GeForce 6600 vs Mobility Radeon HD 3450

NVIDIA

GeForce 6600

2012Core: 980 MHzBoost: 1033 MHz
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3450

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce 6600 vs Mobility Radeon HD 3450 Performance Spectrum

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.

GeForce 6600 vs Mobility Radeon HD 3450: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

GeForce 6600

2012

Why buy it

  • More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2012 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 170% HIGHER MSRP
    $270 MSRPvs$100 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.3 vs 0.9 G3D/$ ($270 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • 180% higher power demand at 140W vs 50W.

Mobility Radeon HD 3450

2010

Why buy it

  • Costs $170 less on MSRP ($100 MSRP vs $270 MSRP).
  • Delivers 185.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.9 vs 0.3 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $270 MSRP).
  • Draws 50W instead of 140W, a 90W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 3450 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 5.8% in PassMark G3D (91 vs 86), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 6600 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2012 generation instead of 2010. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 3450 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $170 cheaper on MSRP at $100 vs $270, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 185.7% (0.9 vs 0.3), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon HD 3450 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 6600 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 6600 vs Mobility Radeon HD 3450 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 6600

The GeForce 6600 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in September 6 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 980 MHz to 1033 MHz. It has 960 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 140W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 86 points. Launch price was $229.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3450

The Mobility Radeon HD 3450 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2010. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 91 points.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce 6600 scores 86 versus the Mobility Radeon HD 3450's 91 — the Mobility Radeon HD 3450 leads by 5.8%. The GeForce 6600 is built on Kepler while the Mobility Radeon HD 3450 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 960 (GeForce 6600) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3450). Raw compute: 1.981 TFLOPS (GeForce 6600) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 3450).

FeatureGeForce 6600Mobility Radeon HD 3450
G3D Mark Score
86
91+6%
Architecture
Kepler
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
960+20%
800
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.981 TFLOPS+77%
1.12 TFLOPS
ROPs
24+50%
16
TMUs
80+100%
40
L1 Cache
80 KB
80 KB
L2 Cache
384 KB+50%
256 KB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 6600 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 3450 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 6600Mobility Radeon HD 3450
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 256 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 6600 and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3450. L2 Cache: 384 KB (GeForce 6600) vs 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 3450) — the GeForce 6600 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 6600Mobility Radeon HD 3450
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB
0.25 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
384 KB+50%
256 KB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 6600 draws 140W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 3450's 50W — a 94.7% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 3450 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 6600) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3450). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGeForce 6600Mobility Radeon HD 3450
TDP
140W
50W-64%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
183mm
Height
111mm
Slots
1
Temp (Load)
75°C
Perf/Watt
0.6
1.8+200%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 6600 came in at $270, while the Mobility Radeon HD 3450 launched at $100. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 3450 was 63% cheaper ($170 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.3 (GeForce 6600) vs 0.9 (Mobility Radeon HD 3450) — the Mobility Radeon HD 3450 offers 200% better value. The newer card here is GeForce 6600 (2012 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce 6600Mobility Radeon HD 3450
MSRP
$270
$100-63%
Performance per Dollar
0.3
0.9+200%
Codename
GK106
Broadway
Release
September 6 2012
January 7 2010
Ranking
#490
#846

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