Mobility Radeon HD 3850
Radeon HD 6490M
Mobility Radeon HD 3850 vs Radeon HD 6490M 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.
Mobility Radeon HD 3850 vs Radeon HD 6490M 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.
Mobility Radeon HD 3850 vs Radeon HD 6490M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict
See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.
Mobility Radeon HD 3850
2010Why buy it
- ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 2.4 vs 0 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
- ✅Draws 50W instead of 75W, a 25W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌2010 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
Radeon HD 6490M
2011Why buy it
- ✅More future proof: TeraScale 2 (2009−2015) on 40nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
Trade-offs
- ❌2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 2.4 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
- ❌50% higher power demand at 75W vs 50W.
Quick Answers
Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon HD 3850 vs Radeon HD 6490M Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
Mobility Radeon HD 3850
The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 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: 366 points.
Radeon HD 6490M
The Radeon HD 6490M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 680 MHz. It has 960 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 378 points.
Graphics Performance
The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 scores 366 and the Radeon HD 6490M reaches 378 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.3% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon HD 6490M uses TeraScale 2, both on a 40 nm process. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3850) vs 960 (Radeon HD 6490M). Raw compute: 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 3850) vs 1.306 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6490M).
| Feature | Mobility Radeon HD 3850 | Radeon HD 6490M |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 366 | 378+3% |
| Architecture | TeraScale 2 | TeraScale 2 |
| Process Node | 40 nm | 40 nm |
| Shading Units | 800 | 960+20% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 1.12 TFLOPS | 1.306 TFLOPS+17% |
| ROPs | 16 | 32+100% |
| TMUs | 40 | 48+20% |
| L1 Cache | 80 KB | 192 KB+140% |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | 512 KB+100% |
| Frame Generation | FSR upscaling | FSR upscaling |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
| Feature | Mobility Radeon HD 3850 | Radeon HD 6490M |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 |
| Frame Generation | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Ray Reconstruction | No | No |
| Low Latency | AMD Anti-Lag | AMD Anti-Lag |
Video Memory (VRAM)
Both cards ship with 512 MB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3850 and System on the Radeon HD 6490M. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Mobility Radeon HD 3850) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 6490M) — the Radeon HD 6490M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | Mobility Radeon HD 3850 | Radeon HD 6490M |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 0.5 GB | 0.5 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | Shared |
| Memory Bandwidth | Unknown | System |
| Bus Width | 128-bit | System |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | 512 KB+100% |
Power & Dimensions
The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 6490M's 75W — a 40% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 3850 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3850) vs 350W (Radeon HD 6490M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin.
| Feature | Mobility Radeon HD 3850 | Radeon HD 6490M |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 50W-33% | 75W |
| Recommended PSU | 350W | 350W |
| Power Connector | PCIe-powered | 1x 6-pin |
| Perf/Watt | 7.3+46% | 5.0 |
Value Analysis
The newer card here is Radeon HD 6490M (2011 vs 2010).
| Feature | Mobility Radeon HD 3850 | Radeon HD 6490M |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $150 | — |
| Codename | Broadway | Blackcomb |
| Release | January 7 2010 | January 4 2011 |
| Ranking | #846 | #654 |
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.
Top Performing GPUs
The most powerful gpus ranked by G3D Mark benchmark scores.
You May Also Compare
Similar GPU comparisons based on Mobility Radeon HD 3850 and Radeon HD 6490M
