GeForce GTX 950A vs Radeon HD 6850 X2

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 950A

2015Core: 993 MHzBoost: 1124 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 6850 X2

2011Core: 800 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce GTX 950A vs Radeon HD 6850 X2 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 GTX 950A vs Radeon HD 6850 X2 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 GTX 950A vs Radeon HD 6850 X2: 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 950A

2015

Why buy it

  • Costs $191 less on MSRP ($159 MSRP vs $350 MSRP).
  • Delivers 125.8% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 16.3 vs 7.2 G3D/$ ($159 MSRP vs $350 MSRP).
  • Draws 75W instead of 254W, a 179W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6850 X2 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2015 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Radeon HD 6850 X2

2011

Why buy it

  • 3.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

  • 2011 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 120.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $350 MSRPvs$159 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 7.2 vs 16.3 G3D/$ ($350 MSRP vs $159 MSRP).
  • 238.7% higher power demand at 254W vs 75W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 6850 X2 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 3.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward GeForce GTX 950A instead at 2,599 vs 2,534, 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 GTX 950A is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2015 generation instead of 2011. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
GeForce GTX 950A makes the most sense to buy today. It is $191 cheaper on MSRP at $159 vs $350, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 125.8% (16.3 vs 7.2), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 6850 X2 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 950A vs Radeon HD 6850 X2 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 950A

The GeForce GTX 950A is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 13 2015. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 993 MHz to 1124 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,599 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 6850 X2

The Radeon HD 6850 X2 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 19 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 800 MHz. It has 960 ×2 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 254W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 2,534 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 950A scores 2,599 and the Radeon HD 6850 X2 reaches 2,534 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 950A is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 6850 X2 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 640 (GeForce GTX 950A) vs 960 (Radeon HD 6850 X2). Raw compute: 1.439 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 950A) vs 1.536 TFLOPS ×2 (Radeon HD 6850 X2).

FeatureGeForce GTX 950ARadeon HD 6850 X2
G3D Mark Score
2,599+3%
2,534
Architecture
Maxwell
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
640
960 ×2+50%
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.439 TFLOPS
1.536 TFLOPS ×2+7%
ROPs
16
32 ×2+100%
TMUs
40
48 ×2+20%
L1 Cache
320 KB+67%
192 KB
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 950A gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 6850 X2 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 950ARadeon HD 6850 X2
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 2 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 950A and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6850 X2. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 950A) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 6850 X2) — the GeForce GTX 950A has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 950ARadeon HD 6850 X2
VRAM Capacity
2 GB
2 GB
Memory Type
DDR3
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
32 GB/s
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 950A draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 6850 X2's 254W — a 108.8% difference. The GeForce GTX 950A is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 950A) vs 600W (Radeon HD 6850 X2). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 2x 8-pin.

FeatureGeForce GTX 950ARadeon HD 6850 X2
TDP
75W-70%
254W
Recommended PSU
350W-42%
600W
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
2x 8-pin
Length
285mm
Slots
2
Perf/Watt
34.7+247%
10.0
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 950A came in at $159, while the Radeon HD 6850 X2 launched at $350. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 950A was 54.6% cheaper ($191 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 16.3 (GeForce GTX 950A) vs 7.2 (Radeon HD 6850 X2) — the GeForce GTX 950A offers 126.4% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTX 950A (2015 vs 2011).

FeatureGeForce GTX 950ARadeon HD 6850 X2
MSRP
$159-55%
$350
Performance per Dollar
16.3+126%
7.2
Codename
GM107
Barts
Release
March 13 2015
September 19 2011
Ranking
#621
#630

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