GeForce GTX 850M vs 960

Place in performance ranking	318	541
Place by popularity	53	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.21	3.93
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2018)	Maxwell (2014−2018)
GPU code name	GM206	N15P-GT
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	22 January 2015 (9 years ago)	12 March 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data
Current price	$440 (2.2x MSRP)	$163

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 850M has 78% better value for money than GTX 960.

Detailed specifications

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1024	640
CUDA cores	1024	640
Core clock speed	1127 MHz	Up to 936 MHz
Boost clock speed	1178 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	2,940 million	1,870 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	45 Watt
Texture fill rate	72 billion/sec	36.08
Floating-point performance	2,413 gflops	1,155 gflops

Form factor & compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 960 and GeForce GTX 850M compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). 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 size	no data	medium sized
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	9.5" (24.1 cm)	no data
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Recommended system power (PSU)	400 Watt	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pins	no data
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	DDR3, GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	4 GB
Standard memory configuration	no data	DDR3 or GDDR5
Memory bus width	128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	7.0 GB/s	Up to 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	112 GB/s	80.0 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	Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2	No outputs
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
eDP 1.2 signal support	no data	Up to 3840x2160
LVDS signal support	no data	Up to 1920x1200
VGA аnalog display support	no data	Up to 2048x1536
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	no data	Up to 3840x2160
HDMI	+	+
HDCP	+	no data
HDCP content protection	no data	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
G-SYNC support	+	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI	no data	+
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming	no data	+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream	+	no data
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	no data
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	no data
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	no data	+
Optimus	no data	+
Ansel	no data	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (11_0)
Shader Model	6.4	5.1
OpenGL	4.4	4.5
OpenCL	1.2	1.1
Vulkan	+	1.1.126
CUDA	+	+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. 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 960 15.72
+141%

GTX 850M 6.51

960 outperforms 850M by 141% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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 960 6072
+141%

GTX 850M 2515

960 outperforms 850M by 141% in Passmark.

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 960 10768
+146%

GTX 850M 4386

960 outperforms 850M by 146% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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 960 30751
+93.9%

GTX 850M 15863

960 outperforms 850M by 94% in 3DMark Vantage Performance.

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 960 7916
+157%

GTX 850M 3086

960 outperforms 850M by 157% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

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 960 49918
+128%

GTX 850M 21873

960 outperforms 850M by 128% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

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 960 18247
+89.7%

GTX 850M 9621

960 outperforms 850M by 90% in GeekBench 5 OpenCL.

GeekBench 5 Vulkan

Benchmark coverage: 5%

GTX 960 20549
+137%

GTX 850M 8686

960 outperforms 850M by 137% in GeekBench 5 Vulkan.

GeekBench 5 CUDA

Benchmark coverage: 4%

GTX 960 17784
+91.2%

GTX 850M 9302

960 outperforms 850M by 91% in GeekBench 5 CUDA.

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 960 48
+92%

GTX 850M 25

960 outperforms 850M by 92% in Octane Render OctaneBench.

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	200−210 +138%	84 −138%
Full HD	65 +97%	33 −97%
4K	30 +173%	11 −173%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

24−27

no data

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35	no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27	no data
Battlefield 5	50−55	no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35	no data
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27	no data
Far Cry 5	35−40	no data
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45	no data
Forza Horizon 4	70−75	no data
Hitman 3	30−33	no data
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65	no data
Metro Exodus	50−55	no data
Red Dead Redemption 2	40−45	no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	50−55	no data
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55	no data

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35	no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27	no data
Battlefield 5	50−55	no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35	no data
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27	no data
Far Cry 5	35−40	no data
Far Cry New Dawn	40−45	no data
Forza Horizon 4	70−75	no data
Hitman 3	30−33	no data
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65	no data
Metro Exodus	50−55	no data
Red Dead Redemption 2	40−45	no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	50−55	no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	50	no data
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55	no data

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	30−35	no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27	no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−35	no data
Cyberpunk 2077	24−27	no data
Far Cry 5	35−40	no data
Forza Horizon 4	70−75	no data
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65	no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	50−55	no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	28	no data
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55	no data

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

40−45

no data

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	30−33	no data
Far Cry New Dawn	27−30	no data

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	16−18	no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14	no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	18−20	no data
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9	no data
Far Cry 5	24−27	no data
Forza Horizon 4	30−33	no data
Hitman 3	18−20	no data
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−35	no data
Metro Exodus	27−30	no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30	no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18	no data
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−11	no data

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24−27

no data

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16	no data
Far Cry New Dawn	12−14	no data
Hitman 3	10−12	no data
Horizon Zero Dawn	16−18	no data
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−11	no data
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16	no data

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	9−10	no data
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9	no data
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	8−9	no data
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4	no data
Far Cry 5	8−9	no data
Forza Horizon 4	21−24	no data
Horizon Zero Dawn	16−18	no data
Metro Exodus	14−16	no data
Watch Dogs: Legion	6−7	no data