Radeon HD 6790 vs Radeon HD 7850M

When comparing Radeon HD 6790 and Radeon HD 7850M, 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 6790 and Radeon HD 7850M is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Radeon HD 7850M is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon HD 7850M 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 7850M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 6790 Radeon HD 7850M
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 40 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 2 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 6790 has 275% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 7850M.
  • Radeon HD 6790 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 7850M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon HD 7850M has 1 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6790.
  • Radeon HD 6790 is used in Desktops, and Radeon HD 7850M - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 6790 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 7850M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 6790 is 165 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 7850M.
  • Radeon HD 6790 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 7850M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 7850M is 2950 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6790.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 7−8 6−7
ultra / 1080p 4−5 3−4
QHD / 1440p 0−1 0−1
low / 720p 18−20 14−16
medium / 1080p 9−10 7−8
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 6790 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 25% more, than Radeon HD 7850M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6790 Radeon HD 7850M
Architecture Terascale 2 GCN
Code name Barts Heathrow Pro
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 4 April 2011 24 April 2012
Pipelines 800 640
Core clock speed 840 MHz 675 MHz
Transistor count 1,700 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 33.60 27.00
Floating-point performance 1,344.0 gflops 864.0 gflops
Length 198 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 1050 MHz 4000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 134.4 GB/s 64 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.2 (11_0) 12 (11_1)
Shader Model 5.0 5.1
OpenGL 4.4 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan N/A 1.2.131
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 122 Mh/s
Laptop size large
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