NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M: specs and benchmarks

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Summary

NVIDIA started GeForce GTX 860M sales 12 March 2014. This is a laptop graphics card based on a Maxwell architecture and made with 28 nm manufacturing process. It is primarily aimed at gamers. 4 GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 2.5 GHz are supplied, and together with 128 Bit memory interface this creates a bandwidth of 80.0 GB/s.

Compatibility-wise, this is card attached via MXM-B (3.0) interface. Power consumption is at 75 Watt.

It provides poor gaming and benchmark performance at 7.81% of a leader's which is NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

RTX 4090GeForce RTX4090
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General info

Some basic facts about GeForce GTX 860M: architecture, market segment, release date etc.

Place in performance ranking484
Place by popularitynot in top-100
Value for money1.02
ArchitectureMaxwell (2014−2018)
GPU code nameN15P-GX
Market segmentLaptop
Release date12 March 2014 (10 years old)
Current price$875 of 168889 (A100 PCIe 80 GB)

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

Technical specs

GeForce GTX 860M's specs such as number of shaders, GPU base clock, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of GeForce GTX 860M's performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider its benchmark and gaming test results.

Pipelines / CUDA cores640of 20480 (Data Center GPU Max NEXT)
CUDA cores1152 or 640
Core clock speed797 MHzof 2610 (Radeon RX 6500 XT)
Boost clock speed915 MHzof 3599 (Radeon RX 7990 XTX)
Number of transistors1,870 millionof 14400 (GeForce GTX 1080 SLI Mobile)
Manufacturing process technology28 nmof 4 (H100 PCIe)
Power consumption (TDP)75 Wattof 2400 (Data Center GPU Max Subsystem)
Texture fill rate43.40of 969.9 (H100 SXM5 96 GB)
Floating-point performance1,389 gflopsof 16384 (Radeon Pro Duo)

Size and compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 860M's compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop sizemedium sized
Bus supportPCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)
Supplementary power connectorsNone
SLI options+

Memory

Parameters of memory installed on GeForce GTX 860M: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Note that GPUs integrated into processors have no dedicated memory and use a shared part of system RAM instead.

Memory typeGDDR5
Maximum RAM amount4 GBof 192 (Radeon Instinct MI300X)
Standard memory configurationGDDR5
Memory bus width128 Bitof 8192 (Radeon Instinct MI250X)
Memory clock speedUp to 2500 MHzof 23000 (GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER)
Memory bandwidth80.0 GB/sof 3276 (Aldebaran)
Shared memory-

Video outputs and ports

Types and number of video connectors present on GeForce GTX 860M. As a rule, this section is relevant only for desktop reference graphics cards, since for notebook ones the availability of certain video outputs depends on the laptop model, while non-reference desktop models can (though not necessarily will) bear a different set of video ports.

Display ConnectorsNo outputs
eDP 1.2 signal supportUp to 3840x2160
LVDS signal supportUp to 1920x1200
VGA аnalog display supportUp to 2048x1536
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) supportUp to 3840x2160
HDMI+
HDCP content protection+
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI+
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming+

Technologies

Technological solutions and APIs supported by GeForce GTX 860M. You'll probably need this information if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+
Optimus+
Ansel+

API support

APIs supported by GeForce GTX 860M, sometimes including their particular versions.

DirectX12 (11_0)
Shader Model5.1
OpenGL4.5of 4.6 (GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile)
OpenCL1.1
Vulkan1.1.126
CUDA+

Benchmark performance

Synthetic benchmark performance of GeForce GTX 860M. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 860M 7.81

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark, part of Passmark PerformanceTest suite. 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.

Benchmark coverage: 25%

GTX 860M 3026

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 860M 19216

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

GTX 860M 4902

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 860M 3904

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

GTX 860M 27961

GeekBench 5 OpenCL

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses OpenCL API by Khronos Group.

Benchmark coverage: 9%

GTX 860M 10102

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.

Benchmark coverage: 8%

GTX 860M 215144

GeekBench 5 Vulkan

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses Vulkan API by AMD & Khronos Group.

Benchmark coverage: 5%

GTX 860M 10627

GeekBench 5 CUDA

Geekbench 5 is a widespread graphics card benchmark combined from 11 different test scenarios. All these scenarios rely on direct usage of GPU's processing power, no 3D rendering is involved. This variation uses CUDA API by NVIDIA.

Benchmark coverage: 4%

GTX 860M 11144

Unigine Heaven 3.0

This is an old DirectX 11 benchmark using Unigine, a 3D game engine by eponymous Russian company. It displays a fantasy medieval town sprawling over several flying islands. Version 3.0 was released in 2012, and in 2013 it was superseded by Heaven 4.0, which introduced several slight improvements, including a newer version of Unigine.

Benchmark coverage: 4%

GTX 860M 50

Octane Render OctaneBench

This is a special benchmark measuring graphics card performance in OctaneRender, which is a realistic GPU rendering engine by OTOY Inc., available either as a standalone program, or as a plugin for 3DS Max, Cinema 4D and many other apps. It renders four different static scenes, then compares render times with a reference GPU which is currently GeForce GTX 980. This benchmark has nothing to do with gaming and is aimed at professional 3D graphics artists.

Benchmark coverage: 4%

GTX 860M 30

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 maya-04

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 23

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 sw-03

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 12

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 snx-02

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 2

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 catia-04

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 15

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 creo-01

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 23

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 medical-01

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 7

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 showcase-01

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 17

SPECviewperf 12 - specvp12 energy-01

Benchmark coverage: 3%

GTX 860M 9

SPECviewperf 12 - Showcase

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 17

SPECviewperf 12 - Maya

This part of SPECviewperf 12 workstation benchmark uses Autodesk Maya 13 engine to render a superhero energy plant static scene consisting of more than 700 thousand polygons, in six different modes.

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 23

SPECviewperf 12 - Catia

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 15

SPECviewperf 12 - Solidworks

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 12

SPECviewperf 12 - Siemens NX

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 2

SPECviewperf 12 - Creo

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 23

SPECviewperf 12 - Medical

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 7

SPECviewperf 12 - Energy

Benchmark coverage: 2%

GTX 860M 8.7

Gaming performance

Let's see how good GeForce GTX 860M is for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in frames per second. Comparisons with game system requirements are included, but remember that sometimes official requirements may reflect reality inaccurately.

Average FPS across all PC games

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

900p91
Full HD37
4K13

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 12−14

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
Battlefield 5 24−27
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
Far Cry 5 18−20
Far Cry New Dawn 20−22
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
Hitman 3 18−20
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 16−18
Watch Dogs: Legion 12−14

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
Battlefield 5 24−27
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 21−24
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
Far Cry 5 18−20
Far Cry New Dawn 20−22
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
Hitman 3 18−20
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
Metro Exodus 10−12
Red Dead Redemption 2 14−16
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 16−18
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20
Watch Dogs: Legion 12−14

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 16−18
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 10−12
Battlefield 5 24−27
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
Far Cry 5 18−20
Far Cry New Dawn 20−22
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12
Watch Dogs: Legion 12−14

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 10−12
Hitman 3 12−14
Horizon Zero Dawn 14−16
Metro Exodus 6−7
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
Battlefield 5 10−11
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
Far Cry 5 12−14
Far Cry New Dawn 10−12
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 7−8
Watch Dogs: Legion 3−4

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
Hitman 3 7−8
Horizon Zero Dawn 8−9
Metro Exodus 2−3
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 3−4
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5−6

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 4−5
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 3−4
Battlefield 5 4−5
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
Far Cry 5 7−8
Far Cry New Dawn 9−10
Forza Horizon 4 9−10
Watch Dogs: Legion 2−3

Relative perfomance

Overall GeForce GTX 860M performance compared to nearest competitors among notebook video cards.


AMD equivalent

According to our data, the closest AMD alternative to GeForce GTX 860M is Radeon RX Vega 7, which is slower by 5% and lower by 14 positions in our ranking.

RX Vega 7Radeon RXVega 7
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Here are some closest AMD rivals to GeForce GTX 860M:

GeForce GTX 860M 100

Similar GPUs

Here is our recommendation of several graphics cards that are more or less close in performance to the one reviewed.

GTX 680MGeForce GTX680M
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R9 M470XRadeon R9M470X
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GTX 770MGeForce GTX770M
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R9 M290XRadeon R9M290X
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R9 M380Radeon R9M380
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GTX 675MXGeForce GTX675MX
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Recommended processors

These processors are most commonly used with GeForce GTX 860M according to our statistics.

User Ratings

Here you can see the user rating of the graphics card, as well as rate it yourself.


3.7 405 votes

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Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about GeForce GTX 860M, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.