AMD Radeon 8050S vs AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two competing GPUs share only two common benchmark results in the database: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT takes a decisive lead. Under Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 6850M XT scores 85,040 against 65,818 for the AMD Radeon 8050S, a 29.2% advantage. The gap widens considerably in the Vulkan test, where the RX 6850M XT records 99,483 versus 58,398, a 70.4% difference. The Vulkan result is particularly telling: the older discrete GPU more than holds its ground in a low-level API that tends to expose raw compute and memory throughput.

The RX 6850M XT also carries an additional benchmark entry, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a score of 2,257. The 8050S has no corresponding entry for that test, so a direct comparison cannot be made. Similarly, the RX 6850M XT reports a Geekbench Metal score of 128,981, which is not available for the 8050S. These missing data points mean the head-to-head table is limited, but the two shared tests are consistent: the RX 6850M XT wins both, giving it a 2-0 record in direct comparisons.

When placed against the broader field, the RX 6850M XT sits at the 92nd percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 78,940. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 (0.6% lower), the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (0.8% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 at 79,842 (1.1% lower). The RX 6850M XT trails the RTX 5090 D by 1.6%, as that card averages 77,712. These deltas are small, meaning the RX 6850M XT is clustered within a narrow performance band around 78,000-80,000 average score.

The 8050S, by contrast, lands at the 89th percentile with an average score of 62,108. Its closest competitors are the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61,896 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 63,693 (2.5% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 7600M at 63,775 (2.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP at 63,830 (2.7% higher). The 8050S is effectively at parity with the Pro W6600M, and it sits roughly 2.5% behind a small group of faster AMD parts.

The average score gap between the two GPUs is substantial: 78,940 for the RX 6850M XT versus 62,108 for the 8050S, a difference of 16,832 points or approximately 27%. That aligns with the OpenCL result, where the RX 6850M XT led by 29.2%. The Vulkan gap is far larger than the average would suggest, indicating that the 8050S performs relatively worse in Vulkan workloads than in OpenCL.

One important caveat: the 8050S uses system shared memory, so its memory bandwidth is marked as system dependent. The RX 6850M XT has dedicated 12 GB GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. In memory-sensitive workloads, particularly Vulkan, the discrete memory configuration likely explains part of the large delta. The recorded data cannot confirm this directly, but the pattern is consistent with the benchmark outcomes.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT outperforms the AMD Radeon 8050S in every shared test. The OpenCL lead is 29.2%, and the Vulkan lead is 70.4%. The RX 6850M XT also sits higher in the overall percentile ranking (92nd versus 89th) and has a higher average benchmark score (78,940 versus 62,108). For any workload represented by these tests, the RX 6850M XT is the stronger GPU.

However, the 8050S has one major advantage that the benchmarks do not capture: power consumption. The RX 6850M XT is rated at 165 W TDP, while the 8050S is rated at 55 W TDP. That is a 110 W difference, meaning the 8050S delivers a substantial fraction of the RX 6850M XT's performance at roughly one-third of the power envelope. The 8050S also uses a newer process node (4 nm versus 7 nm) and a newer architecture (RDNA 3.5 versus RDNA 2.0). For systems where thermal and power budgets are the primary constraint, the 8050S is the more sensible choice despite losing every shared benchmark.

The production status also matters. The RX 6850M XT is end-of-life, while the 8050S is active. Buyers looking for current availability should favor the 8050S, as the RX 6850M XT is no longer in production. The RX 6850M XT launched in January 2022, while the 8050S launched in January 2025, a three-year gap that explains the architectural and process improvements.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 6850M XT wins in raw compute performance. Its FP32 rating is 13.21 TFLOPS versus 11.47 TFLOPS for the 8050S, a 15.2% advantage. Its texture rate is higher as well: 413.0 GTexel/s versus 358.4 GTexel/s, an advantage of 15.2%. The pixel rates are nearly identical, with the RX 6850M XT at 165.2 GPixel/s and the 8050S at 179.2 GPixel/s, meaning the 8050S actually leads slightly in pixel throughput by 8.5%. The RX 6850M XT has more shaders (2,560 versus 2,048), more texture mapping units (160 versus 128), and more ray tracing cores (40 versus 32). The 8050S matches the RX 6850M XT in render output units, with 64 on each.

Memory bandwidth strongly favors the RX 6850M XT. The dedicated 432.0 GB/s figure stands against the 8050S, whose bandwidth is system dependent and therefore variable. The RX 6850M XT's 192-bit bus and 12 GB GDDR6 provide a fixed, predictable memory subsystem. The 8050S shares system memory, which can be a bottleneck depending on the platform's memory configuration.

The 8050S wins in efficiency and platform integration. Its 55 W TDP is a fraction of the RX 6850M XT's 165 W. It uses the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, while the RX 6850M XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16. The 8050S also has a higher boost clock at 2,800 MHz versus 2,581 MHz, although its base clock is much lower (1,295 MHz versus 2,321 MHz). The 8050S supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (11.47 TFLOPS), while the RX 6850M XT supports FP16 at a 2:1 ratio (26.43 TFLOPS). For FP16-heavy workloads, the RX 6850M XT has a clear throughput advantage, but for workloads that need consistent FP16 performance without rate conversion, the 8050S's 1:1 ratio may be preferable.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 85,040 versus 65,818 for the AMD Radeon 8050S, a 29.2% lead.

Q: How large is the Vulkan performance gap?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RX 6850M XT scores 99,483, while the 8050S scores 58,398. The RX 6850M XT leads by 70.4%.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The RX 6850M XT averages 78,940 across its recorded benchmarks, placing it at the 92nd percentile. The 8050S averages 62,108, placing it at the 89th percentile.

Q: Does the 8050S have any advantage over the RX 6850M XT?

A: Yes. The 8050S has a 55 W TDP compared to 165 W for the RX 6850M XT, uses a newer 4 nm process node versus 7 nm, and is based on RDNA 3.5 architecture versus RDNA 2.0. It also has a higher boost clock (2,800 MHz versus 2,581 MHz) and supports PCIe 5.0 x16.

Q: Which GPU has more memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 6850M XT has dedicated 12 GB GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 8050S uses system shared memory, so its bandwidth is system dependent.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No. The RX 6850M XT is end-of-life, while the 8050S is active. The RX 6850M XT was released in January 2022, and the 8050S was released in January 2025.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD's Radeon architecture. The RX 6850M XT uses the Navi 22 chip built on RDNA 2.0, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The 8050S uses the Strix Halo chip built on RDNA 3.5, fabricated on a 4 nm process, also at TSMC. The RDNA 2.0 architecture in the RX 6850M XT is the older design, while RDNA 3.5 represents three major architectural revisions forward.

The transistor counts differ sharply. The RX 6850M XT has 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 51.3 million per square millimeter. The 8050S lists its transistor count as unknown, but its die size is listed at 308 mm². The 8050S has no transistor density data. The RX 6850M XT packs more transistors onto a larger die, while the 8050S uses a smaller die with a denser process node, although its total transistor figure is not recorded.

The compute resources differ in count but not in every category. The RX 6850M XT has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 40 ray tracing cores. The 8050S has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 32 ray tracing cores. The ROP count is identical at 64. Neither GPU has tensor cores listed. The RX 6850M XT has more shaders, more TMUs, and more ray tracing cores, but the 8050S matches it in ROPs.

Clock behavior is notably different. The RX 6850M XT runs a base clock of 2,321 MHz, a boost clock of 2,581 MHz, and a game clock of 2,463 MHz. The 8050S has a much lower base clock of 1,295 MHz but a higher boost clock of 2,800 MHz. The 8050S lists no game clock. The lower base clock base clock base clock means the RX 8050S base clock means the RX 6850M XT's sustained clocks should be much higher, which aligns with its higher benchmark scores.

Memory architecture is the largest structural difference. The RX 6850M XT has 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with memory running at 2,250 MHz and an effective data rate of 18 Gbps, yielding 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 8050S uses system shared memory for its entire memory subsystem: size, type, and bus width are all listed as system shared, and bandwidth is system dependent. This means the 8050S's memory performance depends entirely on the host system's RAM configuration. The RX 6850M XT offers a fixed, dedicated memory pool, which is why it does not suffer from system-level memory bottlenecks.

The interface and power specifications also diverge. The RX 6850M XT uses PCIe 4.0 x16, while the 8050S uses PCIe 5.0 x16. Both are listed as IGP form factors with no power connectors and portable device dependent display outputs. The RX 6850M XT has a TDP of 165 W, while the 8050S has a TDP of 55 W. Neither has a suggested PSU listed. The RX 6850M XT's FP32 throughput is 13.21 TFLOPS, and its FP16 throughput is 26.43 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. The 8050S has an FP32 throughput of 11.47 TFLOPS and an FP16 throughput of 11.47 TFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio. The 8050S's FP16 performance is half of the RX 6850M XT's FP16 peak, but it does not rely on rate conversion to achieve it.

The predecessor for both is listed as Polaris Mobile, and neither has a successor listed. The RX 6850M XT belongs to the Radeon RX 6000 series and the Navi Mobile (RX 6000M) generation. The 8050S belongs to the Navi Mobile (RX 8000M) generation, with no series name given. The RX 6850M XT is end-of-life, while the 8050S is active. The RX 6850M XT's release date is January 2022, and the 8050S's release date is January 2025.