GeForce 845M vs Radeon 540

NVIDIA

GeForce 845M

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

Radeon 540

2017Core: 1183 MHzBoost: 1124 MHz
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GeForce 845M vs Radeon 540 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 845M vs Radeon 540 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 845M vs Radeon 540: 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 845M

2015

Why buy it

  • 10.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Draws 33W instead of 50W, a 17W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2015 hardware with 512 MB 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 14.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $99 MSRP).

Radeon 540

2017

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 14.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • More future proof: GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce 845M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2017 hardware with 512 MB 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 845M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 10.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.4% in PassMark G3D (1,487 vs 1,452), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 845M 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 540 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, Radeon 540 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 845M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 845M vs Radeon 540 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 845M

The GeForce 845M 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: 1,487 points.

AMD

Radeon 540

The Radeon 540 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 20 2017. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1183 MHz to 1124 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,452 points. Launch price was $79.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 845M scores 1,487 and the Radeon 540 reaches 1,452 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 845M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon 540 uses GCN 4.0, both on 28 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce 845M) vs 384 (Radeon 540). Raw compute: 0.9032 TFLOPS (GeForce 845M) vs 0.9085 TFLOPS (Radeon 540). Boost clocks: 1176 MHz vs 1124 MHz.

FeatureGeForce 845MRadeon 540
G3D Mark Score
1,487+2%
1,452
Architecture
Maxwell
GCN 4.0
Process Node
28 nm
14 nm
Shading Units
384
384
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.9032 TFLOPS
0.9085 TFLOPS
Boost Clock
1176 MHz+5%
1124 MHz
ROPs
16
16
TMUs
32+33%
24
L1 Cache
192 KB+100%
96 KB
L2 Cache
1 MB+100%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 845M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon 540 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 845MRadeon 540
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce 845M and 64-bit on the Radeon 540. L2 Cache: 1 MB (GeForce 845M) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon 540) — the GeForce 845M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce 845MRadeon 540
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Bus Width
128-bit+100%
64-bit
L2 Cache
1 MB+100%
0.5 MB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 845M draws 33W versus the Radeon 540's 50W — a 41% difference. The GeForce 845M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 845M) vs 350W (Radeon 540). Power connectors: Legacy vs None.

FeatureGeForce 845MRadeon 540
TDP
33W-34%
50W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
None
Slots
0
Temp (Load)
85°C
Perf/Watt
45.1+56%
29.0
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon 540 (2017 vs 2015).

FeatureGeForce 845MRadeon 540
MSRP
$99
Codename
GM108
Lexa
Release
August 26 2015
April 20 2017
Ranking
#768
#773

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