Radeon HD 5850 vs Radeon RX 540

When comparing Radeon HD 5850 and Radeon RX 540, 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 5850 and Radeon RX 540 is the price. Does the additional cost justify the performance hit? Our comparison should help you make the right decision.

Radeon RX 540 is a Laptop Graphics Card

Note: Radeon RX 540 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 RX 540 here:

Main Specs

  Radeon HD 5850 Radeon RX 540
Power consumption (TDP) 151 Watt 65 Watt
Interface PCIe 2.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 2x 6-pin 1x 6-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 4 GB
Display Connectors 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
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  • Radeon HD 5850 has 132% more power consumption, than Radeon RX 540.
  • Radeon HD 5850 is connected by PCIe 2.0 x16, and Radeon RX 540 uses PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.
  • Radeon RX 540 has 3 GB more memory, than Radeon HD 5850.
  • Radeon HD 5850 is used in Desktops, and Radeon RX 540 - in Laptops.
  • Radeon HD 5850 is build with Terascale 2 architecture, and Radeon RX 540 - with Polaris.
  • Radeon HD 5850 is manufactured by 40 nm process technology, and Radeon RX 540 - by 14 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of Radeon RX 540 is 4000 MHz higher, than Radeon HD 5850.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 9−10 14−16
ultra / 1080p 5−6 8−9
QHD / 1440p 0−1 3−4
low / 720p 21−24 30−33
medium / 1080p 12−14 18−20
The average gaming FPS of Radeon RX 540 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 50% more, than Radeon HD 5850.

Full Specs

  Radeon HD 5850 Radeon RX 540
Architecture Terascale 2 Polaris
Code name Cypress Polaris 12
Type Desktop Laptop
Release date 30 September 2009 21 March 2017
Pipelines 1440 512
Core clock speed 725 MHz
Boost Clock 1219 MHz
Transistor count 2,154 million 1,500 million
Manufacturing process technology 40 nm 14 nm
Texture fill rate 52.20 39.01
Floating-point performance 2,088.0 gflops 1,248 gflops
Length 241 mm
Memory bus width 256 Bit 128 Bit
Memory clock speed 2000 MHz 6000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 128.0 GB/s 96 GB/s
Shared memory -
DirectX 11.2 (11_0) 12.0
Shader Model 5.0 5.0
OpenGL 4.4 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan N/A
FreeSync +
Laptop size large
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