Quadro M520 vs Radeon HD 5850

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.

Quadro M520 vs Radeon HD 5850 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.

Quadro M520 vs Radeon HD 5850: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

Quadro M520

2017

Why buy it

✅Costs $99 less on MSRP ($200 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
✅Delivers 46.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 9.6 vs 6.5 G3D/$ ($200 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
✅Draws 25W instead of 151W, a 126W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 5850 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2017 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 5850

2009

Why buy it

✅66.6% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.

Trade-offs

❌2009 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌
49.5% HIGHER MSRP
$299 MSRPvs$200 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 6.5 vs 9.6 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $200 MSRP).
❌504% higher power demand at 151W vs 25W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 5850 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 66.6% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 2.2% in PassMark G3D (1,955 vs 1,913), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Quadro M520 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2017 generation instead of 2009. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

Quadro M520 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $99 cheaper on MSRP at $200 vs $299, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 46.3% (9.6 vs 6.5), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. Radeon HD 5850 still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

Quadro M520 vs Radeon HD 5850 Technical Specifications

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

Quadro M520

The Quadro M520 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 11 2017. It features the Maxwell architecture. The core clock ranges from 1041 MHz to 1019 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 25W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,913 points.

Radeon HD 5850

The Radeon HD 5850 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 30 2009. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 725 MHz. It has 1440 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 151W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,955 points. Launch price was $299.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Quadro M520 scores 1,913 and the Radeon HD 5850 reaches 1,955 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Quadro M520 is built on Maxwell while the Radeon HD 5850 uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 384 (Quadro M520) vs 1,440 (Radeon HD 5850). Raw compute: 0.7995 TFLOPS (Quadro M520) vs 2.088 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 5850).

Feature	Quadro M520	Radeon HD 5850
G3D Mark Score	1,913	1,955+2%
Architecture	Maxwell	TeraScale 2
Process Node	28 nm	40 nm
Shading Units	384	1440+275%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.7995 TFLOPS	2.088 TFLOPS+161%
ROPs	8	32+300%
TMUs	16	72+350%
L1 Cache	128 KB	144 KB+13%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Quadro M520	Radeon HD 5850
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	Standard	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 2 GB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the Quadro M520 and 256-bit on the Radeon HD 5850. L2 Cache: 1 MB (Quadro M520) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 5850) — the Quadro M520 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Quadro M520	Radeon HD 5850
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Bus Width	64-bit	256-bit+300%
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	0.5 MB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Quadro M520 draws 25W versus the Radeon HD 5850's 151W — a 143.2% difference. The Quadro M520 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Quadro M520) vs 500W (Radeon HD 5850). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 2x 6-pin.

Feature	Quadro M520	Radeon HD 5850
TDP	25W-83%	151W
Recommended PSU	350W-30%	500W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	2x 6-pin
Perf/Watt	76.5+493%	12.9

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Quadro M520 came in at $200, while the Radeon HD 5850 launched at $299. On MSRP, Quadro M520 was 33.1% cheaper ($99 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 9.6 (Quadro M520) vs 6.5 (Radeon HD 5850) — the Quadro M520 offers 47.7% better value. The newer card here is Quadro M520 (2017 vs 2009).

Feature	Quadro M520	Radeon HD 5850
MSRP	$200-33%	$299
Performance per Dollar	9.6+48%	6.5
Codename	GM108	Cypress
Release	January 11 2017	September 30 2009
Ranking	#695	#682

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