GeForce 825M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850

NVIDIA

GeForce 825M

2015Core: 1071 MHzBoost: 1176 MHz
Similar parts
·······
VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5850

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
·······

GeForce 825M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850 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 825M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850: 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 825M

2015

Why buy it

  • 100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 1 GB).
  • Draws 33W instead of 50W, a 17W reduction.
  • More future proof: Maxwell (2014−2017) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 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 2.6 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $299 MSRP).

Mobility Radeon HD 5850

2010

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.6 vs 0 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 51.5% higher power demand at 50W vs 33W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon HD 5850 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.3% in PassMark G3D (763 vs 761), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 825M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 2 GB vs 1 GB of VRAM, a 28nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2010. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 5850 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon HD 5850 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 825M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 825M vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 825M

The GeForce 825M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 26 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1071 MHz to 1176 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 761 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5850

The Mobility Radeon HD 5850 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: 763 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 825M scores 761 and the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 reaches 763 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 825M is built on Maxwell while the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 825M) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Raw compute: 0.9032 TFLOPS (GeForce 825M) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5850).

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
G3D Mark Score
761
763
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
384
800+108%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.9032 TFLOPS
1.12 TFLOPS+24%
ROPs
16
16
TMUs
32
40+25%
L1 Cache
192 KB+140%
80 KB
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 825M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 5850 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
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)

The GeForce 825M has 2 GB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 carries 1 GB. GeForce 825M gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 825M and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5850. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 825M) vs 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 5850) — the GeForce 825M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
VRAM Capacity
2 GB+100%
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB+300%
0.25 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce 825M) vs 11.0 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Vulkan: 1.2 vs No. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
DirectX
11.0
11.0
Vulkan
1.2
No
OpenGL
4.6+5%
4.4
Max Displays
4
6+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1 (GeForce 825M) vs UVD 2.3 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP5 vs UVD 2.3. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 (GeForce 825M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850).

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
Encoder
NVENC 1
UVD 2.3
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP5
UVD 2.3
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 825M draws 33W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5850's 50W — a 41% difference. The GeForce 825M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 825M) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Typical load temperature: 75°C vs 85°C.

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
TDP
33W-34%
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
Temp (Load)
75°C-12%
85°C
Perf/Watt
23.1+51%
15.3
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is GeForce 825M (2015 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce 825MMobility Radeon HD 5850
MSRP
$299
Codename
GM108
Broadway
Release
August 26 2015
January 7 2010
Ranking
#768
#846

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.