GeForce 945M vs Radeon 820M

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 945M vs Radeon 820M 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 945M vs Radeon 820M: 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 945M

2015

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon 820M across 31 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2015 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌150% higher power demand at 75W vs 30W.

Radeon 820M

2024

Why buy it

✅35.8% more average FPS across 31 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 512 MB).
✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 3+ (2024) on 4nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 30W instead of 75W, a 45W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Fewer clear downsides in this head-to-head, aside from the usual pricing and availability swings.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon 820M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 35.8% in average FPS across 31 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.6% in PassMark G3D (2,143 vs 2,109), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon 820M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 2 GB vs 512 MB of VRAM, the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 4nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2024 generation instead of 2015. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon 820M makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

GeForce 945M vs Radeon 820M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce 945M

The GeForce 945M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in October 27 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 928 MHz to 1020 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,109 points.

Radeon 820M

The Radeon 820M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 2 2024. It features the RDNA 3+ architecture. The boost clock speed is 2900 MHz. It has 128 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,143 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce 945M scores 2,109 and the Radeon 820M reaches 2,143 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 945M is built on Maxwell while the Radeon 820M uses RDNA 3+, both on 28 nm vs 4 nm. Shader units: 640 (GeForce 945M) vs 128 (Radeon 820M). Boost clocks: 1020 MHz vs 2900 MHz.

Feature	GeForce 945M	Radeon 820M
G3D Mark Score	2,109	2,143+2%
Architecture	Maxwell	RDNA 3+
Process Node	28 nm	4 nm
Shading Units	640+400%	128
Boost Clock	1020 MHz	2900 MHz+184%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 945M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon 820M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce 945M	Radeon 820M
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)

The GeForce 945M has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon 820M carries 2 GB. Radeon 820M gives you 300% 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 945M and System on the Radeon 820M.

Feature	GeForce 945M	Radeon 820M
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	2 GB+300%
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	80 GB/s	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_0) (GeForce 945M) vs 12 Ultimate (Radeon 820M). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce 945M	Radeon 820M
DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 Ultimate
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	2	4+100%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Maxwell) (GeForce 945M) vs VCN 4.0 (Radeon 820M). Decoder: PureVideo HD (VP6) vs VCN 4.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265,MPEG-2 (GeForce 945M) vs H.264,H.265,AV1,VP9 (Radeon 820M).

Feature	GeForce 945M	Radeon 820M
Encoder	NVENC (Maxwell)	VCN 4.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD (VP6)	VCN 4.0
Codecs	H.264,H.265,MPEG-2	H.264,H.265,AV1,VP9

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 945M draws 75W versus the Radeon 820M's 30W — a 85.7% difference. The Radeon 820M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 945M) vs 350W (Radeon 820M). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 75 vs 80.