NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M vs AMD Radeon HD 8850M

VS
Performance
GeForce GT 420M
6851% of 104,598
Radeon HD 8850M243% better
2,3492% of 104,598

The Radeon HD 8850M has 243% better performance than the GeForce GT 420M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GT 420M
No data available
Radeon HD 8850M
No data available

We do not have any performance per dollar data for the GeForce GT 420M and the Radeon HD 8850M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Shop GeForce GT 420M
Shop Radeon HD 8850M
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Summary

#

About the NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M GPU

The NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q3 2010. It is built on the Fermi GPU microarchitecture (codename GF108) and is manufactured on a 40 nm process.

Memory

The GT 420M has 1,024 MB of DDR3 memory, with a 800 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 25.6 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The GT 420M includes 96 CUDA cores, the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 500 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 16 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 4 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Compatibility & Power Consumption

The GPU has a thermal design power (TDP) of 23 W. A power supply not strong enough to handle this might result in system crashes and potentially damage your hardware.

Benchmark Performance

The GT 420M has the 490th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 0.65% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

About the AMD Radeon HD 8850M GPU

The AMD Radeon HD 8850M is an end-of-life mobile graphics card that released in Q2 2013. It is built on the GCN 1.0 GPU microarchitecture (codename Venus) and is manufactured on a 28 nm process.

Memory

The HD 8850M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a 1,000 MHz memory clock and a 128 bit interface. This gives it a memory bandwidth of 64 Gb/s, which affects how fast it can transfer data to and from memory. GPU memory stores temporary data that helps the GPU with complex math and graphics operations. More memory is generally better, as not having enough can cause performance bottlenecks.

Cores and Clock Speeds

The HD 8850M includes 640 stream processors (SPs), the processing units for handling parallel computing tasks. The GPU operates at a core clock speed of 575 MHz and can dynamically boost its clock speed up to 625 MHz. Complementing the processing units are 40 texture mapping units (TMUs) for efficient texture filtering and 16 render output units (ROPs) for pixel processing.

Benchmark Performance

The HD 8850M has the 339th best 3DMark 11 Performance GPU score among the 543 benchmarked GPUs in our database. It achieves 2.25% of the performance of the best benchmarked GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.

General Info

General overview of the GPU, including details like its manufacturer, release date, launch price, and current production status.

InfoGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
ManufacturerNVIDIAAMD
ArchitectureFermiGCN 1.0
Market SegmentMobileMobile
Release DateQ3 2010Q2 2013
Production StatusEnd-of-lifeEnd-of-life
ShopCheck PriceCheck Price

Gaming Performance

#

Select a game to compare FPS metrics

Display FPS for BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite
Display FPS for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS: GO

FPS Benchmarks

This table showcases the average frame rate (FPS) achieved both GPUs in at various resolutions. Frame rate is a crucial indicator of how smoothly the GPU can run the game. A higher FPS generally translates to a smoother gameplay experience.

  • Frames Per Second
FPS data for BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite
GeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
Low - 720p
--
88 FPS
Medium - 768p
--
56 FPS
High - 768p
--
46 FPS
Ultra - 1080p
--
17 FPS
QHD - 1440p
--
--
4K UHD - 2160p
--
--
FPS Source: Notebookcheck

Compare Frames Per Second (FPS)

The average frame rate (FPS) in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, higher FPS results in a smoother gameplay experience.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GT 420M orRadeon HD 8850M

Compare Cost Per Frame

The average cost per frame in can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. Generally, a lower cost per frame implies better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GT 420M orRadeon HD 8850M
GPUCost Per Frame
Our database does not have enough data to compare the FPS per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Performance

#
Performance
GeForce GT 420M
6851% of 104,598
Radeon HD 8850M243% better
2,3492% of 104,598

The Radeon HD 8850M has 243% better performance than the GeForce GT 420M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

The GeForce GT 420M is ranked 490th with a score of 685, and the Radeon HD 8850M is ranked 339th with a score of 2,349.

Performance per dollar
GeForce GT 420M
No data available
Radeon HD 8850M
No data available

We do not have any performance per dollar data for the GeForce GT 420M and the Radeon HD 8850M for the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark.

Relative Performance

The average score in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative performance. Generally, powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GT 420M or
GPUBenchmark Performance
Quadro M500M2,364.5+245%
FirePro W4190M2,351+243%
Radeon HD 8850M2,349+243%
GeForce 840M2,340+242%
Radeon 5302,327+240%
GeForce GT 425M753+10%
Radeon HD 7610M749+9%
GeForce GT 420M685
Radeon HD 6490M601-12%
GeForce GT 520MX596.5-13%

Relative Value For Money

The average performance per dollar in the benchmark test can be compared to similar GPUs to assess relative value. A higher score implies a better value for your money.

Choose Baseline GPU:GeForce GT 420M orRadeon HD 8850M
GPUPerformance Per Dollar
Our database does not have enough data to compare the benchmark performance per dollar with other GPUs.

Benchmark Scores

This table showcases the average performance scores achieved by both GPUs across industry-standard benchmark tests. These scores provide a valuable insight into overall performance. Powerful GPUs tend to have higher scores.

  • Popular
BenchmarkGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics
--
11,387
3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics
--
1,845
3DMark 11 Performance Score
775
2,507
(+223.48%)
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit
--
46.9
PassMark G3D Mark
397
973
(+145.09%)
PassMark G2D Mark
86
495
(+475.58%)
Benchmarks Source: Notebookcheck

Technical Specs

#

Graphics Processor

General information about the graphics processing unit like their architecture, manufacturing process size, and transistor count. Newer GPU architectures generally bring efficiency improvements and may introduce technologies that enhance graphical capabilities.

SpecGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
CodenameGF108Venus
ArchitectureFermiGCN 1.0
Process Size40 nm28 nm
Transistors585 million1,500 million

Memory Details

Memory specifications like their capacity, bandwidth, and clock speeds. GPU memory stores graphics data like frames, textures, and shadows which helps display rendered images. These specs are crucial for graphics-intense applications like gaming and 3D modeling.

SpecGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
Memory Size1,024 MB2 GB
Memory TypeDDR3GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth25.6 Gb/s64 Gb/s
Memory Clock800 MHz1,000 MHz
Memory Interface128 bit128 bit
L1 Cache64 KB16 KB
L2 Cache256 KB256 KB

Board Compatibility

Compatibility information like their slot size, bus interface, power consumption, and display support. These specs are useful for verifying compatibility with your motherboard, power supply, and monitor.

SpecGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
Bus InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Thermal Design Power (TDP)23 W--
OutputsDevice DependentDevice Dependent

Cores & Clock Speeds

Processing power information like its cores and clock speed. These specs impact how fast they can process graphics. Each type of core or component serves a specific computational purpose.

SpecGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
Stream Processors (SP)--640
CUDA Cores96--
Compute Units (CU)--10
Stream Multiprocessors (SM)2--
Texture Mapping Units (TMU)1640
Render Output Units (ROP)416
Core Clock Speed500 MHz575 MHz
Core Clock Speed (Boost)--625 MHz

Theoretical Performance

Theoretical performance numbers derived from the raw specifications of the different components like core count and clock speeds. While these provide a glimpse into peak processing power, they do not represent real-world performance.

SpecGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
Pixel Fill Rate2 GPixel/s10 GPixel/s
Texture Fill Rate8 GTexel/s25 GTexel/s
FP32 Performance192 GFLOPS800 GFLOPS
FP64 Performance16 GFLOPS50 GFLOPS

API Support

Graphics API versions supported by these graphics cards. APIs evolve over time, introducing new features and functionalities. Older GPUs may not support recent versions.

SpecGeForce GT 420MRadeon HD 8850M
DirectX12 (11_0)12 (11_1)
OpenCL1.12.1 (1.2)
OpenGL4.64.6
Shader Model5.16.5 (5.1)

Check out these comparisons for similar GPUs:

Looking for alternatives? Check out these similar GPUs:

* Performance rating, performance per dollar, and rankings are based on the 3DMark 11 Performance GPU benchmark and MSRP.