AMD Radeon HD 8850M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost and AMD Radeon HD 8850M are both end-of-life graphics solutions from the same era, but they serve very different purposes. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the desktop-class GTX 650 Ti Boost holding a significant edge over the mobile-oriented HD 8850M. This analysis is based strictly on benchmark results and specification comparisons, revealing that the NVIDIA card is the superior choice for raw compute performance, while the AMD chip offers a more compact and power-efficient design for portable systems.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the available benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost is the definitive winner for performance-focused users. In the only head-to-head benchmark available (Geekbench OpenCL), the NVIDIA card scores 9,302 points, which is 24.9% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 8850M's 7,447 points. The NVIDIA card also holds a higher average benchmark score of 8,067 compared to 7,447 for the AMD, and it sits in the 42nd percentile of all GPUs versus the AMD's 40th percentile. For any application relying on OpenCL compute, the GTX 650 Ti Boost is the clear choice.

The AMD Radeon HD 8850M is not without its merits, but its strengths lie outside of raw performance. It is a mobile chip with a smaller die size of 123 mm² and fewer transistors (1,500 million) compared to the NVIDIA's 221 mm² and 2,540 million transistors. This suggests it is designed for lower power consumption and heat generation, making it suitable for laptops where space and cooling are limited. There is no TDP listed for the AMD, but the NVIDIA's 134 W TDP and dual-slot cooler indicate a much more demanding power profile. Therefore, the HD 8850M is the appropriate pick for a compact, low-power system, while the GTX 650 Ti Boost is for those who prioritize compute performance above all else.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures from their respective manufacturers. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost is based on the GK106 chip using the Kepler architecture, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M uses the Venus chip with the GCN 1.0 architecture. Both are fabricated on the same 28 nm process node at TSMC, but their internal designs diverge significantly.

The NVIDIA chip has a larger physical footprint with a die size of 221 mm², housing 2,540 million transistors. This translates to a transistor density of 11.5M per mm². The AMD chip is much smaller at 123 mm², containing 1,500 million transistors, which results in a slightly higher transistor density of 12.2M per mm². Despite the AMD chip being more densely packed, the NVIDIA chip's larger overall transistor count provides a substantial computational advantage.

The core configurations highlight the performance gap. The NVIDIA card features 768 shading units, 64 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 24 raster operation pipelines (ROPs). In contrast, the AMD card has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and only 16 ROPs. This gives the NVIDIA card a significant raw throughput advantage, reflected in its pixel rate of 16.51 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.05 GTexel/s, compared to the AMD's 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s. The NVIDIA's peak FP32 performance is 1.585 TFLOPS, nearly double the AMD's 800.0 GFLOPS.

Memory subsystems also differ. Both cards have 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, but the NVIDIA card uses a wider 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 144.2 GB/s. The AMD card is limited to a 128-bit bus, producing a much lower bandwidth of 64.00 GB/s. This bandwidth advantage is critical for memory-intensive workloads. Additionally, the NVIDIA card supports a higher memory clock of 6 Gbps effective versus the AMD's 4 Gbps effective. In terms of API support, the AMD card has a slight edge with DirectX 12 (11_1) support compared to the NVIDIA's DirectX 12 (11_0), though both support OpenGL 4.6 and similar Vulkan versions.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher raw compute performance in OpenCL?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost is significantly faster, scoring 9,302 in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the AMD Radeon HD 8850M's 7,447, a difference of 24.9%.

Q: Are these GPUs from the same generation?

A: They are from the same era, with release dates less than a week apart. The NVIDIA card was released on March 25, 2013, and the AMD card on March 31, 2013, but they belong to different product lines (GeForce 600 and Solar System (HD 8800M), respectively).

Q: Which card is more suitable for a low-power or compact system?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8850M is the better choice for such systems. It has a smaller die size (123 mm² vs 221 mm²) and fewer transistors (1,500 million vs 2,540 million), suggesting lower power draw, while the NVIDIA card has a 134 W TDP and requires a dual-slot cooler with a 6-pin power connector.

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The NVIDIA card has a significant advantage with 144.2 GB/s of bandwidth over a 192-bit bus, while the AMD card offers only 64.00 GB/s over a 128-bit bus.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost has an average benchmark score of 8,067, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M has an average score of 7,447, placing it in the 40th percentile.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA card has 768 shading units, compared to 640 on the AMD card, which contributes to its higher compute performance.

Specification Differences

The following table outlines the key specification differences between the two GPUs, based solely on the provided data.

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | AMD Radeon HD 8850M |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Chip | GK106 | Venus |

| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 1.0 |

| Generation | GeForce 600 | Solar System (HD 8800M) |

| Transistors | 2,540 million | 1,500 million |

| Die Size | 221 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 11.5M / mm² | 12.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 980 MHz | 575 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1032 MHz | 625 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 6 Gbps effective | 4 Gbps effective |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 144.2 GB/s | 64.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 768 | 640 |

| TMUs | 64 | 40 |

| ROPs | 24 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 16.51 GPixel/s | 10.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 66.05 GTexel/s | 25.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1.585 TFLOPS | 800.0 GFLOPS |

| TDP | 134 W | Not specified |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | Not specified |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | Not specified |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | Not specified |

| Display Outputs | 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 | Not specified |

| Dimensions (Length) | 241 mm (9.5 inches) | Not specified |

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

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.175 | 1.2.170 |

| Launch MSRP | 169 USD | Not specified |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance across a wide range of workloads. This single data point is decisive, showing a substantial performance gap between the two cards.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost achieved a score of 9,302, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M scored 7,447. This represents a 24.9% advantage for the NVIDIA card. This significant delta is consistent with the underlying specifications. The NVIDIA card's higher core count (768 vs 640 shading units), much faster clock speeds (980 MHz base vs 575 MHz base), and vastly superior memory bandwidth (144.2 GB/s vs 64.00 GB/s) all contribute to this result. The NVIDIA card's lead is not marginal; it is a substantial performance tier above the AMD solution.

The NVIDIA card's nearest rivals in the overall benchmark database include the NVIDIA GRID K2 (with a deltaPct of -0.2), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti (deltaPct of 0.2), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (deltaPct of 0.3). This shows that the GTX 650 Ti Boost performs in line with other mid-range offerings from its own lineup. In contrast, the AMD Radeon HD 8850M's nearest rivals are the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (deltaPct of 0.1) and the AMD Radeon R7 350 (deltaPct of 0.3), indicating it sits in a lower performance bracket. The head-to-head result confirms that the GTX 650 Ti Boost is the superior choice for any compute-heavy application, offering nearly a quarter more performance than the AMD mobile chip.