GeForce GT 620 vs Radeon HD 3850

CPU

GPU

GeForce GT 620

2012Core: 902 MHz

Similar parts

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Radeon HD 3850

2012Boost: 1000 MHz

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GeForce GT 620 vs Radeon HD 3850 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GT 620

0.5 GB 65

388

0.0%

GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU

Radeon HD 3850

1 GB 130

401

+3.4%

Radeon HD 7450

Radeon HD 5470

Radeon HD 2900 GT

Mobility Radeon HD 565v

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 620 vs Radeon HD 3850 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 620 vs 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 GT 620

2012

Why buy it

✅Costs $120 less on MSRP ($59 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).
✅Delivers 193.6% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 6.6 vs 2.2 G3D/$ ($59 MSRP vs $179 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 130W, a 65W reduction.
✅Measures 145mm instead of 208mm, a 63mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 3850 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌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.

Radeon HD 3850

2012

Why buy it

✅53.1% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2012 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
203.4% HIGHER MSRP
$179 MSRPvs$59 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.2 vs 6.6 G3D/$ ($179 MSRP vs $59 MSRP).
❌100% higher power demand at 130W vs 65W.
❌43.4% longer card at 208mm vs 145mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 3850 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 53.1% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 3.4% in PassMark G3D (401 vs 388), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

GeForce GT 620 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?

GeForce GT 620 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $120 cheaper on MSRP at $59 vs $179, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 193.6% (6.6 vs 2.2), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 3850 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GT 620 vs Radeon HD 3850 Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GT 620

The GeForce GT 620 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 5 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 902 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 65W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 388 points. Launch price was $99.

Radeon HD 3850

The Radeon HD 3850 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 130W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 401 points. Launch price was $249.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GT 620 scores 388 and the Radeon HD 3850 reaches 401 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GT 620 is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 3850 uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 620) vs 1,024 (Radeon HD 3850). Raw compute: 0.6927 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 620) vs 1.761 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3850).

Feature	GeForce GT 620	Radeon HD 3850
G3D Mark Score	388	401+3%
Architecture	Kepler	GCN 1.0
Process Node	28 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	384	1024+167%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6927 TFLOPS	1.761 TFLOPS+154%
ROPs	16	32+100%
TMUs	32	64+100%
L1 Cache	32 KB	256 KB+700%
L2 Cache	256 KB	512 KB+100%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GT 620 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 3850 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GT 620	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)

The GeForce GT 620 has 512 MB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 3850 carries 1 GB. Radeon HD 3850 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 620 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3850. L2 Cache: 256 KB (GeForce GT 620) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 3850) — the Radeon HD 3850 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GT 620	Radeon HD 3850
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	1 GB+100%
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 620) vs 10.1 (Radeon HD 3850). OpenGL: 4.2 vs 3.3. Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 2.

Feature	GeForce GT 620	Radeon HD 3850
DirectX	11.0+9%	10.1
OpenGL	4.2+27%	3.3
Max Displays	3+50%	2

🎬

Media & Encoding

Decoder: PureVideo HD VP5 vs UVD+. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 620) vs H.264,VC-1,DivX,MPEG-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 3850).

Feature	GeForce GT 620	Radeon HD 3850
Encoder	No	—
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP5	UVD+
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP	H.264,VC-1,DivX,MPEG-1,MPEG-2

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 620 draws 65W versus the Radeon HD 3850's 130W — a 66.7% difference. The GeForce GT 620 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 250W (GeForce GT 620) vs 450W (Radeon HD 3850). Power connectors: None vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 145mm vs 208mm, occupying 1 vs 1 slots. Typical load temperature: 70°C vs 80°C.

Feature	GeForce GT 620	Radeon HD 3850
TDP	65W-50%	130W
Recommended PSU	250W-44%	450W
Power Connector	None	1x 6-pin
Length	145mm	208mm
Height	111mm	—
Slots	1	1
Temp (Load)	70°C-13%	80°C
Perf/Watt	6.0+94%	3.1

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GT 620 came in at $59, while the Radeon HD 3850 launched at $179. On MSRP, GeForce GT 620 was 67% cheaper ($120 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 6.6 (GeForce GT 620) vs 2.2 (Radeon HD 3850) — the GeForce GT 620 offers 200% better value.

Feature	GeForce GT 620	Radeon HD 3850
MSRP	$59-67%	$179
Performance per Dollar	6.6+200%	2.2
Codename	GK107	Pitcairn
Release	June 5 2012	March 5 2012
Ranking	#837	#503

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