Radeon HD 6490M vs Radeon HD 8470D

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 6490M vs Radeon HD 8470D 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 6490M vs Radeon HD 8470D: 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 6490M

2011

Why buy it

✅3.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Draws 75W instead of 200W, a 125W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌2011 hardware with 512 MB 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 7.5 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $50 MSRP).

Radeon HD 8470D

2012

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 7.5 vs 0 G3D/$ ($50 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 6490M across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌2012 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
❌166.7% higher power demand at 200W vs 75W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon HD 6490M is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 3.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.1% in PassMark G3D (378 vs 374), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon HD 6490M 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?

Radeon HD 8470D makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Radeon HD 8470D is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 6490M has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 6490M vs Radeon HD 8470D Technical Specifications

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

Radeon HD 6490M

The Radeon HD 6490M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 4 2011. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 680 MHz. It has 960 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 378 points.

Radeon HD 8470D

The Radeon HD 8470D is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 374 points. Launch price was $349.

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Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 6490M scores 378 and the Radeon HD 8470D reaches 374 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 6490M is built on TeraScale 2 while the Radeon HD 8470D uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 960 (Radeon HD 6490M) vs 1,280 (Radeon HD 8470D). Raw compute: 1.306 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6490M) vs 2.56 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8470D).

Feature	Radeon HD 6490M	Radeon HD 8470D
G3D Mark Score	378+1%	374
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN 1.0
Process Node	40 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	960	1280+33%
Compute (TFLOPS)	1.306 TFLOPS	2.56 TFLOPS+96%
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	48	80+67%
L1 Cache	192 KB	320 KB+67%
L2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling	FSR upscaling

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon HD 6490M	Radeon HD 8470D
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)

Both cards ship with 512 MB of video memory. Memory bus width is System on the Radeon HD 6490M and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8470D.

Feature	Radeon HD 6490M	Radeon HD 8470D
VRAM Capacity	0.5 GB	0.5 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	Unknown
Bus Width	System	128-bit
L2 Cache	512 KB	512 KB

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 6490M draws 75W versus the Radeon HD 8470D's 200W — a 90.9% difference. The Radeon HD 6490M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 6490M) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8470D). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

Feature	Radeon HD 6490M	Radeon HD 8470D
TDP	75W-63%	200W
Recommended PSU	350W	350W
Power Connector	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin
Perf/Watt	5.0+163%	1.9

💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 8470D (2012 vs 2011).

Feature	Radeon HD 6490M	Radeon HD 8470D
MSRP	—	$50
Codename	Blackcomb	Pitcairn
Release	January 4 2011	March 5 2012
Ranking	#654	#460

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