ATI Radeon HD 4850 vs RX 540

Place in the ranking	539	809
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.21
Power efficiency	10.08	1.69
Architecture	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)	TeraScale (2005−2013)
GPU code name	Lexa	RV770
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	11 November 2017 (7 years ago)	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

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 cores	512	800
Core clock speed	1124 MHz	625 MHz
Boost clock speed	1219 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	2,200 million	956 million
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	50 Watt	110 Watt
Texture fill rate	39.01	25.00
Floating-point processing power	1.248 TFLOPS	1 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	32	40

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 size	large	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x8	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	246 mm
Width	no data	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 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 type	GDDR5	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	512 MB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	1500 MHz	993 MHz
Memory bandwidth	96 GB/s	63.55 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

No outputs

2x DVI, 1x S-Video

Supported technologies

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

FreeSync

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_0)	10.1 (10_1)
Shader Model	6.4	4.1
OpenGL	4.6	3.3
OpenCL	2.0	1.1
Vulkan	1.2.131	N/A

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.

RX 540 7.23
+172%

ATI HD 4850 2.66

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.

RX 540 2788
+172%

ATI HD 4850 1026

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.

RX 540 13720
+52.9%

ATI HD 4850 8972

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.

RX 540 24170
+114%

ATI HD 4850 11272

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

RX 540 138197
+89.6%

ATI HD 4850 72891

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	75−80 +159%	29 −159%
Full HD	23 −73.9%	40 +73.9%
1200p	50−55 +163%	19 −163%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

no data

4.98

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

10−12
+120%

5−6

−120%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 +100%	9−10 −100%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10	0−1
Battlefield 5	21−24 +425%	4−5 −425%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +114%	7−8 −114%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +120%	5−6 −120%
Far Cry 5	13 +160%	5−6 −160%
Far Cry New Dawn	20−22 +186%	7−8 −186%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +269%	12−14 −269%
Hitman 3	14−16 +100%	7−8 −100%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +100%	21−24 −100%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +950%	2−3 −950%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 +233%	6−7 −233%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40 +264%	10−12 −264%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +42.1%	35−40 −42.1%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 +100%	9−10 −100%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10	0−1
Battlefield 5	21−24 +425%	4−5 −425%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +114%	7−8 −114%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +120%	5−6 −120%
Far Cry 5	10 +100%	5−6 −100%
Far Cry New Dawn	20−22 +186%	7−8 −186%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +269%	12−14 −269%
Hitman 3	14−16 +100%	7−8 −100%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +100%	21−24 −100%
Metro Exodus	21−24 +950%	2−3 −950%
Red Dead Redemption 2	20−22 +233%	6−7 −233%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +118%	10−12 −118%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +69.2%	12−14 −69.2%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +42.1%	35−40 −42.1%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	18−20 +100%	9−10 −100%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10	0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +114%	7−8 −114%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +120%	5−6 −120%
Far Cry 5	7 +40%	5−6 −40%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +269%	12−14 −269%
Hitman 3	14−16 +100%	7−8 −100%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +100%	21−24 −100%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +118%	10−12 −118%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	7 −85.7%	12−14 +85.7%
Watch Dogs: Legion	50−55 +42.1%	35−40 −42.1%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

20−22
+233%

6−7

−233%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16 +250%	4−5 −250%
Far Cry New Dawn	10−12 +175%	4−5 −175%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 +250%	2−3 −250%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	7−8 +250%	2−3 −250%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Far Cry 5	8−9 +167%	3−4 −167%
Forza Horizon 4	24−27 +189%	9−10 −189%
Hitman 3	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Horizon Zero Dawn	14−16 +114%	7−8 −114%
Metro Exodus	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	5−6 +400%	1−2 −400%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 +200%	2−3 −200%
Watch Dogs: Legion	45−50 +188%	16−18 −188%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

12−14
+100%

6−7

−100%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	6−7 +500%	1−2 −500%
Far Cry New Dawn	5−6 +400%	1−2 −400%
Hitman 3	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Horizon Zero Dawn	21−24 +188%	8−9 −188%
Metro Exodus	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	4−5 +100%	2−3 −100%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	3−4 +200%	1−2 −200%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2	0−1
Far Cry 5	4−5 +300%	1−2 −300%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 +300%	2−3 −300%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	2−3	0−1
Watch Dogs: Legion	2−3	0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

7−8
+75%

4−5

−75%

This is how RX 540 and ATI HD 4850 compete in popular games:

RX 540 is 159% faster in 900p
ATI HD 4850 is 74% faster in 1080p
RX 540 is 163% faster in 1200p

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

in Metro Exodus, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the RX 540 is 950% faster.
in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the ATI HD 4850 is 86% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

RX 540 is ahead in 56 tests (98%)
ATI HD 4850 is ahead in 1 test (2%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	7.23	2.66
Recency	11 November 2017	25 June 2008
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	512 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	50 Watt	110 Watt

RX 540 has a 171.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 9 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 292.9% more advanced lithography process, and 120% lower power consumption.

The Radeon RX 540 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 4850 in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon RX 540 is a notebook card while Radeon HD 4850 is a desktop one.

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