Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual

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 3870 vs Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual 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 3870 vs Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual: 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 3870

2010

Why buy it

✅Costs $21 less on MSRP ($129 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
✅Delivers 14% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 4.2 vs 3.7 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).

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 8550G + HD 8500M Dual

2013

Why buy it

✅More future proof: Unknown architecture on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
16.3% HIGHER MSRP
$150 MSRPvs$129 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 3.7 vs 4.2 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2% in PassMark G3D (559 vs 548), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.

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

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 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?

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $21 cheaper on MSRP at $129 vs $150, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 14% (4.2 vs 3.7), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Mobility Radeon HD 3870 vs Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual Technical Specifications

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

Mobility Radeon HD 3870

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 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: 548 points.

Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual

The Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual is manufactured by AMD. It was released in August 1 2013. The core clock speed is 720 / 825 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 559 points.

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Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 scores 548 and the Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual reaches 559 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 640 (Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual).

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
G3D Mark Score	548	559+2%
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	800+25%	640
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
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 GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual.

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	Unknown
Bus Width	128-bit	128-bit

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Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 11_1 (Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 0.

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
DirectX	10.1	11_1+9%
Max Displays	0	0

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: UVD (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs UVD 3 (Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual). Decoder: UVD vs UVD 3.

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
Encoder	UVD	UVD 3
Decoder	UVD	UVD 3

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 3870 draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual's 50W — a 0% difference. The Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 1mm vs 1mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots.

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
TDP	50W	50W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	1x 6-pin
Length	1mm	1mm
Slots	0	0
Perf/Watt	11.0	11.2+2%

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Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 came in at $129, while the Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual launched at $150. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 3870 was 14% cheaper ($21 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.2 (Mobility Radeon HD 3870) vs 3.7 (Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual) — the Mobility Radeon HD 3870 offers 13.5% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual (2013 vs 2010).

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 3870	Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8500M Dual
MSRP	$129-14%	$150
Performance per Dollar	4.2+14%	3.7
Codename	Broadway	—
Release	January 7 2010	August 1 2013
Ranking	#846	#863

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