Radeon 550 vs ATI HD 5850

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 5850 and Radeon 550, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

ATI HD 5850
2009
1 GB GDDR5, 151 Watt
5.17

550 outperforms ATI HD 5850 by a small 6% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking623611
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.644.37
Power efficiency2.367.53
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code nameCypressLexa
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date30 September 2009 (15 years ago)20 April 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$299 $79

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

Radeon 550 has 583% better value for money than ATI HD 5850.

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 cores1440512
Core clock speed725 MHz1100 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1183 MHz
Number of transistors2,154 million2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)151 Watt50 Watt
Texture fill rate52.2037.86
Floating-point processing power2.088 TFLOPS1.211 TFLOPS
ROPs3216
TMUs7232

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).

InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x8
Length241 mm145 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pinNone

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount1 GB2 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth128.0 GB/s56 GB/s

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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI++

API compatibility

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (12_0)
Shader Model5.06.7
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.22.1
VulkanN/A1.3

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. 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.

ATI HD 5850 5.17
Radeon 550 5.47
+5.8%

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.

ATI HD 5850 1988
Radeon 550 2103
+5.8%

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:

900p59
−1.7%
60−65
+1.7%
Full HD55
+0%
55−60
+0%

Cost per frame, $

1080p5.44
−278%
1.44
+278%
  • Radeon 550 has 278% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Elden Ring 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+4.8%
21−24
−4.8%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Valorant 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Dota 2 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Elden Ring 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Fortnite 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+4.8%
21−24
−4.8%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Metro Exodus 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
−2.3%
45−50
+2.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Valorant 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
World of Tanks 80−85
−1.2%
85−90
+1.2%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
+0%
10−11
+0%
Dota 2 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Far Cry 5 24−27
+4.2%
24−27
−4.2%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
+4.8%
21−24
−4.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 40−45
−2.3%
45−50
+2.3%
Valorant 12−14
+8.3%
12−14
−8.3%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Elden Ring 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 30−35
+10%
30−33
−10%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
World of Tanks 35−40
+5.7%
35−40
−5.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Far Cry 5 10−12
+10%
10−11
−10%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Metro Exodus 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Valorant 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Elden Ring 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 14−16
+7.1%
14−16
−7.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
+0%
3−4
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Dota 2 16−18
+6.3%
16−18
−6.3%
Far Cry 5 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Fortnite 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Valorant 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

This is how ATI HD 5850 and Radeon 550 compete in popular games:

  • Radeon 550 is 2% faster in 900p
  • A tie in 1080p

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.17 5.47
Recency 30 September 2009 20 April 2017
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 2 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 151 Watt 50 Watt

Radeon 550 has a 5.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 185.7% more advanced lithography process, and 202% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 5850 and Radeon 550.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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ATI Radeon HD 5850
Radeon HD 5850
AMD Radeon 550
Radeon 550

Other comparisons

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Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.5 257 votes

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3.7 30 votes

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Questions & comments

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