Mobility Radeon HD 5165 vs Radeon HD 2900 GT

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5165

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 2900 GT

2013Core: 725 MHz
Similar parts
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Mobility Radeon HD 5165 vs Radeon HD 2900 GT 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 5165 vs Radeon HD 2900 GT: 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 5165

2010

Why buy it

  • Costs $121 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $170 MSRP).
  • Delivers 237.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.8 vs 1.7 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $170 MSRP).
  • 100% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (1 GB vs 512 MB).

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 100% higher power demand at 50W vs 25W.

Radeon HD 2900 GT

2013

Why buy it

  • Draws 25W instead of 50W, a 25W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 1 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2013 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 246.9% HIGHER MSRP
    $170 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.7 vs 5.8 G3D/$ ($170 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 2900 GT is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2.8% in PassMark G3D (292 vs 284), 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 5165 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?
Mobility Radeon HD 5165 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $121 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $170, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 237.4% (5.8 vs 1.7), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 2900 GT still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Mobility Radeon HD 5165 vs Radeon HD 2900 GT Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Mobility Radeon HD 5165

The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 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: 284 points.

AMD

Radeon HD 2900 GT

The Radeon HD 2900 GT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2013. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 480 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 25W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 292 points.

Graphics Performance

The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 scores 284 and the Radeon HD 2900 GT reaches 292 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.8% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon HD 2900 GT uses TeraScale 2, both on a 40 nm process. Shader units: 800 (Mobility Radeon HD 5165) vs 480 (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Raw compute: 1.12 TFLOPS (Mobility Radeon HD 5165) vs 0.696 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 2900 GT).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5165Radeon HD 2900 GT
G3D Mark Score
284
292+3%
Architecture
TeraScale 2
TeraScale 2
Process Node
40 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
800+67%
480
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.12 TFLOPS+61%
0.696 TFLOPS
ROPs
16+100%
8
TMUs
40+67%
24
L1 Cache
80 KB+67%
48 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5165Radeon HD 2900 GT
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)

The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 has 1 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 2900 GT carries 512 MB. Mobility Radeon HD 5165 gives you 100% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon HD 5165 and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 2900 GT.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5165Radeon HD 2900 GT
VRAM Capacity
1 GB+100%
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
256 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.1 (Mobility Radeon HD 5165) vs 10 (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 2.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5165Radeon HD 2900 GT
DirectX
10.1
10
Max Displays
2
2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Mobility Radeon HD 5165 draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 2900 GT's 25W — a 66.7% difference. The Radeon HD 2900 GT is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Mobility Radeon HD 5165) vs 350W (Radeon HD 2900 GT). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin.

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5165Radeon HD 2900 GT
TDP
50W
25W-50%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
1x 6-pin
Length
241mm
Slots
2
Temp (Load)
75°C
Perf/Watt
5.7
11.7+105%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Mobility Radeon HD 5165 came in at $49, while the Radeon HD 2900 GT launched at $170. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon HD 5165 was 71.2% cheaper ($121 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.8 (Mobility Radeon HD 5165) vs 1.7 (Radeon HD 2900 GT) — the Mobility Radeon HD 5165 offers 241.2% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 2900 GT (2013 vs 2010).

FeatureMobility Radeon HD 5165Radeon HD 2900 GT
MSRP
$49-71%
$170
Performance per Dollar
5.8+241%
1.7
Codename
Broadway
Thames
Release
January 7 2010
January 7 2013
Ranking
#846
#883

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