GeForce 9800M GTS vs Mobility Radeon HD 3850

NVIDIA

GeForce 9800M GTS

2008Core: 500 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3850

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce 9800M GTS vs Mobility Radeon HD 3850 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 9800M GTS vs Mobility Radeon HD 3850: 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 9800M GTS

2008

Why buy it

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

Trade-offs

  • 2008 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 33.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $200 MSRPvs$150 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.8 vs 2.4 G3D/$ ($200 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
  • 200% higher power demand at 150W vs 50W.

Mobility Radeon HD 3850

2010

Why buy it

  • Costs $50 less on MSRP ($150 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
  • Delivers 36.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.4 vs 1.8 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
  • Draws 50W instead of 150W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 512 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 3850 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.5% in PassMark G3D (366 vs 357), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 9800M GTS 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?
Mobility Radeon HD 3850 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $50 cheaper on MSRP at $150 vs $200, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 36.7% (2.4 vs 1.8), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon HD 3850 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 9800M GTS has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 9800M GTS vs Mobility Radeon HD 3850 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce 9800M GTS

The GeForce 9800M GTS is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 15 2008. It features the G9x architecture. The core clock speed is 500 MHz. It has 224 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 65 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 357 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 3850

The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 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: 366 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 9800M GTS scores 357 and the Mobility Radeon HD 3850 reaches 366 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 9800M GTS is built on G9x while the Mobility Radeon HD 3850 uses TeraScale 2, both on 65 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 224 (GeForce 9800M GTS) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3850).

FeatureGeForce 9800M GTSMobility Radeon HD 3850
G3D Mark Score
357
366+3%
Architecture
G9x
TeraScale 2
Process Node
65 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
224
800+257%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 9800M GTS gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 9800M GTSMobility Radeon HD 3850
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 64-bit on the GeForce 9800M GTS and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3850.

FeatureGeForce 9800M GTSMobility Radeon HD 3850
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 9800M GTS draws 150W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 3850's 50W — a 100% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 9800M GTS) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3850). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGeForce 9800M GTSMobility Radeon HD 3850
TDP
150W
50W-67%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
Temp (Load)
90°C
Perf/Watt
2.4
7.3+204%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 9800M GTS came in at $200, while the Mobility Radeon HD 3850 launched at $150. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 3850 was 25% cheaper ($50 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 1.8 (GeForce 9800M GTS) vs 2.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 3850) — the Mobility Radeon HD 3850 offers 33.3% better value. The newer card here is Mobility Radeon HD 3850 (2010 vs 2008).

FeatureGeForce 9800M GTSMobility Radeon HD 3850
MSRP
$200
$150-25%
Performance per Dollar
1.8
2.4+33%
Codename
NB9E-GTX
Broadway
Release
July 15 2008
January 7 2010
Ranking
#825
#846

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