AMD Radeon HD 8850M vs AMD Radeon R7 M350 Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the database's OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD Radeon R7 M350 scores 6991. The HD 8850M wins by 6.5%.

Q: Which GPU has a higher overall benchmark average?

A: The HD 8850M has an average benchmark score of 7447, placing it in the 40th percentile of all GPUs. The R7 M350 averages 6327, placing it in the 36th percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to each GPU in the database?

A: For the HD 8850M, the nearest rivals are the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441, 0.1% slower), AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425, 0.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (7472, 0.3% faster), and Intel Arc A310 (7550, 1.4% faster). For the R7 M350, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 (6330, 0% difference), NVIDIA Quadro K620 (6282, 0.7% slower), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SUPER (6270, 0.9% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER AD102 (6270, 0.9% slower).

Q: Which GPU supports DirectX 12 with a higher feature level?

A: The R7 M350 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the HD 8850M supports DirectX 12 (11_1). The R7 M350 has a more recent DirectX feature level.

Q: What memory configurations do the two GPUs offer?

A: The HD 8850M comes with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 64.00 GB/s bandwidth. The R7 M350 comes with 4 GB of DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, delivering 16.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The R7 M350 boosts to 1015 MHz, while the HD 8850M boosts to 625 MHz. The R7 M350's boost clock is substantially higher.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent different generations of AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture. The HD 8850M uses the Venus chip built on GCN 1.0, while the R7 M350 uses the Meso chip built on GCN 3.0. Both are manufactured on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, with nearly identical transistor counts: 1,500 million for the HD 8850M versus 1,550 million for the R7 M350. Die sizes are also close, at 123 mm² for the Venus and 125 mm² for the Meso, yielding transistor densities of 12.2M / mm² and 12.4M / mm² respectively.

The shading unit counts differ significantly. The HD 8850M packs 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The R7 M350 has fewer compute resources: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. This means the HD 8850M has roughly two-thirds more shading units and double the ROP count.

Memory architecture diverges sharply. The HD 8850M uses 2 GB of GDDR5 with a 128-bit interface, achieving 64.00 GB/s of bandwidth. The R7 M350 uses 4 GB of DDR3 with a 64-bit bus, capping bandwidth at just 16.00 GB/s, a quarter of the HD 8850M's throughput. The R7 M350 compensates with much higher clocks: its base clock is 1000 MHz versus 575 MHz for the HD 8850M, and boost reaches 1015 MHz versus 625 MHz.

The bus interface also differs. The HD 8850M connects via PCIe 3.0 x16, while the R7 M350 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, halving the available link bandwidth. In terms of feature support, the HD 8850M lists DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The R7 M350 lists DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The R7 M350 also enables FP16 compute at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, offering 779.5 GFLOPS for both precisions, while the HD 8850M only lists FP32 at 800.0 GFLOPS.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database contains a single head-to-head comparison: Geekbench OpenCL. In this test, the HD 8850M scores 7447 against 6991 for the R7 M350, giving the HD 8850M a 6.5% victory. This result is consistent with the hardware specifications. The HD 8850M's GDDR5 memory at 64.00 GB/s provides four times the bandwidth of the R7 M350's DDR3 at 16.00 GB/s. Even though the R7 M350 runs at nearly double the clock speed, its 384 shading units and narrow memory bus cannot overcome the HD 8850M's wider configuration.

The R7 M350's only recorded win is in the Vulkan benchmark, where it scores 5662, but the HD 8850M has no recorded Vulkan score in the database, so no direct comparison exists. In the overall average, the HD 8850M leads with 7447 versus 6327 for the R7 M350, a difference of roughly 18%. The R7 M350's average is pulled down by its Vulkan score, which is considerably lower than its OpenCL result.

Looking at the nearest rivals, the HD 8850M sits in a competitive cluster. It is essentially tied with the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.1% faster) and the AMD Radeon R7 350 (0.3% faster). The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 beats it by only 0.3%, and the Intel Arc A310 leads by 1.4%. The R7 M350, by contrast, sits in a lower performance tier. Its average score of 6327 is exactly matched by the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100, and it edges out the NVIDIA Quadro K620 by 0.7%. The two NVIDIA GeForce RTX cards listed as rivals are only 0.9% slower, which suggests the R7 M350's cluster is tightly packed but at a lower performance level than the HD 8850M's cluster.

Specification Differences

The table below highlights only the fields where the two GPUs differ:

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8850M | AMD Radeon R7 M350 |

|---|---|---|

| Chip | Venus | Meso |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | GCN 3.0 |

| Generation | Solar System (HD 8800M) | Gem System (R7 M300) |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 1,550 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 125 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 12.4M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 575 MHz | 1000 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 625 MHz | 1015 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1000 MHz, 4 Gbps effective | 1000 MHz, 2 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | DDR3 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 64 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 64.00 GB/s | 16.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 640 | 384 |

| TMUs | 40 | 24 |

| ROPs | 16 | 8 |

| Pixel Rate | 10.00 GPixel/s | 8.120 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 25.00 GTexel/s | 24.36 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 800.0 GFLOPS | 779.5 GFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 779.5 GFLOPS (1:1) |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x8 |

| DirectX | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_0) |

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2015-05-04 |

| Predecessor | London | Solar System |

| Successor | Gem System | Polaris Mobile |

| OpenCL Score | 7447 | 6991 |

| Vulkan Score | Not recorded | 5662 |

| Average Benchmark Score | 7447 | 6327 |

| Percentile | 40 | 36 |

Both are end-of-life products from AMD, and neither has a recorded launch MSRP in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The HD 8850M wins in every direct benchmark comparison available. It leads in Geekbench OpenCL by 6.5%, and its average benchmark score of 7447 is well above the R7 M350's 6327. The HD 8850M also holds advantages in raw compute specifications: higher FP32 throughput (800.0 GFLOPS versus 779.5 GFLOPS), higher pixel rate (10.00 GPixel/s versus 8.120 GPixel/s), and higher texture rate (25.00 GTexel/s versus 24.36 GTexel/s). Its memory bandwidth advantage is decisive, with 64.00 GB/s versus 16.00 GB/s.

The R7 M350's wins are more selective. It has a higher clock speed by a wide margin, with a boost of 1015 MHz versus 625 MHz. It offers double the memory capacity at 4 GB, which can matter for workloads that need large working sets. Its DirectX 12 (12_0) feature level is newer than the HD 8850M's 12 (11_1). It also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, which the HD 8850M does not list. The R7 M350 has a recorded Vulkan score of 5662, while the HD 8850M has none in the database, so the R7 M350 is the only one of the two with measurable Vulkan performance.

In the percentile rankings, the HD 8850M sits at the 40th percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 M350 sits at the 36th. The nearest rival data reinforces this gap: the HD 8850M competes against integrated graphics like the Intel UHD Graphics 750 and discrete cards like the GTX 1650, while the R7 M350's rivals include workstation cards like the Radeon Pro WX 4100 and Quadro K620, all clustered near 6300 points.

The Verdict

The data clearly favors the AMD Radeon HD 8850M for raw performance. Its 6.5% OpenCL lead and 7447 average score place it in a higher performance tier. The HD 8850M should be chosen when compute throughput and memory bandwidth matter most. Its GDDR5 memory at 64.00 GB/s is four times faster than the R7 M350's DDR3, which directly benefits memory-intensive tasks such as texture-heavy workloads or large data transfers. The wider 128-bit bus and 16 ROPs also give it a structural advantage in pixel throughput.

The AMD Radeon R7 M350 is the appropriate pick when newer API features or larger memory capacity take priority. Its DirectX 12 (12_0) support is a generation ahead, and its 4 GB frame buffer doubles the HD 8850M's 2 GB. The R7 M350 also runs at a much higher clock speed, which can translate to better responsiveness in lightly threaded or latency-sensitive scenarios, even if the aggregate throughput is lower. Its FP16 capability at 779.5 GFLOPS, matching its FP32 output, is useful for workloads that can exploit reduced precision.

For Vulkan-specific applications, the R7 M350 has a recorded score of 5662, while the HD 8850M has no Vulkan entry in the database, making the R7 M350 the only verifiable choice for that API. However, for any general-purpose compute task measured in the database, the HD 8850M is the stronger performer. Its percentile standing of 40 versus 36, its higher average score, and its clean sweep of the head-to-head benchmark all point in the same direction. Users who need maximum OpenCL performance should select the HD 8850M. Users who need modern API support, more memory, or FP16 compute should select the R7 M350.