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FirePro M5950 vs Radeon HD 8790M

CPUCPUGPUGPU

FirePro M5950

2011Core: 725 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 8790M

2013Core: 850 MHzBoost: 900 MHz
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·······
Buy on Amazon

FirePro M5950 vs Radeon HD 8790M Performance Spectrum

FirePro M5950
1 GB 35
1,314
+0.6%
brand logoRadeon HD 7550M/7650M
brand logoRadeon R7 G
brand logoRadeon R9 A375
brand logoRadeon HD 5750
brand logoRadeon RX 5500M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 6700S
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 XT
Radeon HD 8790M
2 GB 50
1,306
0.0%
brand logoRadeon HD 7550M/7650M
brand logoRadeon R7 G
brand logoRadeon HD 6700M
brand logoRadeon 610M
brand logoRadeon RX 5500M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 6700S
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 XT

About G3D Mark

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.

FirePro M5950 vs Radeon HD 8790M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

FirePro M5950

2011

Why buy it

  • ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.6 vs 0 G3D/$ ($200 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • ✅Draws 35W instead of 50W, a 15W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2011 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 8790M

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 1 GB).
  • ✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

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 6.6 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
  • ❌42.9% higher power demand at 50W vs 35W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
FirePro M5950 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.6% in PassMark G3D (1,314 vs 1,306), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
FirePro M5950 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?
FirePro M5950 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

FirePro M5950 vs Radeon HD 8790M Technical Specifications

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

AMD

FirePro M5950

The FirePro M5950 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 480 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 35W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,314 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 8790M

The Radeon HD 8790M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 1 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 850 MHz to 900 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,306 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The FirePro M5950 scores 1,314 and the Radeon HD 8790M reaches 1,306 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The FirePro M5950 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon HD 8790M uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 480 (FirePro M5950) vs 384 (Radeon HD 8790M). Raw compute: 0.696 TFLOPS (FirePro M5950) vs 0.6912 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8790M).

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
G3D Mark Score
1,314
1,306
Architecture
TeraScale 2
GCN 1.0
Process Node
40 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
480+25%
384
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.696 TFLOPS
0.6912 TFLOPS
ROPs
8
8
TMUs
24
24
L1 Cache
48 KB
96 KB+100%
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
Standard
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The FirePro M5950 has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 8790M carries 2 GB. Radeon HD 8790M gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the FirePro M5950 and System on the Radeon HD 8790M.

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
VRAM Capacity
1 GB
2 GB+100%
Memory Type
GDDR5
Shared
Bus Width
64-bit
System
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.2 (FirePro M5950) vs 11.1 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8790M). Vulkan: None vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.1 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 5 vs 0.

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
DirectX
11.2
11.1 (11_1)
Vulkan
None
1.2
OpenGL
4.1
4.6+12%
Max Displays
5
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (FirePro M5950) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 8790M). Decoder: UVD 3 vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 Part 2 (FirePro M5950) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 8790M).

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
Encoder
None
VCE 1.0
Decoder
UVD 3
UVD 3.0
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4 Part 2
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The FirePro M5950 draws 35W versus the Radeon HD 8790M's 50W — a 35.3% difference. The FirePro M5950 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (FirePro M5950) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8790M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 75.

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
TDP
35W-30%
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
0mm
0mm
Height
0mm
0mm
Slots
1
0-100%
Temp (Load)
75°C
75
Perf/Watt
37.5+44%
26.1
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 8790M (2013 vs 2011).

FeatureFirePro M5950Radeon HD 8790M
MSRP
$200
—
Codename
Whistler
Mars
Release
January 4 2011
April 1 2013
Ranking
#795
#797
Search FirePro M5950 on AmazonSearch Radeon HD 8790M on Amazon

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