Radeon HD 3300 vs Radeon HD 8850M

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Radeon HD 3300 vs Radeon HD 8850M FPS Benchmarks

Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.

Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.

Radeon HD 3300 vs Radeon HD 8850M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Radeon HD 3300

2011

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.2 vs 0 G3D/$ ($30 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 8850M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌272% higher power demand at 186W vs 50W.

Radeon HD 8850M

2013

Why buy it

✅284.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 512 MB).
✅Draws 50W instead of 186W, a 136W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 4.2 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $30 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 8850M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 284.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 666.1% in PassMark G3D (973 vs 127), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon HD 3300 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon HD 3300 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. Radeon HD 8850M still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Radeon HD 3300 vs Radeon HD 8850M Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

Radeon HD 3300

The Radeon HD 3300 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 1 2011. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The core clock speed is 750 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 186W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 127 points. Launch price was $180.

Radeon HD 8850M

The Radeon HD 8850M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 1 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 575 MHz to 625 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 973 points.

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Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the Radeon HD 3300 scores 127 versus the Radeon HD 8850M's 973 — the Radeon HD 8850M leads by 666.1%. The Radeon HD 3300 is built on TeraScale 3 while the Radeon HD 8850M uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (Radeon HD 3300) vs 640 (Radeon HD 8850M). Raw compute: 1.92 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3300) vs 0.8 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8850M).

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
G3D Mark Score	127	973+666%
Architecture	TeraScale 3	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	1280+100%	640
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.92 TFLOPS+140%	0.8 TFLOPS
ROPs	32+100%	16
TMUs	80+100%	40
L1 Cache	320 KB+100%	160 KB
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

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Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon HD 3300 has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 8850M carries 2 GB. Radeon HD 8850M gives you 300% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3300 and System on the Radeon HD 8850M. L2 Cache: 512 KB (Radeon HD 3300) vs 256 KB (Radeon HD 8850M) — the Radeon HD 3300 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	2 GB+300%
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	512 KB+100%	256 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.0 (Radeon HD 3300) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8850M). OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
DirectX	10.0	12 (11_1)+20%
OpenGL	3.3	4.6+39%
Max Displays	2	6+200%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: Legacy (Radeon HD 3300) vs UVD3 (Radeon HD 8850M). Decoder: UVD+ vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: H.264/AVC,VC-1 (Radeon HD 3300) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX (Radeon HD 8850M).

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
Encoder	Legacy	UVD3
Decoder	UVD+	UVD 3.0
Codecs	H.264/AVC,VC-1	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX

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Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 3300 draws 186W versus the Radeon HD 8850M's 50W — a 115.3% difference. The Radeon HD 8850M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 3300) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8850M). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
TDP	186W	50W-73%
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Slots	0	0
Temp (Load)	—	75°C
Perf/Watt	0.7	19.5+2686%

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 8850M (2013 vs 2011).

Feature	Radeon HD 3300	Radeon HD 8850M
MSRP	$30	—
Codename	Cayman	Venus
Release	December 1 2011	April 1 2013
Ranking	#598	#894

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