Radeon HD 6550D vs Radeon HD 8650D

AMD

Radeon HD 6550D

2010Boost: 800 MHz
VS
AMD

Radeon HD 8650D

2012Boost: 1000 MHz
Similar parts
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Radeon HD 6550D vs Radeon HD 8650D 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 6550D vs Radeon HD 8650D 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 6550D vs Radeon HD 8650D: 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 6550D

2010

Why buy it

  • 2.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Costs $80 less on MSRP ($70 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).
  • Delivers 116.5% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 5.7 vs 2.6 G3D/$ ($70 MSRP vs $150 MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 53.8% higher power demand at 200W vs 130W.

Radeon HD 8650D

2012

Why buy it

  • Draws 130W instead of 200W, a 70W reduction.
  • 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 6550D 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.
  • 114.3% HIGHER MSRP
    $150 MSRPvs$70 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 2.6 vs 5.7 G3D/$ ($150 MSRP vs $70 MSRP).

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Radeon HD 6550D is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 2.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1% in PassMark G3D (400 vs 396), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon HD 6550D 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 6550D makes the most sense to buy today. It is $80 cheaper on MSRP at $70 vs $150, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 116.5% (5.7 vs 2.6), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

Radeon HD 6550D vs Radeon HD 8650D Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon HD 6550D

The Radeon HD 6550D is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 14 2010. It features the TeraScale 3 architecture. The boost clock speed is 800 MHz. It has 1408 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 200W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 400 points. Launch price was $299.

AMD

Radeon HD 8650D

The Radeon HD 8650D 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: 396 points. Launch price was $249.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 6550D scores 400 and the Radeon HD 8650D reaches 396 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 6550D is built on TeraScale 3 while the Radeon HD 8650D uses GCN 1.0, both on 40 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 1,408 (Radeon HD 6550D) vs 1,024 (Radeon HD 8650D). Raw compute: 2.253 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 6550D) vs 1.761 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 8650D). Boost clocks: 800 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

FeatureRadeon HD 6550DRadeon HD 8650D
G3D Mark Score
400+1%
396
Architecture
TeraScale 3
GCN 1.0
Process Node
40 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
1408+38%
1024
Compute (TFLOPS)
2.253 TFLOPS+28%
1.761 TFLOPS
Boost Clock
800 MHz
1000 MHz+25%
ROPs
32
32
TMUs
88+38%
64
L1 Cache
352 KB+38%
256 KB
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
Frame Generation
FSR upscaling
FSR upscaling

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon HD 6550DRadeon HD 8650D
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 512 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the Radeon HD 6550D and 128-bit on the Radeon HD 8650D.

FeatureRadeon HD 6550DRadeon HD 8650D
VRAM Capacity
0.5 GB
0.5 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
512 KB
512 KB
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 6550D draws 200W versus the Radeon HD 8650D's 130W — a 42.4% difference. The Radeon HD 8650D is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 6550D) vs 350W (Radeon HD 8650D). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin.

FeatureRadeon HD 6550DRadeon HD 8650D
TDP
200W
130W-35%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
Perf/Watt
2.0
3.0+50%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the Radeon HD 6550D came in at $70, while the Radeon HD 8650D launched at $150. On MSRP, Radeon HD 6550D was 53.3% cheaper ($80 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 5.7 (Radeon HD 6550D) vs 2.6 (Radeon HD 8650D) — the Radeon HD 6550D offers 119.2% better value. The newer card here is Radeon HD 8650D (2012 vs 2010).

FeatureRadeon HD 6550DRadeon HD 8650D
MSRP
$70-53%
$150
Performance per Dollar
5.7+119%
2.6
Codename
Cayman
Pitcairn
Release
December 14 2010
March 5 2012
Ranking
#623
#503

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