Radeon HD 6850M vs Radeon HD 8970M

When comparing Radeon HD 6850M and Radeon HD 8970M, 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 6850M and Radeon HD 8970M is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Radeon HD 6850M and Radeon HD 8970M are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: Radeon HD 6850M and Radeon HD 8970M are only used in laptop graphics. They have 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 or Radeon HD 8970M here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 6850M Radeon HD 8970M
Power consumption (TDP) 50 Watt 100 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Memory type DDR3, GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors No outputs No outputs
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  • Radeon HD 8970M has 100% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 6850M.
  • Radeon HD 6850M is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon HD 8970M uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon HD 8970M has 3 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6850M.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 6850M is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon HD 8970M - with GCN.
  • Core clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 275 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6850M.
  • Radeon HD 6850M is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon HD 8970M - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon HD 8970M is 4000 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 6850M.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 2−3 20−22
ultra / 1080p 0−1 12−14
QHD / 1440p 0−1 6−7
4K / 2160p 5−6
low / 720p 12−14 35−40
medium / 1080p 3−4 24−27
The average gaming FPS of Radeon HD 8970M in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 366% more, than Radeon HD 6850M.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 6850M Radeon HD 8970M
Architecture Terascale 2 GCN
Code name Granville Pro/LP Neptune
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 6 January 2011 15 May 2013
Pipelines 800 1280
Core clock speed 575 / 675 MHz 850 MHz
Boost Clock 900 MHz
Transistor count 1,040 million 2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 27.00 72.00
Floating-point performance 1,080.0 gflops 2,304 gflops
Memory bus width 128 Bit 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 800 MHz 4800 MHz
Memory bandwidth 25.6 GB/s 153.6 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) 273 Mh/s
Laptop size large large
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