Radeon HD 3850 AGP vs Radeon HD 7650M

AMD

Radeon HD 3850 AGP

2012Boost: 1000 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Radeon HD 7650M

2011Core: 580 MHz
Similar parts
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Radeon HD 3850 AGP vs Radeon HD 7650M 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.

Radeon HD 3850 AGP vs Radeon HD 7650M 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.

Radeon HD 3850 AGP vs Radeon HD 7650M: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

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

Radeon HD 3850 AGP

2012

Why buy it

  • 8.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 3.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($130 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2012 hardware with 1 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 160% higher power demand at 130W vs 50W.

Radeon HD 7650M

2011

Why buy it

  • Draws 50W instead of 130W, a 80W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 3850 AGP across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • 2011 hardware with 1 GB 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 3.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $130 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 3850 AGP is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 8.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon HD 7650M instead at 434 vs 432, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon HD 3850 AGP is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: a 28nm process instead of 40nm and a newer 2012 generation instead of 2011. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon HD 3850 AGP makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup.

Radeon HD 3850 AGP vs Radeon HD 7650M Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon HD 3850 AGP

The Radeon HD 3850 AGP is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 130W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 432 points. Launch price was $249.

AMD

Radeon HD 7650M

The Radeon HD 7650M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 580 MHz. It has 960 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 434 points.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 3850 AGP scores 432 and the Radeon HD 7650M reaches 434 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 3850 AGP is built on GCN 1.0 while the Radeon HD 7650M uses TeraScale 2, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 1,024 (Radeon HD 3850 AGP) vs 960 (Radeon HD 7650M). Raw compute: 1.761 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 3850 AGP) vs 1.114 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7650M).

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
G3D Mark Score
432
434
Architecture
GCN 1.0
TeraScale 2
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
1024+7%
960
Compute (TFLOPS)
1.761 TFLOPS+58%
1.114 TFLOPS
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
64+33%
48
L1 Cache
256 KB+33%
192 KB
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
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 1 GB of video memory. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 3850 AGP and System on the Radeon HD 7650M.

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
VRAM Capacity
1 GB
1 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
Shared
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
System
Bus Width
128-bit
System
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 10.1 (Radeon HD 3850 AGP) vs 11.2 (FL11_0) (Radeon HD 7650M). Vulkan: N/A vs N/A. OpenGL: 3.3 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 2 vs 4.

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
DirectX
10.1
11.2 (FL11_0)+11%
Vulkan
N/A
N/A
OpenGL
3.3
4.4+33%
Max Displays
2
4+100%
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (Radeon HD 3850 AGP) vs UVD3 (Radeon HD 7650M). Decoder: UVD 1.0 vs UVD3. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 3850 AGP) vs H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (Radeon HD 7650M).

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
Encoder
None
UVD3
Decoder
UVD 1.0
UVD3
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 3850 AGP draws 130W versus the Radeon HD 7650M's 50W — a 88.9% difference. The Radeon HD 7650M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 450W (Radeon HD 3850 AGP) vs 350W (Radeon HD 7650M). Power connectors: 8-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 230mm vs 0mm, occupying 1 vs 0 slots. Typical load temperature: 80 vs 70°C.

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
TDP
130W
50W-62%
Recommended PSU
450W
350W-22%
Power Connector
8-pin
1x 6-pin
Length
230mm
0mm
Height
111mm
0mm
Slots
1
0-100%
Temp (Load)
80
70°C-13%
Perf/Watt
3.3
8.7+164%
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 3850 AGP (2012 vs 2011).

FeatureRadeon HD 3850 AGPRadeon HD 7650M
MSRP
$130
Codename
Pitcairn
Blackcomb
Release
March 5 2012
January 4 2011
Ranking
#503
#785

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