Radeon HD 7850M vs Tesla M2090

AMD

Radeon HD 7850M

2012Core: 675 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
NVIDIA

Tesla M2090

2011Core: 651 MHz
Similar parts
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Radeon HD 7850M vs Tesla M2090 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 7850M vs Tesla M2090: 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 7850M

2012

Why buy it

  • 300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (2 GB vs 512 MB).
  • Draws 40W instead of 250W, a 210W reduction.
  • More future proof: GCN 1.0 (2012−2020) on 28nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

  • 2012 hardware with 2 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 0.6 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $2,500 MSRP).

Tesla M2090

2011

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 0.6 vs 0 G3D/$ ($2,500 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

  • Less VRAM, with 512 MB vs 2 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • 2011 hardware with 512 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 525% higher power demand at 250W vs 40W.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Tesla M2090 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 2% in PassMark G3D (1,400 vs 1,373), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon HD 7850M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 2 GB vs 512 MB of VRAM, the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 28nm process instead of 40nm, and a newer 2012 generation instead of 2011. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Tesla M2090 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, Tesla M2090 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon HD 7850M has the stronger long-term case.

Radeon HD 7850M vs Tesla M2090 Technical Specifications

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

AMD

Radeon HD 7850M

The Radeon HD 7850M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in April 24 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 675 MHz. It has 640 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 40W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,373 points.

NVIDIA

Tesla M2090

The Tesla M2090 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 25 2011. It features the Fermi 2.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 651 MHz. It has 512 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,400 points.

Graphics Performance

The Radeon HD 7850M scores 1,373 and the Tesla M2090 reaches 1,400 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon HD 7850M is built on GCN 1.0 while the Tesla M2090 uses Fermi 2.0, both on 28 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 640 (Radeon HD 7850M) vs 512 (Tesla M2090). Raw compute: 0.864 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7850M) vs 1.332 TFLOPS (Tesla M2090).

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
G3D Mark Score
1,373
1,400+2%
Architecture
GCN 1.0
Fermi 2.0
Process Node
28 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
640+25%
512
Compute (TFLOPS)
0.864 TFLOPS
1.332 TFLOPS+54%
ROPs
16
48+200%
TMUs
40
64+60%
L1 Cache
0.16 MB
1 MB+525%
L2 Cache
256 KB
768 KB+200%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
Upscaling Tech
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Upscaling support
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
AMD Anti-Lag
Standard
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The Radeon HD 7850M has 2 GB of VRAM, while the Tesla M2090 carries 512 MB. Radeon HD 7850M gives you 300% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is System on the Radeon HD 7850M and 64-bit on the Tesla M2090. L2 Cache: 256 KB (Radeon HD 7850M) vs 768 KB (Tesla M2090) — the Tesla M2090 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
VRAM Capacity
2 GB+300%
0.5 GB
Memory Type
Shared
GDDR5
Bus Width
System
64-bit
L2 Cache
256 KB
768 KB+200%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 7850M) vs 12 (FL 11_0) (Tesla M2090). OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 6 vs 0.

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
DirectX
12 (11_1)
12 (FL 11_0)
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
6
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4,DivX (Radeon HD 7850M) vs CUDA,OpenCL (Tesla M2090).

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
Encoder
VCE 1.0
Decoder
UVD 3
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2,MPEG-4,DivX
CUDA,OpenCL
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon HD 7850M draws 40W versus the Tesla M2090's 250W — a 144.8% difference. The Radeon HD 7850M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon HD 7850M) vs 350W (Tesla M2090). Power connectors: 1x 6-pin vs PCIe-powered.

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
TDP
40W-84%
250W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
1x 6-pin
PCIe-powered
Length
248mm
Height
111mm
Slots
1-50%
2
Temp (Load)
70°C
Perf/Watt
34.3+513%
5.6
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon HD 7850M (2012 vs 2011).

FeatureRadeon HD 7850MTesla M2090
MSRP
$2500
Codename
Heathrow
GF110
Release
April 24 2012
July 25 2011
Ranking
#787
#530

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