GeForce GTX 980M vs Radeon HD 6850 X2

When choosing between GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon HD 6850 X2, it is worth examining the specifications of the models in detail. Do they meet the recommended requirements of modern games and software? Storage capacity, form factor, TDP, available ports, warranty and manufacturer support are all important. For example, the size of a PC case can limit the maximum thickness and length of the card. Often, instead of the factory overclocked card and RGB backlight, it is better to choose a reference model with a more efficient GPU. And make sure that your current power supply unit has the correct connection pins (using adapters is not recommended). This GPUs compare tool is meant to help you to choose the best graphics card for your build. Let's find out the difference between GeForce GTX 980M and Radeon HD 6850 X2.

GeForce GTX 980M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: GeForce GTX 980M is only used in laptop graphics. It has lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with GeForce GTX 980M here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon HD 6850 X2
Power consumption (TDP) 254 Watt
Interface MXM-B (3.0) PCIe 2.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None 2x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 8 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors No outputs 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • GeForce GTX 980M is connected by MXM-B (3.0), and Radeon HD 6850 X2 uses PCIe 2.0 x16 interface.
  • GeForce GTX 980M has 6 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is used in Laptops, and Radeon HD 6850 X2 - in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is build with Maxwell architecture, and Radeon HD 6850 X2 - with TeraScale 2.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 980M is 238 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.
  • GeForce GTX 980M is manufactured by 28 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 6850 X2 - by 40 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 6850 X2 is 1700 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 35−40 12−14
ultra / 1080p 24−27 7−8
QHD / 1440p 18−20 2−3
4K / 2160p 10−11
low / 720p 60−65 27−30
medium / 1080p 45−50 16−18
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 192% more, than Radeon HD 6850 X2.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 980M Radeon HD 6850 X2
Architecture Maxwell TeraScale 2
Code name GM204 Barts
Type Laptop Desktop
Release date 7 October 2014 19 September 2011
Pipelines 1536 960
Core clock speed 1038 MHz 800 MHz
Boost Clock 1127 MHz
Transistor count 5,200 million 1,700 million
Manufacturing process technology 28 nm 40 nm
Texture fill rate 51.84 38.40
Floating-point performance 3,462 gflops 2x 1,536.0 gflops
Memory bus width 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 2500 MHz 4200 MHz
Memory bandwidth 160 GB/s 134.4 GB/s
Shared memory -
G-SYNC support +
DirectX 12 (12_1) 11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model 6.4 5.0
OpenGL 4.5 4.4
OpenCL 1.1 1.2
Vulkan 1.1.126 N/A
CUDA +
CUDA cores 1536
Bus support PCI Express 3.0
SLI options +
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 383 Mh/s
Laptop size large
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support +
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder +
Optimus +
GameStream +
GeForce ShadowPlay +
GPU Boost 2.0
GameWorks +
BatteryBoost +
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