 13.95
+445%

ATI HD 4850 2.56

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 680 5586
+444%

ATI HD 4850 1026

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 680 29702
+231%

ATI HD 4850 8972

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 680 47130
+318%

ATI HD 4850 11272

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 680 247306
+239%

ATI HD 4850 72891

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	45 +55.2%	29 −55.2%
Full HD	75 +92.3%	39 −92.3%
1200p	100−110 +426%	19 −426%
4K	26 +550%	4−5 −550%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	6.65 −30.4%	5.10 +30.4%
4K	19.19 +159%	49.75 −159%

ATI HD 4850 has 30% lower cost per frame in 1080p
GTX 680 has 159% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +213%	8−9 −213%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +314%	7−8 −314%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +683%	6−7 −683%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +213%	8−9 −213%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +314%	7−8 −314%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 +436%	10−12 −436%
Forza Horizon 5	35−40 +1800%	2−3 −1800%
Metro Exodus	40−45 +900%	4−5 −900%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +260%	10−11 −260%
Valorant	55−60 +2800%	2−3 −2800%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +683%	6−7 −683%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +213%	8−9 −213%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +314%	7−8 −314%
Dota 2	37 +517%	6−7 −517%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +231%	16−18 −231%
Fortnite	80−85 +479%	14−16 −479%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 +436%	10−12 −436%
Forza Horizon 5	35−40 +1800%	2−3 −1800%
Grand Theft Auto V	56 +833%	6−7 −833%
Metro Exodus	40−45 +900%	4−5 −900%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	100−110 +320%	24−27 −320%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +260%	10−11 −260%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	47 +370%	10−11 −370%
Valorant	55−60 +2800%	2−3 −2800%
World of Tanks	224 +367%	45−50 −367%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +683%	6−7 −683%
Counter-Strike 2	24−27 +213%	8−9 −213%
Cyberpunk 2077	27−30 +314%	7−8 −314%
Dota 2	50−55 +767%	6−7 −767%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +231%	16−18 −231%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 +436%	10−12 −436%
Forza Horizon 5	35−40 +1800%	2−3 −1800%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	100−110 +320%	24−27 −320%
Valorant	55−60 +2800%	2−3 −2800%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	18−20 +500%	3−4 −500%
Dota 2	21−24 +2000%	1−2 −2000%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +2100%	1−2 −2100%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	130−140 +644%	18−20 −644%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
World of Tanks	100−110 +467%	18−20 −467%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 +1350%	2−3 −1350%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +175%	4−5 −175%
Far Cry 5	35−40 +400%	7−8 −400%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +3500%	1−2 −3500%
Forza Horizon 5	21−24 +667%	3−4 −667%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +540%	5−6 −540%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20−22 +233%	6−7 −233%
Valorant	35−40 +300%	9−10 −300%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	6−7 +500%	1−2 −500%
Dota 2	21 +31.3%	16−18 −31.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	21 +40%	14−16 −40%
Metro Exodus	10−11 +900%	1−2 −900%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 +514%	7−8 −514%
Red Dead Redemption 2	9−10 +800%	1−2 −800%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21 +40%	14−16 −40%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16 +600%	2−3 −600%
Counter-Strike 2	6−7 +500%	1−2 −500%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Dota 2	24−27 +62.5%	16−18 −62.5%
Far Cry 5	18−20 +800%	2−3 −800%
Fortnite	16−18 +1500%	1−2 −1500%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24	0−1
Forza Horizon 5	10−12 +1000%	1−2 −1000%
Valorant	16−18 +700%	2−3 −700%

This is how GTX 680 and ATI HD 4850 compete in popular games:

GTX 680 is 55% faster in 900p
GTX 680 is 92% faster in 1080p
GTX 680 is 426% faster in 1200p
GTX 680 is 550% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Forza Horizon 4, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 680 is 3500% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, GTX 680 surpassed ATI HD 4850 in all 58 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	13.95	2.56
Recency	22 March 2012	25 June 2008
Maximum RAM amount	2048 MB	512 MB
Chip lithography	28 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	195 Watt	110 Watt

GTX 680 has a 444.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 96.4% more advanced lithography process.

ATI HD 4850, on the other hand, has 77.3% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 680 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 4850 in performance tests.

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Community ratings

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