AMD Radeon R9 M265X vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Comparison

The Verdict

The benchmark data splits these two mobile GPUs cleanly. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M is the faster part, and the only head-to-head result confirms it. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 850M scores 9821 against 8851 for the AMD Radeon R9 M265X, an 11% advantage. That single win is the entire competitive picture; the R9 M265X has zero benchmark victories in the data.

The GTX 850M also sits higher in the overall GPU landscape. It lands at the 46th percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 M265X sits at the 44th. The GTX 850M’s average benchmark score is 9302, compared to 8851 for the AMD part. That 451-point gap is consistent with the head-to-head result. The GTX 850M is the pick for any user prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL workloads.

However, the R9 M265X is not without its own merits. It carries GDDR5 memory, which doubles the memory bandwidth to 64.00 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s on the GTX 850M’s DDR3. That bandwidth advantage could matter in memory-bound scenarios, but the data does not include a benchmark that isolates that trait. For buyers who value memory subsystem throughput, the AMD card offers a structural edge, but the actual benchmark scores do not translate that into a performance win.

The verdict is straightforward. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M is the performance leader by every measured metric in this database. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X is a viable alternative only if the GDDR5 memory configuration is a specific requirement, since no benchmark in the data shows it beating the GTX 850M.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The GTX 850M uses the GM107 chip built on NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture. The R9 M265X uses the Venus chip built on AMD’s GCN 1.0 architecture. Both are manufactured on the same 28 nm process at TSMC, but that is where the fabrication similarities end.

The transistor counts differ meaningfully. NVIDIA packs 1,870 million transistors into a 148 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.6M per mm². AMD’s Venus chip contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, with a density of 12.2M per mm². The GTX 850M has a larger die and more transistors, while the R9 M265X is smaller in both dimensions.

Core counts are identical in several respects. Both GPUs feature 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The shading and texture hardware is a match on paper, which makes the performance gap more interesting. The difference lies in how each architecture deploys those resources.

Clock speeds diverge significantly. The R9 M265X has a base clock of 575 MHz and a boost clock of 625 MHz. The GTX 850M does not list a base or boost clock in the data, but its memory clock is 1001 MHz with 2 Gbps effective speed. The AMD part’s memory runs at 1000 MHz with 4 Gbps effective speed. That doubling of effective memory speed is the key memory difference.

The memory types are the biggest architectural split. The GTX 850M uses 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, producing 32.03 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M265X uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus, producing 64.00 GB/s. Both have equal memory capacity and bus width, but the GDDR5 on the AMD card delivers exactly twice the bandwidth.

Rasterization and texture rates favor NVIDIA. The GTX 850M achieves 14.43 GPixel/s pixel rate and 36.08 GTexel/s texture rate. The R9 M265X manages 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s. Those are substantial gaps: the GTX 850M is roughly 44% faster in pixel throughput and 44% faster in texture throughput.

Compute throughput follows the same pattern. The GTX 850M delivers 1,154.6 GFLOPS of FP32 performance. The R9 M265X delivers 800.0 GFLOPS. That is a 354.6 GFLOPS gap in favor of NVIDIA, a 44% advantage that mirrors the pixel and texture rates. The GTX 850M’s higher clocks, despite the same core counts, explain this pattern.

API support shows a slight divergence. The GTX 850M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The R9 M265X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The AMD card has a marginally higher DirectX feature level, but the NVIDIA card has a newer Vulkan version. Power consumption is listed at 45 W for the GTX 850M, while the R9 M265X has no TDP figure in the data. The GTX 850M is an integrated GPU package (IGP) with no power connectors, while the AMD card’s slot width and power connectors are not specified.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data provides only one direct comparison, so the use-case split must be inferred from the broader scores and architectural characteristics.

The GTX 850M wins in raw compute performance. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 9821 beats the R9 M265X’s 8851 by 11%. The GTX 850M also has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 8782, a result the AMD card does not have in the data. That Vulkan score suggests the NVIDIA card is capable in modern API workloads. The GTX 850M’s average benchmark score of 9302 is 451 points higher than the AMD card’s average of 8851.

The R9 M265X wins in memory bandwidth. Its GDDR5 memory delivers 64.00 GB/s, exactly double the GTX 850M’s 32.03 GB/s. For workloads that are memory-bandwidth-limited rather than compute-limited, this could be an advantage. The data does not include a benchmark that isolates this trait, so this remains a theoretical edge rather than a measured one.

The GTX 850M also wins on architectural efficiency. It achieves higher pixel and texture rates (14.43 GPixel/s and 36.08 GTexel/s versus 10.00 and 25.00) with the same core counts. Its FP32 throughput of 1,154.6 GFLOPS is 44% higher than the AMD card’s 800.0 GFLOPS. This suggests the Maxwell architecture extracts more work per clock from identical shading hardware.

For users running OpenCL compute workloads, the GTX 850M is the clear choice. For users who prioritize memory bandwidth in their specific applications, the R9 M265X has a structural advantage, but no measured benchmark supports it as a performance winner.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the head-to-head benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M wins the only head-to-head benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 9821 versus 8851 for the AMD Radeon R9 M265X, an 11% advantage.

Q: Do the two GPUs have the same core configuration?

A: Yes, on paper. Both have 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. The performance difference comes from clock speeds and architecture, not core counts.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The AMD Radeon R9 M265X has double the memory bandwidth. It uses GDDR5 memory with 64.00 GB/s, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M uses DDR3 with 32.03 GB/s. Both have 2 GB capacity on a 128-bit bus.

Q: How do the overall percentile rankings compare?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M sits at the 46th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Radeon R9 M265X sits at the 44th percentile. The GTX 850M’s average benchmark score is 9302 versus 8851 for the AMD card.

Q: Which GPU has higher compute throughput?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M. It delivers 1,154.6 GFLOPS of FP32 performance, compared to 800.0 GFLOPS for the AMD Radeon R9 M265X.

Q: What API versions does each GPU support?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon R9 M265X supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single head-to-head benchmark in the data is Geekbench OpenCL. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M scores 9821, while the AMD Radeon R9 M265X scores 8851. The delta is 11% in favor of NVIDIA. This is the only direct comparison available, and it decisively favors the GTX 850M.

The GTX 850M’s nearest rivals in the database provide context for this score. Its average benchmark score of 9302 sits within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (9294), within 0.1% of the AMD Radeon R7 M380 (9313), within 0.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273), and within 0.9% of the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221). This places the GTX 850M in a tight cluster of GPUs with average scores between 9221 and 9313.

The R9 M265X’s nearest rivals tell a different story. Its average score of 8851 is within 0.1% of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8863), within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon 550X (8918), 1.2% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746), and 1.2% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 v2 (8743). The AMD card is positioned in a lower performance tier than the GTX 850M.

Beyond the head-to-head, the GTX 850M has a Geekbench Vulkan score of 8782. The R9 M265X has no Vulkan benchmark in the data. This additional data point shows the NVIDIA card performing at a level comparable to the AMD card’s best OpenCL score, even in a different API.

The rasterization and texture rate differences reinforce the benchmark result. The GTX 850M’s pixel rate of 14.43 GPixel/s is 44% higher than the R9 M265X’s 10.00 GPixel/s. The texture rate of 36.08 GTexel/s is 44% higher than 25.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute gap is identical at 44%. These consistent margins suggest the 11% OpenCL score difference may understate the performance gap in graphics-heavy workloads.

The GTX 850M’s wins total 1 in the head-to-head data, while the R9 M265X has 0 wins. There are no benchmark categories in which the AMD card comes out ahead. The memory bandwidth advantage for the R9 M265X (64.00 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s) is real but unmeasured in any benchmark result. The data shows a clear, consistent performance hierarchy: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M is the faster GPU in every measured category, and the AMD Radeon R9 M265X trails by margins ranging from 11% in OpenCL to 44% in theoretical throughput rates.