GeForce 830M 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.

GeForce 830M 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.

GeForce 830M 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.

GeForce 830M

2014

Why buy it

✅21.0% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅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

❌2014 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 8850M

2013

Why buy it

✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce 830M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 2 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?

GeForce 830M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 21.0% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 3.3% in PassMark G3D (1,005 vs 973), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

GeForce 830M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a newer 2014 generation instead of 2013. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce 830M makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce 830M vs Radeon HD 8850M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce 830M

The GeForce 830M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 12 2014. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1082 MHz to 1150 MHz. It has 256 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 33W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,005 points.

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

The GeForce 830M scores 1,005 and the Radeon HD 8850M reaches 973 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 830M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 8850M uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 256 (GeForce 830M) vs 640 (Radeon HD 8850M). Raw compute: 0.5888 TFLOPS (GeForce 830M) vs 0.8 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8850M). Boost clocks: 1150 MHz vs 625 MHz.

Feature	GeForce 830M	Radeon HD 8850M
G3D Mark Score	1,005+3%	973
Architecture	Maxwell	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	256	640+150%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.5888 TFLOPS	0.8 TFLOPS+36%
Boost Clock	1150 MHz+84%	625 MHz
ROPs	8	16+100%
TMUs	16	40+150%
L1 Cache	128 KB	160 KB+25%
L2 Cache	1 MB+300%	0.25 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 830M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 8850M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 830M	Radeon HD 8850M
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 830M and System on the Radeon HD 8850M. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 830M) vs 0.25 MB (Radeon HD 8850M) — the GeForce 830M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce 830M	Radeon HD 8850M
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	1 MB+300%	0.25 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce 830M) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 8850M). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 6.

Feature	GeForce 830M	Radeon HD 8850M
DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 (11_1)
Vulkan	1.1	1.2+9%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	2	6+200%

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Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Maxwell) (GeForce 830M) vs UVD3 (Radeon HD 8850M). Decoder: PureVideo HD (VP6) vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,MPEG-2 (GeForce 830M) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX (Radeon HD 8850M).

Feature	GeForce 830M	Radeon HD 8850M
Encoder	NVENC (Maxwell)	UVD3
Decoder	PureVideo HD (VP6)	UVD 3.0
Codecs	H.264,H.265,MPEG-2	H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,DivX

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 830M draws 33W versus the Radeon HD 8850M's 50W — a 41% difference. The GeForce 830M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 830M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8850M). Power connectors: Legacy vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 75°C.