Mobility Radeon HD 4850 vs Radeon 520

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 4850 vs Radeon 520 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 4850 vs Radeon 520: 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 4850

2009

Why buy it

✅100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).
✅Draws 30W instead of 50W, a 20W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2009 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
155.1% HIGHER MSRP
$199 MSRPvs$78 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 4.4 vs 11.2 G3D/$ ($199 MSRP vs $78 MSRP).

Radeon 520

2017

Why buy it

✅Costs $121 less on MSRP ($78 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
✅Delivers 157.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 11.2 vs 4.4 G3D/$ ($78 MSRP vs $199 MSRP).
✅More future proof: GCN 4.0 (2016−2020) on 14nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2017 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌66.7% higher power demand at 50W vs 30W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon 520 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 0.9% in PassMark G3D (874 vs 866), 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 4850 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 1 GB vs 512 MB of VRAM. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Radeon 520 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $121 cheaper on MSRP at $78 vs $199, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 157.5% (11.2 vs 4.4), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon 520 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Mobility Radeon HD 4850 has the stronger long-term case.

Mobility Radeon HD 4850 vs Radeon 520 Technical Specifications

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

Mobility Radeon HD 4850

The Mobility Radeon HD 4850 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 9 2009. It features the TeraScale architecture. The core clock speed is 550 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 30W. Manufactured using 55 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 866 points.

Radeon 520

The Radeon 520 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 20 2017. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1100 MHz to 1183 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 874 points. Launch price was $79.

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Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 4850 scores 866 and the Radeon 520 reaches 874 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 4850 is built on TeraScale while the Radeon 520 uses GCN 4.0, both on 55 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 4850) vs 512 (Radeon 520). Raw compute: 0.88 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 4850) vs 1.211 TFLOPS (Radeon 520).

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 4850	Radeon 520
G3D Mark Score	866	874
Architecture	TeraScale	GCN 4.0
Process Node	55 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	800+56%	512
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.88 TFLOPS	1.211 TFLOPS+38%
ROPs	16	16
TMUs	40+25%	32
L1 Cache	160 KB+25%	128 KB
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 4850	Radeon 520
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

The Mobility Radeon HD 4850 has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon 520 carries 512 MB. Mobility Radeon HD 4850 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 4850 and 64-bit on the Radeon 520.

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 4850	Radeon 520
VRAM Capacity	1 GB+100%	0.5 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	64-bit	64-bit
L2 Cache	256 KB	256 KB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 4850 draws 30W versus the Radeon 520's 50W — a 50% difference. The Mobility Radeon HD 4850 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 4850) vs 250W (Radeon 520). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs None.

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 4850	Radeon 520
TDP	30W-40%	50W
Recommended PSU	350W	250W-29%
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	None
Length	0mm	—
Height	0mm	—
Slots	0	—
Temp (Load)	95	—
Perf/Watt	28.9+65%	17.5

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 4850 came in at $199, while the Radeon 520 launched at $78. On MSRP, Radeon 520 was 60.8% cheaper ($121 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 4.4 (Mobility Radeon HD 4850) vs 11.2 (Radeon 520) — the Radeon 520 offers 154.5% better value. The newer card here is Radeon 520 (2017 vs 2009).

Feature	Mobility Radeon HD 4850	Radeon 520
MSRP	$199	$78-61%
Performance per Dollar	4.4	11.2+155%
Codename	M98	Lexa
Release	January 9 2009	April 20 2017
Ranking	#927	#668

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