Chipversus Index
Jump to Section

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 8400

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GT 520M

2013Core: 941 MHzBoost: 967 MHz
Similar parts
·······
Buy on Amazon
VS
AMD

Radeon HD 8400

2012Core: 1000 MHz
Similar parts
·······
Buy on Amazon

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 8400 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GT 520M
1 GB 50
284
+4.8%
brand logoGeForce GT 120M
brand logoGeForce GT 120
brand logoGeForce GT 330M
brand logoGeForce GT 415
brand logoGeForce GTX 1630
brand logoGeForce RTX 2060 with Max-Q Design
brand logoGeForce GTX 1070 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU
Radeon HD 8400
0.5 GB 200
271
0.0%
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 4570
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 5430
brand logoRadeon HD 4650 AGP
brand logoRadeon HD4650
brand logoRadeon HD 7970M Crossfire
brand logoRadeon RX 6550M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6700 XT

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 GT 520M vs Radeon HD 8400 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.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low11 FPS
medium7 FPS
high4 FPS
ultra2 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low13 FPS
medium10 FPS
high9 FPS
ultra6 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low13 FPS
medium10 FPS
high9 FPS
ultra6 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low13 FPS
medium10 FPS
high9 FPS
ultra6 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low13 FPS
medium10 FPS
high9 FPS
ultra6 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low6 FPS
medium3 FPS
high2 FPS
ultra2 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low5 FPS
medium4 FPS
high3 FPS
ultra2 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low13 FPS
medium10 FPS
high9 FPS
ultra6 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low13 FPS
medium10 FPS
high9 FPS
ultra6 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce GT 520M
low5 FPS
medium4 FPS
high3 FPS
ultra2 FPS
1080P
Radeon HD 8400
low12 FPS
medium10 FPS
high8 FPS
ultra6 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 8400: 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 520M

2013

Why buy it

  • ✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
  • ✅Draws 50W instead of 200W, a 150W reduction.
  • ✅More future proof: Kepler (2012−2018) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 8400 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌2013 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    100% HIGHER MSRP
    $60 MSRPvs$30 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.7 vs 9.0 G3D/$ ($60 MSRP vs $30 MSRP).

Radeon HD 8400

2012

Why buy it

  • ✅39.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ✅Costs $30 less on MSRP ($30 MSRP vs $60 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 90.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 9.0 vs 4.7 G3D/$ ($30 MSRP vs $60 MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • ❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2012 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌300% higher power demand at 200W vs 50W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 8400 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 39.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GT 520M instead at 284 vs 271, 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 520M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 1 GB vs 512 MB of VRAM and a newer 2013 generation instead of 2012. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 8400 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $30 cheaper on MSRP at $30 vs $60, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 90.8% (9.0 vs 4.7), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 8400 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce GT 520M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GT 520M vs Radeon HD 8400 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GT 520M

The GeForce GT 520M is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 9 2013. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 941 MHz to 967 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 284 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 8400

The Radeon HD 8400 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 271 points. Launch price was $349.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 520M scores 284 and the Radeon HD 8400 reaches 271 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 4.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 520M is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 8400 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 520M) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 8400). Raw compute: 0.7427 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 520M) vs 2.56 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8400).

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
G3D Mark Score
284+5%
271
Architecture
Kepler
GCN 1.0
Process Node
28 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
384
1280+233%
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.7427 TFLOPS
2.56 TFLOPS+245%
ROPs
16
32+100%
TMUs
32
80+150%
L1 Cache
32 KB
320 KB+900%
L2 Cache
256 KB
512 KB+100%
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 520M gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 8400 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
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)

The GeForce GT 520M has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 8400 carries 512 MB. GeForce GT 520M gives you 100% 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 GT 520M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8400. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GT 520M) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 8400) — the Radeon HD 8400 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
VRAM Capacity
1 GB+100%
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
512 KB+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 520M) vs 11.1 (Radeon HD 8400). OpenGL: 4.0 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 1 vs 2.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
DirectX
11.0
11.1
OpenGL
4.0
4.6+15%
Max Displays
1
2+100%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: No (GeForce GT 520M) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon HD 8400). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP4 vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 520M) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,MPEG-4 (Radeon HD 8400).

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
Encoder
No
VCE 2.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP4
UVD 4.2
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1,MPEG-4
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 520M draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 8400's 200W — a 120% difference. The GeForce GT 520M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GT 520M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8400). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 75.

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
TDP
50W-75%
200W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
0mm
—
Height
0mm
—
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
70°C-7%
75
Perf/Watt
5.7+307%
1.4
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GT 520M came in at $60, while the Radeon HD 8400 launched at $30. On MSRP, Radeon HD 8400 was 50% cheaper ($30 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.7 (GeForce GT 520M) vs 9.0 (Radeon HD 8400) — the Radeon HD 8400 offers 91.5% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GT 520M (2013 vs 2012).

FeatureGeForce GT 520MRadeon HD 8400
MSRP
$60
$30-50%
Performance per Dollar
4.7
9.0+91%
Codename
GK107
Pitcairn
Release
January 9 2013
March 5 2012
Ranking
#792
#460
Search GeForce GT 520M on AmazonSearch Radeon HD 8400 on Amazon

Affiliate Disclosure

ChipVERSUS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through our links. This comes at no additional cost to you and helps support our work in providing comprehensive PC building guides and tools.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.