Radeon RX 6800 vs ATI HD 5850

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 5850 and Radeon RX 6800, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

ATI HD 5850
2009
1 GB GDDR5, 151 Watt
5.05

RX 6800 outperforms ATI HD 5850 by a whopping 1013% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking63046
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.6350.23
Power efficiency2.3515.79
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)
GPU code nameCypressNavi 21
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date30 September 2009 (15 years ago)28 October 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$299 $579

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

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

RX 6800 has 7873% 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 cores14403840
Core clock speed725 MHz1700 MHz
Boost clock speedno data2105 MHz
Number of transistors2,154 million26,800 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)151 Watt250 Watt
Texture fill rate52.20505.2
Floating-point processing power2.088 TFLOPS16.17 TFLOPS
ROPs3296
TMUs72240
Ray Tracing Coresno data60

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 4.0 x16
Length241 mm267 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin2x 8-pin

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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount1 GB16 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth128.0 GB/s512.0 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 Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort1x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-C
HDMI++

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model5.06.5
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.22.1
VulkanN/A1.2

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.

ATI HD 5850 5.05
RX 6800 56.20
+1013%

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
RX 6800 22114
+1012%

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.

ATI HD 5850 3401
RX 6800 55084
+1520%

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.

ATI HD 5850 13267
RX 6800 106236
+701%

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
−1002%
650−700
+1002%
Full HD57
−211%
177
+211%
1440p8−9
−1138%
99
+1138%
4K5−6
−1120%
61
+1120%

Cost per frame, $

1080p5.25
−60.4%
3.27
+60.4%
1440p37.38
−539%
5.85
+539%
4K59.80
−530%
9.49
+530%
  • RX 6800 has 60% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • RX 6800 has 539% lower cost per frame in 1440p
  • RX 6800 has 530% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
−2083%
262
+2083%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
−1591%
186
+1591%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
−1250%
135
+1250%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
−1550%
198
+1550%
Battlefield 5 20−22
−685%
150−160
+685%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
−1245%
148
+1245%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
−1050%
115
+1050%
Far Cry 5 14−16
−1307%
197
+1307%
Fortnite 27−30
−707%
230−240
+707%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−832%
200−210
+832%
Forza Horizon 5 10−12
−2009%
232
+2009%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 18−20
−832%
170−180
+832%
Valorant 60−65
−385%
290−300
+385%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
−900%
120
+900%
Battlefield 5 20−22
−685%
150−160
+685%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
−973%
118
+973%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 80−85
−231%
270−280
+231%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
−940%
104
+940%
Dota 2 40−45
−254%
145
+254%
Far Cry 5 14−16
−1229%
186
+1229%
Fortnite 27−30
−707%
230−240
+707%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−832%
200−210
+832%
Forza Horizon 5 10−12
−1809%
210
+1809%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
−835%
159
+835%
Metro Exodus 9−10
−1533%
147
+1533%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 18−20
−832%
170−180
+832%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
−1969%
269
+1969%
Valorant 60−65
−385%
290−300
+385%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 20−22
−685%
150−160
+685%
Counter-Strike 2 10−12
−1109%
130−140
+1109%
Cyberpunk 2077 10−11
−890%
99
+890%
Dota 2 40−45
−212%
128
+212%
Far Cry 5 14−16
−1143%
174
+1143%
Forza Horizon 4 21−24
−832%
200−210
+832%
Forza Horizon 5 10−12
−991%
120−130
+991%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 18−20
−832%
170−180
+832%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
−1069%
152
+1069%
Valorant 60−65
−385%
290−300
+385%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 27−30
−707%
230−240
+707%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 7−8
−529%
40−45
+529%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 35−40
−922%
350−400
+922%
Grand Theft Auto V 5−6
−2400%
125
+2400%
Metro Exodus 4−5
−2125%
89
+2125%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 30−35
−430%
170−180
+430%
Valorant 50−55
−506%
300−350
+506%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 4−5
−3150%
130−140
+3150%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−1750%
74
+1750%
Far Cry 5 9−10
−1711%
163
+1711%
Forza Horizon 4 10−12
−1418%
160−170
+1418%
Forza Horizon 5 7−8
−971%
75−80
+971%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 8−9
−1313%
110−120
+1313%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 9−10
−1544%
140−150
+1544%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 4−5
−1050%
45−50
+1050%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
−725%
132
+725%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 1−2
−9800%
99
+9800%
Valorant 24−27
−1171%
300−350
+1171%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 2−3
−4400%
90−95
+4400%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
−3300%
34
+3300%
Dota 2 16−18
−500%
102
+500%
Far Cry 5 5−6
−1720%
91
+1720%
Forza Horizon 4 6−7
−1883%
110−120
+1883%
Forza Horizon 5 2−3
−950%
21−24
+950%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 5−6
−1720%
90−95
+1720%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 5−6
−1460%
75−80
+1460%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Metro Exodus 55
+0%
55
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2 14
+0%
14
+0%

This is how ATI HD 5850 and RX 6800 compete in popular games:

  • RX 6800 is 1002% faster in 900p
  • RX 6800 is 211% faster in 1080p
  • RX 6800 is 1138% faster in 1440p
  • RX 6800 is 1120% faster in 4K

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

  • in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the RX 6800 is 9800% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • RX 6800 is ahead in 61 test (95%)
  • there's a draw in 3 tests (5%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.05 56.20
Recency 30 September 2009 28 October 2020
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 16 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 7 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 151 Watt 250 Watt

ATI HD 5850 has 65.6% lower power consumption.

RX 6800, on the other hand, has a 1012.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 years, a 1500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 471.4% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 6800 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 5850 in performance tests.

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ATI Radeon HD 5850
Radeon HD 5850
AMD Radeon RX 6800
Radeon RX 6800

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.


3.5 258 votes

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4.3 2005 votes

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