GeForce GTX 850M vs Radeon HD 6950

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6950 with GeForce GTX 850M, including specs and performance data.

HD 6950
2010
2 GB GDDR5, 500 Watt
6.50
+3.5%

HD 6950 outperforms GTX 850M by a minimal 4% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking570581
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.07no data
Power efficiency2.3310.00
ArchitectureTeraScale 3 (2010−2013)Maxwell (2014−2017)
GPU code nameCaymanGM107
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Designreferenceno data
Release date14 December 2010 (14 years ago)12 March 2014 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$299 no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

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

no data

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 cores1408640
Core clock speedno dataUp to 936 MHz
Boost clock speed800 MHzno data
Number of transistors2,640 million1,870 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)500 Watt45 Watt
Texture fill rate70.4036.08
Floating-point processing power2.253 TFLOPS1.155 TFLOPS
ROPs3216
TMUs8840

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).

Laptop sizeno datamedium sized
Bus supportPCIe 2.0 x16PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length267 mmno data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pinno 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 typeGDDR5DDR3
Maximum RAM amount2 GB2 GB
Standard memory configurationno dataDDR3 or GDDR5
Memory bus width256 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed1250 MHzUp to 2500 MHz
Memory bandwidthno data80.0 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, 2x mini-DisplayPortNo outputs
Eyefinity+-
eDP 1.2 signal supportno dataUp to 3840x2160
LVDS signal supportno dataUp to 1920x1200
VGA аnalog display supportno dataUp to 2048x1536
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) supportno dataUp to 3840x2160
HDMI++
HDCP content protection-+
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI-+
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming-+

Supported technologies

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

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

API and SDK compatibility

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

DirectXDirectX® 1112 (11_0)
Shader Model5.05.1
OpenGL4.44.5
OpenCL1.21.1
Vulkan-1.1.126
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. 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.

HD 6950 6.50
+3.5%
GTX 850M 6.28

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.

HD 6950 2603
+3.4%
GTX 850M 2517

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.

HD 6950 3230
+4.7%
GTX 850M 3086

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:

900p85−90
+1.2%
84
−1.2%
Full HD30−35
−6.7%
32
+6.7%
4K10−12
+0%
10
+0%

Cost per frame, $

1080p9.97no data
4K29.90no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Metro Exodus 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Valorant 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Dota 2 13
+0%
13
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Fortnite 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 20
+0%
20
+0%
Metro Exodus 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12
+0%
12
+0%
Valorant 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
World of Tanks 99
+0%
99
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Dota 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Valorant 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
World of Tanks 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Far Cry 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Metro Exodus 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Valorant 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 0−1 0−1
Dota 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Metro Exodus 1−2
+0%
1−2
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 0−1 0−1
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Dota 2 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Far Cry 5 8−9
+0%
8−9
+0%
Fortnite 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 4−5
+0%
4−5
+0%
Valorant 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%

This is how HD 6950 and GTX 850M compete in popular games:

  • HD 6950 is 1% faster in 900p
  • GTX 850M is 7% faster in 1080p
  • A tie in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 61 test (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 6.50 6.28
Recency 14 December 2010 12 March 2014
Chip lithography 40 nm 28 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 500 Watt 45 Watt

HD 6950 has a 3.5% higher aggregate performance score.

GTX 850M, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 years, a 42.9% more advanced lithography process, and 1011.1% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Radeon HD 6950 and GeForce GTX 850M.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6950 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 850M is a notebook one.


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

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AMD Radeon HD 6950
Radeon HD 6950
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
GeForce GTX 850M

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.


3.7 223 votes

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3.8 551 vote

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Questions & comments

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