Radeon HD 6850 vs Radeon R9 280

In this comparison between Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon R9 280 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people Radeon HD 6850 will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 280 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.

Radeon HD 6850 Check Price

Radeon R9 280 Check Price

Main Specs

	Radeon HD 6850	Radeon R9 280
Power consumption (TDP)	127 Watt	200 Watt
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	1 GB	3 GB
Display Connectors	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort	2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon R9 280 has 57% more power consumption, than Radeon HD 6850.
Radeon HD 6850 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon R9 280 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
Radeon R9 280 has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 6850.
Both cards are used in Desktops.
Radeon HD 6850 is build with TeraScale 2 architecture, and Radeon R9 280 - with GCN 1.0.
Radeon HD 6850 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 280 - by 28 nm process technology.
Radeon R9 280 is 77 mm longer, than Radeon HD 6850.

Game benchmarks


high / 1080p	9−10	35−40
ultra / 1080p	5−6	21−24
QHD / 1440p	0−1	16−18
4K / 2160p	−	10−11
low / 720p	21−24	60−65
medium / 1080p	12−14	40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 241% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	16−18	55−60
ultra / 1080p	14−16	45−50
QHD / 1440p	0−1	35−40
4K / 2160p	−	18−20
low / 720p	35−40	100−110
medium / 1080p	16−18	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Battlefield 5 is 223% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	45−50	50−55
QHD / 1440p	0−1	0−1
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Call of Duty: Warzone is 10% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	160−170	250−260
medium / 768p	130−140	220−230
ultra / 1080p	70−75	180−190
QHD / 1440p	40−45	110−120
4K / 2160p	30−33	70−75
high / 768p	100−110	210−220
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is 94% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	55−60	60−65
ultra / 1080p	27−30	−
medium / 1080p	45−50	55−60
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Cyberpunk 2077 is 15% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	90−95	120−130
medium / 768p	70−75	110−120
ultra / 1080p	45−50	100−110
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Dota 2 is 64% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	10−12	45−50
ultra / 1080p	10−11	40−45
QHD / 1440p	−	27−30
4K / 2160p	4−5	14−16
low / 720p	24−27	80−85
medium / 1080p	12−14	45−50
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Far Cry 5 is 291% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	18−20	60−65
ultra / 1080p	12−14	45−50
QHD / 1440p	−	27−30
4K / 2160p	−	27−30
low / 720p	75−80	180−190
medium / 1080p	30−35	110−120
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Fortnite is 191% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	16−18	60−65
ultra / 1080p	14−16	45−50
QHD / 1440p	4−5	30−35
4K / 2160p	−	24−27
low / 720p	35−40	100−110
medium / 1080p	18−20	65−70
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Forza Horizon 4 is 250% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	65−70	140−150
medium / 768p	55−60	120−130
high / 1080p	18−20	70−75
ultra / 1080p	8−9	30−35
QHD / 1440p	0−1	21−24
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Grand Theft Auto V is 144% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	6−7	24−27
ultra / 1080p	4−5	20−22
QHD / 1440p	−	16−18
4K / 2160p	1−2	8−9
low / 720p	18−20	65−70
medium / 1080p	8−9	30−35
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Metro Exodus is 287% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	100−110	130−140
ultra / 1080p	90−95	−
medium / 1080p	95−100	120−130
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Minecraft is 28% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	18−20	−
ultra / 1080p	14−16	14−16
low / 720p	40−45	100−110
medium / 1080p	20−22	18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS is 76% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
high / 1080p	12−14	24−27
ultra / 1080p	8−9	16−18
QHD / 1440p	0−1	10−11
4K / 2160p	−	7−8
low / 720p	18−20	65−70
medium / 1080p	12−14	35−40
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Red Dead Redemption 2 is 176% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	35−40	130−140
medium / 768p	21−24	85−90
high / 1080p	12−14	45−50
ultra / 1080p	8−9	24−27
4K / 2160p	7−8	16−18
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is 264% more, than Radeon HD 6850.
low / 768p	90−95	90−95
medium / 768p	50−55	60−65
ultra / 1080p	24−27	50−55
high / 768p	40−45	60−65
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in World of Tanks is 26% more, than Radeon HD 6850.

Full Specs

	Radeon HD 6850	Radeon R9 280
Architecture	TeraScale 2	GCN 1.0
Code name	Barts	Tahiti
Type	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	21 October 2010	4 March 2014
Pipelines	960	1792
Boost Clock		933 MHz
Transistor count	1,700 million	4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	28 nm
Texture fill rate	37.20	104.5
Floating-point performance	1,488.0 gflops	3,344 gflops
Length	198 mm	275 mm
Memory bus width	256 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed		1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth	128.0 GB/s	240 GB/s
Shader Model	5.0	5.1
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan		+
FreeSync		+
Bus support	AGP	PCIe 3.0
HDMI		+
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256)	139 Mh/s	408 Mh/s
Eyefinity	+	+
HD3D		+
TrueAudio		+
Design	reference	reference
CrossFire	+	+
DDMA audio		+
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto)		21.5 Mh/s
LiquidVR		+
TressFX		+
UVD		+
	Check Price	Check Price

Radeon HD 6850 vs Radeon R9 280

Main Specs

Game benchmarks

Full Specs

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