AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 vs AMD Radeon R5 M330 Comparison

AMD Radeon R5 M330 and AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 represent two very different eras of AMD mobile and desktop GPU design, separated by process node, architecture, and intended use case. The data shows a single head-to-head benchmark comparison, with the newer R5 M330 taking the win, though the underlying hardware specifications tell a more nuanced story about generational trade-offs between power efficiency and raw throughput.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon R5 M330 scores 4302 against the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2's 3977. That is an 8.2% delta in favor of the R5 M330, a meaningful margin for a mobile integrated-class part facing a dual-GPU desktop card from 2011. The R5 M330's average benchmark score of 4170 across two tests (OpenCL and Vulkan) further solidifies its position, while the HD 6850 X2's average of 3977 comes from a single OpenCL run.

Contextualizing the R5 M330's win, its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M at 4151 (0.4% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti at 4193 (0.5% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB at 4093 (1.9% behind). The R5 M330 sits comfortably in that cluster, trading blows with far more modern discrete GPUs. The HD 6850 X2, meanwhile, lands near the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 at 3964 (0.3% behind) and the NVIDIA GeForce 830M at 3957 (0.5% behind), showing its performance level is comparable to entry-level mobile parts from a much later generation.

What is striking is the magnitude of the R5 M330's victory despite its hardware limitations. The R5 M330 has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, while the HD 6850 X2 packs 960 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The HD 6850 X2's raw pixel rate of 25.60 GPixel/s and texture rate of 38.40 GTexel/s dwarf the R5 M330's 8.240 GPixel/s and 20.60 GTexel/s. Yet in the OpenCL workload, the R5 M330's newer GCN 1.0 architecture with 659.2 GFLOPS FP32 output outperforms the TeraScale 2-based HD 6850 X2's 1.536 TFLOPS. This suggests architectural efficiency and driver optimization matter more than raw compute counts in this specific benchmark.

The Verdict

The benchmark data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon R5 M330 wins the only head-to-head test, posting an 8.2% higher OpenCL score. For anyone choosing between these two solely on benchmark performance, the R5 M330 is the correct pick. It also carries a significantly lower power envelope at 18 W versus 254 W, which makes it a far more practical option for mobile or compact systems.

However, the HD 6850 X2 is not without merit in specific scenarios. Its 256-bit memory bus and 134.4 GB/s bandwidth are nearly ten times the R5 M330's 64-bit bus and 14.40 GB/s, which could translate to advantages in memory-bandwidth-bound workloads that the OpenCL test does not capture. The HD 6850 X2 also supports dual-display outputs with 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.3a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.1, whereas the R5 M330's display outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning it has no fixed desktop connectivity.

The R5 M330's higher percentile ranking (25th versus 24th) and superior average benchmark score (4170 versus 3977) reinforce its position as the better overall performer in the measured tests. The HD 6850 X2 is a legacy product with a 40 nm process and TeraScale 2 architecture, lacking Vulkan support entirely, which further limits its modern usability.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon R5 M330 wins in every measured benchmark category. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 4302 beats the HD 6850 X2's 3977, and it also has a Vulkan score of 4037, a test the HD 6850 X2 cannot even run due to no Vulkan API support. The R5 M330's GCN 1.0 architecture with DirectX 12 (11_1) support and Vulkan 1.2.170 gives it a software compatibility edge that the HD 6850 X2's DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4 cannot match.

For power-constrained environments, the R5 M330 is the clear winner: 18 W TDP with no power connectors and an IGP slot width means it can be integrated into thin laptops without dedicated cooling. The HD 6850 X2 requires 2x 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU, making it a desktop-only card with substantial power delivery demands.

The HD 6850 X2 wins on raw memory bandwidth and fill rates. Its 134.4 GB/s bandwidth and 25.60 GPixel/s pixel rate are class-leading for its era, and its 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a massive throughput advantage over the R5 M330's DDR3 on a 64-bit bus. For legacy applications that are heavily bandwidth-bound and do not leverage modern API features, the HD 6850 X2 could theoretically outperform, though the OpenCL data does not support this in practice.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M330 has an average benchmark score of 4170 across two tests, while the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 averages 3977 from a single test, giving the R5 M330 a roughly 4.8% advantage.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 support Vulkan?

A: No, the HD 6850 X2 has a null Vulkan API entry in its specifications, whereas the R5 M330 supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The HD 6850 X2 has 134.4 GB/s bandwidth from GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, while the R5 M330 has 14.40 GB/s from DDR3 on a 64-bit bus — a 9.3x difference in favor of the HD 6850 X2.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The R5 M330 has an 18 W TDP with no power connectors, while the HD 6850 X2 has a 254 W TDP requiring 2x 8-pin connectors and a 600 W suggested PSU.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The HD 6850 X2 has 960 shading units, three times the R5 M330's 320 shading units, yet it still loses in the OpenCL benchmark.

Q: What are the nearest rivals for each GPU?

A: The R5 M330's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (4151, 0.4% behind) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4193, 0.5% ahead). The HD 6850 X2's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964, 0.3% behind) and AMD Radeon R5 M420 (3956, 0.5% behind).

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process nodes. The AMD Radeon R5 M330 uses the GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm TSMC process, with a chip codenamed "Exo" containing 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². The AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 uses the older TeraScale 2 architecture on a 40 nm TSMC process, with a chip codenamed "Barts" containing 1,700 million transistors on a 255 mm² die, giving a density of 6.7M per mm².

The R5 M330's GCN 1.0 architecture is designed for compute efficiency and modern API support, featuring DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The HD 6850 X2's TeraScale 2 architecture is limited to DirectX 11.2 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.4, with no Vulkan support. This generational gap explains why the R5 M330 can outperform the HD 6850 X2 in OpenCL despite having far fewer shading units (320 versus 960), TMUs (20 versus 48), and ROPs (8 versus 32).

Memory architecture differs dramatically: the R5 M330 uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective), while the HD 6850 X2 uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus at 1050 MHz (4.2 Gbps effective). The R5 M330's clock speeds are 955 MHz base and 1030 MHz boost, whereas the HD 6850 X2 has no listed base or boost clocks, only the memory clock.

The R5 M330 is an integrated-class part with a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface, 18 W TDP, and IGP slot width, reflecting its mobile "Gem System (R5 M300)" generation. The HD 6850 X2 is a dual-slot desktop card with PCIe 2.0 x16, 254 W TDP, and 2x 8-pin power connectors, from the "Northern Islands (HD 6800)" generation. The R5 M330's predecessor is "Solar System" and its successor is "Polaris Mobile," while the HD 6850 X2's predecessor is "Evergreen" and its successor is "Southern Islands." Both are end-of-life products, with the R5 M330 released in 2015 and the HD 6850 X2 in 2011.