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GeForce GTX 1060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1060

2016Core: 1607 MHzBoost: 1733 MHz
GTX family
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5850

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce GTX 1060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 1060
6 GB 180
10,064
+1219.0%
brand logoGeForce GTX 680
brand logoGeForce GTX 970XM FORCE
brand logoGeForce RTX 2050 Mobile
brand logoGeForce GTX TITAN Z
brand logoGeForce GTX 980 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 5060 Mobile
brand logoGeForce RTX 2080 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 4080 Mobile
Mobility Radeon HD 5850
1 GB 50
763
0.0%
brand logoRadeon R5 M230
brand logoMobility Radeon HD 5730
brand logoRadeon HD 3870 X2
brand logoRadeon HD 2900 XT
brand logoRadeon 760M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
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 GTX 1060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850: 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 GTX 1060

2016

Why buy it

  • ✅+1219% higher PassMark G3D performance.
  • ✅Costs $50 less on MSRP ($249 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • ✅Delivers 1483.9% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 2.6 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
  • ✅500% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 1 GB).
  • ✅Mobility Radeon HD 5850 is already obsolete for modern gaming, so GeForce GTX 1060 is the less risky modern option long term.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2016 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • ❌260% higher power demand at 180W vs 50W.

Mobility Radeon HD 5850

2010

Why buy it

  • ✅Draws 50W instead of 180W, a 130W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower PassMark G3D performance (763 vs 10,064).
  • ❌Less VRAM, with 1 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • ❌
    20.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $299 MSRPvs$249 MSRP
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.6 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX 1060 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 1219% in PassMark G3D (10,064 vs 763), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 1060 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 6 GB vs 1 GB of VRAM, a 16nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2016 generation instead of 2010. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GTX 1060 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $50 cheaper on MSRP at $249 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 1483.9% (40.4 vs 2.6), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce GTX 1060 vs Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1060

The GeForce GTX 1060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 27 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1607 MHz to 1733 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 180W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 10,064 points. Launch price was $599.

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5850

The Mobility Radeon HD 5850 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: 763 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1060 scores 10,064 versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5850's 763 — the GeForce GTX 1060 leads by 1219%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is built on Pascal while the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 uses TeraScale 2, both on 16 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Raw compute: 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5850).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
G3D Mark Score
10,064+1219%
763
Architecture
Pascal
TeraScale 2
Process Node
16 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
2560+220%
800
Compute (TFLOPS)
8.873 TFLOPS+692%
1.12 TFLOPS
ROPs
64+300%
16
TMUs
160+300%
40
L1 Cache
960 KB+1100%
80 KB
L2 Cache
2 MB+700%
0.25 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon HD 5850 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
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 GTX 1060 has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 carries 1 GB. GeForce GTX 1060 gives you 500% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 1060 and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5850. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 0.25 MB (Mobility Radeon HD 5850) — the GeForce GTX 1060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
VRAM Capacity
6 GB+500%
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
192 GB/s
Unknown
Bus Width
192-bit+50%
128-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB+700%
0.25 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 11.0 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Vulkan: 1.3 vs No. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
DirectX
12+9%
11.0
Vulkan
1.3
No
OpenGL
4.5+2%
4.4
Max Displays
4
6+50%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Pascal) (GeForce GTX 1060) vs UVD 2.3 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Decoder: NVDEC (Pascal) vs UVD 2.3. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
Encoder
NVENC (Pascal)
UVD 2.3
Decoder
NVDEC (Pascal)
UVD 2.3
Codecs
H.264,H.265/HEVC
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 draws 180W versus the Mobility Radeon HD 5850's 50W — a 113% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 5850 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5850). Power connectors: 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
TDP
180W
50W-72%
Recommended PSU
400W
350W-13%
Power Connector
6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
173mm
—
Height
111mm
—
Slots
2
—
Temp (Load)
—
85°C
Perf/Watt
55.9+265%
15.3
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 1060 came in at $249, while the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 launched at $299. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 1060 was 16.7% cheaper ($50 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 2.6 (Mobility Radeon HD 5850) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 1453.8% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTX 1060 (2016 vs 2010).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Mobility Radeon HD 5850
MSRP
$249-17%
$299
Performance per Dollar
40.4+1454%
2.6
Codename
GP104
Broadway
Release
May 27 2016
January 7 2010
Ranking
#137
#846
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