GeForce GT 420M vs Radeon HD 8610G

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 GT 420M vs Radeon HD 8610G 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 GT 420M vs Radeon HD 8610G: 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 GT 420M

2012

Why buy it

✅0.4% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 32W instead of 50W, a 18W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2012 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 2.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $150 MSRP).

Radeon HD 8610G

2013

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GT 420M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌56.3% higher power demand at 50W vs 32W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce GT 420M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 0.4% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 8610G instead at 401 vs 392, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.

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

GeForce GT 420M 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 HD 8610G 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 HD 8610G is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 420M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 420M vs Radeon HD 8610G Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GT 420M

The GeForce GT 420M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from Up to 625 MHz to 645 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 32W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 392 points.

Radeon HD 8610G

The Radeon HD 8610G is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 1 2013. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 775 MHz to 825 MHz. It has 320 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 401 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 420M scores 392 and the Radeon HD 8610G reaches 401 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 420M is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 8610G uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 420M) vs 320 (Radeon HD 8610G). Raw compute: 0.48 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 420M) vs 0.528 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8610G). Boost clocks: 645 MHz vs 825 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
G3D Mark Score	392	401+2%
Architecture	Kepler	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	384+20%	320
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.48 TFLOPS	0.528 TFLOPS+10%
Boost Clock	645 MHz	825 MHz+28%
ROPs	16+100%	8
TMUs	32+60%	20
L1 Cache	32 KB	80 KB+150%
L2 Cache	256 KB+100%	128 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 420M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 8610G leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GT 420M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8610G. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GT 420M) vs 128 KB (Radeon HD 8610G) — the GeForce GT 420M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB+100%	128 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 420M) vs 11.2 (FL 11_0) (Radeon HD 8610G). OpenGL: 4.0 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 3.

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
DirectX	11.0	11.2 (FL 11_0)+2%
OpenGL	4.0	4.4+10%
Max Displays	1	3+200%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GT 420M) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 8610G). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 3.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 420M) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Radeon HD 8610G).

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
Encoder	No	VCE 1.0
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP4	UVD 3.0
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP	H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 420M draws 32W versus the Radeon HD 8610G's 50W — a 43.9% difference. The GeForce GT 420M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 420M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8610G). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
TDP	32W-36%	50W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	0mm	—
Height	0mm	—
Slots	0	0
Temp (Load)	75°C	—
Perf/Watt	12.3+54%	8.0

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 8610G (2013 vs 2012).

Feature	GeForce GT 420M	Radeon HD 8610G
MSRP	—	$150
Codename	GK107	Sun
Release	March 22 2012	March 1 2013
Ranking	#909	#891

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