Radeon Sky 500 vs HD 7850M

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 7850M with Radeon Sky 500, including specs and performance data.

HD 7850M
2012
2 GB GDDR5, 40 Watt
3.56

Sky 500 outperforms HD 7850M by a whopping 243% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking719401
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Power efficiency6.535.97
ArchitectureGCN 1.0 (2011−2020)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameHeathrowPitcairn
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date24 April 2012 (12 years ago)27 March 2013 (11 years ago)

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 cores6401280
Core clock speed675 MHz950 MHz
Number of transistors1,500 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)40 Watt150 Watt
Texture fill rate27.0076.00
Floating-point processing power0.864 TFLOPS2.432 TFLOPS
ROPs1632
TMUs4080

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 sizelargeno data
Bus supportno dataPCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Lengthno data242 mm
Widthno data1-slot
Form factorno datafull height / full length
Supplementary power connectorsno data1x 6-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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB4 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1000 MHz1200 MHz
Memory bandwidth64 GB/s154 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 ConnectorsNo outputs1x DisplayPort
DisplayPort countno data1
Dual-link DVI support-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_1)12 (11_1)
Shader Model5.15.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan1.2.1311.2.131

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 7850M 3.56
Sky 500 12.21
+243%

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 7850M 1372
Sky 500 4709
+243%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
−200%
30−33
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Battlefield 5 7−8
−243%
24−27
+243%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
−238%
27−30
+238%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%
Far Cry 5 7−8
−243%
24−27
+243%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
−200%
30−33
+200%
Forza Horizon 4 20−22
−225%
65−70
+225%
Hitman 3 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
−240%
85−90
+240%
Metro Exodus 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%
Red Dead Redemption 2 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
−221%
45−50
+221%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
−241%
140−150
+241%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
−200%
30−33
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Battlefield 5 7−8
−243%
24−27
+243%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
−238%
27−30
+238%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%
Far Cry 5 7−8
−243%
24−27
+243%
Far Cry New Dawn 10−11
−200%
30−33
+200%
Forza Horizon 4 20−22
−225%
65−70
+225%
Hitman 3 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
−240%
85−90
+240%
Metro Exodus 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%
Red Dead Redemption 2 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
−221%
45−50
+221%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−233%
50−55
+233%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
−241%
140−150
+241%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 10−11
−200%
30−33
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 8−9
−238%
27−30
+238%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%
Far Cry 5 7−8
−243%
24−27
+243%
Forza Horizon 4 20−22
−225%
65−70
+225%
Hitman 3 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
−240%
85−90
+240%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 14−16
−221%
45−50
+221%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 14−16
−233%
50−55
+233%
Watch Dogs: Legion 40−45
−241%
140−150
+241%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 6−7
−200%
18−20
+200%
Far Cry New Dawn 5−6
−220%
16−18
+220%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 3−4
−233%
10−11
+233%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3−4
−233%
10−11
+233%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Far Cry 5 4−5
−200%
12−14
+200%
Forza Horizon 4 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Hitman 3 8−9
−238%
27−30
+238%
Horizon Zero Dawn 9−10
−233%
30−33
+233%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3−4
−233%
10−11
+233%
Watch Dogs: Legion 21−24
−241%
75−80
+241%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 7−8
−243%
24−27
+243%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Far Cry New Dawn 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
−200%
3−4
+200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1−2
−200%
3−4
+200%
Cyberpunk 2077 0−1 0−1
Far Cry 5 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Forza Horizon 4 2−3
−200%
6−7
+200%
Watch Dogs: Legion 1−2
−200%
3−4
+200%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
−200%
12−14
+200%

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.56 12.21
Recency 24 April 2012 27 March 2013
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 40 Watt 150 Watt

HD 7850M has 275% lower power consumption.

Sky 500, on the other hand, has a 243% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 11 months, and a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount.

The Radeon Sky 500 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7850M in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 7850M is a notebook card while Radeon Sky 500 is a desktop one.


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

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


AMD Radeon HD 7850M
Radeon HD 7850M
AMD Radeon Sky 500
Radeon Sky 500

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

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


3.2 17 votes

Rate Radeon HD 7850M on a scale of 1 to 5:

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4.5 15 votes

Rate Radeon Sky 500 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.