Radeon HD 5870 vs Radeon HD 6850M

When comparing Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 6850M, we look primarily at benchmarks and game tests. But it is not only about the numbers. Often you can find third-party models with higher clock speeds, better cooling, or a customizable RGB lighting. Not all of them will have all the features you need. Another thing to consider is the port selection. Most graphics cards have at least one DisplayPort and HDMI interface, but some monitors require DVI. Before you buy, check the TDP of the graphics card - this characteristic will help you estimate the consumption of the graphics card. You may even have to upgrade your PSU to meet its requirements. An important factor when choosing between Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 6850M is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Radeon HD 6850M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 6850M 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 Radeon HD 6850M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 5870 Radeon HD 6850M
Power consumption (TDP) 188 Watt 50 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 2.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 DDR3, GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 1 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 5870 has 276% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 6850M.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 2.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 6850M have maximum RAM of 1 GB.
  • Radeon HD 5870 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 6850M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 5870 is build with TeraScale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 6850M - with Terascale 2.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 5870 is 275 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6850M.
  • Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 6850M are manufactured by 40 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 5870 is 4000 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6850M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 10−12 2−3
ultra / 1080p 6−7 0−1
QHD / 1440p 1−2 0−1
low / 720p 24−27 12−14
medium / 1080p 14−16 3−4
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 5870 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 183% more, than Radeon HD 6850M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 5870 Radeon HD 6850M
Architecture TeraScale 2 Terascale 2
Code name Cypress Granville Pro/LP
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 23 September 2009 6 January 2011
Pipelines 1600 800
Core clock speed 850 MHz 575 / 675 MHz
Transistor count 2,154 million 1,040 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 40 nm
Texture fill rate 68.00 27.00
Floating-point performance 2,720.0 gflops 1,080.0 gflops
Length 282 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 4800 MHz 800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 153.6 GB/s 25.6 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.2 (11_0) 11.2 (11_0)
Shader Model 5.0 5.0
OpenGL 4.4 4.4
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan N/A N/A
Laptop size large
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