AMD Radeon HD 8850M vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Comparison

The AMD Radeon HD 8850M and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 are both end-of-life discrete graphics solutions built on a 28 nm TSMC process, yet they target different segments: the former is a mobile part from the Solar System generation, while the latter is a desktop card from the GeForce 700 family. In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the GeForce GTX 750 is the clear winner, but the data reveals a more nuanced story when examining their respective positions among rivals. The GTX 750 achieves an OpenCL score of 9315, which is 20.1% higher than the HD 8850M’s 7447, a substantial margin that reflects fundamental architectural and clock-speed advantages. However, both GPUs land at the 40th percentile among all GPUs, indicating that while they are competitive within their class, neither is a high-performance part by modern standards.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between these two products is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results are unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 posts a score of 9315, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M manages 7447. This represents a delta of -20.1% for the AMD part, meaning the GTX 750 is roughly one-fifth faster in raw compute throughput. The margin is consistent with the theoretical specifications: the GTX 750 operates at a base clock of 1020 MHz with a boost of 1085 MHz, whereas the HD 8850M runs at just 575 MHz base and 625 MHz boost. Even though the AMD chip has more shading units (640 vs. 512), the NVIDIA part’s nearly doubled clock speed allows it to deliver 1,111.0 GFLOPS of FP32 performance compared to 800.0 GFLOPS for the AMD chip. In practice, this means the GTX 750 will complete OpenCL workloads—such as compute shaders or general-purpose GPU tasks—in significantly less time.

Looking at the broader rival landscape, each GPU’s score places it in a similar performance tier, but with different competitive dynamics. The HD 8850M’s 7447 score is remarkably close to the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441, a 0.1% difference) and the AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425, a 0.3% advantage for the HD 8850M). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 by just -0.3% (7472 vs. 7447) and the Intel Arc A310 by -1.4% (7550 vs. 7447). This clustering suggests the HD 8850M is essentially neck-and-neck with entry-level integrated graphics and low-end desktop cards from several generations later, which reflects its efficiency but also highlights its age. The GTX 750, with its 9315 OpenCL score, sits in a different league relative to its nearest rivals: it is 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile (7203), 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE (7171) and Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 (7170), and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (7157). The deltaPct values are all positive, indicating the GTX 750 outpaces every listed rival, though the margins are small (under 1%).

It is notably the GTX 750 also has Vulkan and Metal benchmark scores in its record—8078 and 4274, respectively—which are not available for the HD 8850M. While these cannot be compared directly, they demonstrate that the NVIDIA part has broader API support in the benchmark suite, potentially making it more versatile for modern workloads. The HD 8850M’s average benchmark score is simply its single OpenCL result (7447), while the GTX 750’s average across its three benchmarks is 7222, which is lower than its OpenCL score alone due to the weaker Metal and Vulkan results. This discrepancy underscores that the GTX 750’s OpenCL advantage is not necessarily representative of all compute APIs.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute workloads?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 is significantly faster, scoring 9315 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 7447 for the AMD Radeon HD 8850M. This represents a 20.1% performance advantage for the NVIDIA card.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon HD 8850M compare to its closest rivals?

A: The HD 8850M is nearly identical in performance to the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7447 vs. 7441, a 0.1% difference) and the AMD Radeon R7 350 (7447 vs. 7425, a 0.3% advantage). It also sits just 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and 1.4% behind the Intel Arc A310.

Q: What is the performance gap between the GTX 750 and its nearest competitors?

A: The GTX 750 holds a slight edge over all its listed rivals, with deltas ranging from 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile to 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970. The margins are consistent but narrow, all under 1%.

Q: Do these GPUs have similar API support?

A: No. The HD 8850M supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the GTX 750 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The NVIDIA card has a newer Vulkan version, and benchmark results show it also has Metal and Vulkan scores, whereas the AMD part only has an OpenCL score.

Q: What are the memory configurations of each card?

A: The HD 8850M has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 750 has 1024 MB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus but with higher bandwidth at 80.19 GB/s. The GTX 750 also uses faster effective memory at 5 Gbps versus 4 Gbps.

Q: Which card has a higher pixel and texture fill rate?

A: The GTX 750 dominates in both metrics, offering a pixel rate of 17.36 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 34.72 GTexel/s, compared to the HD 8850M’s 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s. This is a direct result of the NVIDIA card’s higher clock speeds.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs represent fundamentally different architectural philosophies from their respective manufacturers. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M is built on the Graphics Core Next (GCN) 1.0 architecture, using the Venus chip, which is a 28 nm design produced by TSMC. It contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, in contrast, uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip, also on a 28 nm TSMC process, but packs 1,870 million transistors into a larger 148 mm² die, achieving a slightly higher density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. This difference in transistor count is notable: the NVIDIA chip has roughly 25% more transistors, which it uses to implement a more efficient compute layout.

The core configurations differ markedly. The HD 8850M features 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 raster output units (ROPs). The GTX 750 has fewer shading units (512) and TMUs (32), but maintains the same 16 ROPs. Despite having fewer execution units, the GTX 750 achieves higher performance due to its much higher clock speeds—1020 MHz base and 1085 MHz boost versus 575 MHz base and 625 MHz boost for the AMD part. This clock advantage translates into a pixel rate of 17.36 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 34.72 GTexel/s for the NVIDIA card, compared to 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s for the AMD card. The FP32 throughput follows the same pattern: 1,111.0 GFLOPS for the GTX 750 versus 800.0 GFLOPS for the HD 8850M.

Memory subsystems also diverge. The HD 8850M has 2 GB of GDDR5, which is double the GTX 750’s 1024 MB, but the NVIDIA card compensates with higher effective memory speed (5 Gbps vs. 4 Gbps) and consequently greater bandwidth (80.19 GB/s vs. 64.00 GB/s) on the same 128-bit bus. This means the GTX 750 can feed its compute units more quickly, which is critical for texture-heavy and compute-intensive workloads. API support shows the AMD card has a slight DirectX advantage (12 (11_1) vs. 12 (11_0)), but the NVIDIA part offers a newer Vulkan version (1.4 vs. 1.2.170). Neither GPU has ray tracing or tensor cores, as both predate those features.

The physical and power characteristics reflect their different intended use cases. The GTX 750 is a desktop card with a 55 W TDP, single-slot design, no power connectors, and a suggested PSU of 250 W; it measures 145 mm (5.7 inches) in length and offers display outputs of 2x DVI and 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a. The HD 8850M, being a mobile part, has no listed TDP, slot width, power connectors, or display outputs in the data. The GTX 750 was released on 2014-02-17, while the HD 8850M came earlier on 2013-03-31, making the AMD part nearly a year older. Both are now end-of-life, with the HD 8850M’s predecessor being “London” and successor “Gem System,” while the GTX 750’s predecessor is “GeForce 600” and successor “GeForce 900.”

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 is the superior performer in compute tasks, delivering a 20.1% higher OpenCL score than the AMD Radeon HD 8850M. This advantage is consistent across every measured specification: the GTX 750 has higher clocks, memory bandwidth, pixel rate, texture rate, and FP32 throughput. For any workload that relies on OpenCL compute—such as video encoding, physics simulation, or scientific calculations—the GTX 750 is the clear choice. Its Vulkan 1.4 support also makes it more future-proof for newer graphics APIs, even though both cards are end-of-life.

However, the HD 8850M is not without merit for specific scenarios. It offers 2 GB of VRAM, which is double the GTX 750’s 1024 MB, potentially allowing larger textures or datasets to reside on the GPU without spilling to system memory. Its DirectX 12 (11_1) support is also slightly more advanced than the GTX 750’s DirectX 12 (11_0), which could matter for certain legacy titles or applications that take advantage of that feature level. Moreover, the HD 8850M’s performance profile is remarkably close to modern integrated graphics like the Intel UHD Graphics 750, meaning it could serve as a baseline for comparing older mobile GPUs against contemporary iGPUs.

For users who prioritize raw compute performance and have a desktop form factor, the GTX 750 is unequivocally the better option. For those constrained to a mobile platform or needing double the VRAM, the HD 8850M is the only one of the two that fits, and its performance is acceptable for its era. The data shows that while the GTX 750 wins the head-to-head decisively, the HD 8850M holds its own among its peer group, being within 1.4% of newer low-end discrete and integrated solutions.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon HD 8850M | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell |

| Chip | Venus | GM107 |

| Generation | Solar System (HD 8800M) | GeForce 700 |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 1,870 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 148 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 12.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 575 MHz | 1020 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 625 MHz | 1085 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) | 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 1024 MB |

| Memory Bandwidth | 64.00 GB/s | 80.19 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 640 | 512 |

| TMUs | 40 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 10.00 GPixel/s | 17.36 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 25.00 GTexel/s | 34.72 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 800.0 GFLOPS | 1,111.0 GFLOPS |

| TDP | Not specified | 55 W |

| Slot Width | Not specified | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | Not specified | None |

| Suggested PSU | Not specified | 250 W |

| Display Outputs | Not specified | 2x DVI, 1x mini-HDMI 1.4a |

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

| Vulkan | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2013-03-31 | 2014-02-17 |

| Predecessor | London | GeForce 600 |

| Successor | Gem System | GeForce 900 |

| Length | Not specified | 145 mm (5.7 inches) |

| Launch MSRP | Not specified | 119 USD |