NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M represent two very different points in NVIDIA’s mobile and desktop GPU history. The GTX 1070, built on the Pascal architecture, is a desktop-class part from the GeForce 10-series, while the GTX 850M is a Maxwell-based mobile chip from the GeForce 800M generation. The benchmark data available for direct comparison is limited to two tests, but the results are decisive. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1070 scores 44,700 against the GTX 850M’s 9,821, a delta of 355.1% in favor of the desktop card. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1070 scores 22,121 versus 8,782, a delta of 151.9%. Across these two head-to-head tests, the GTX 1070 wins both, giving it a clean 2–0 record. The GTX 850M has no wins in this comparison.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most striking result in the head-to-head data is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the GTX 1070’s 44,700 score dwarfs the GTX 850M’s 9,821. This is a 355.1% advantage, meaning the GTX 1070 delivers more than four times the raw compute throughput in this OpenCL workload. The gap is so large that it reflects fundamental architectural and specification differences rather than minor clock or driver optimizations. The GTX 1070’s 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs are all substantially higher than the GTX 850M’s 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Additionally, the GTX 1070’s 6.463 TFLOPS FP32 performance is roughly 5.6 times the GTX 850M’s 1,154.6 GFLOPS, which aligns closely with the observed OpenCL delta.

In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the GTX 1070 again leads, scoring 22,121 versus 8,782. The delta here is 151.9%, which is smaller than the OpenCL gap but still represents a massive performance advantage. Vulkan is a lower-level API that can expose architectural efficiencies, yet the GTX 1070 still more than doubles the GTX 850M’s score. This suggests that the GTX 1070’s Pascal architecture, with its 16 nm process node and 7,200 million transistors, provides a substantial IPC and memory bandwidth advantage over the GTX 850M’s 28 nm Maxwell design. The GTX 1070’s 256.3 GB/s memory bandwidth versus the GTX 850M’s 32.03 GB/s is particularly relevant here, as Vulkan workloads often stress memory subsystem performance.

Looking at broader benchmark averages, the GTX 1070 holds an average benchmark score of 9,780 across all its tested workloads, while the GTX 850M averages 9,302. This puts the GTX 1070 in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, and the GTX 850M in the 46th percentile. Despite the massive head-to-head deltas, the percentile difference is only one point, which indicates that the GTX 850M’s average is pulled up by other workloads not present in the direct comparison. However, the direct head-to-head tests are unambiguous: the GTX 1070 wins both, with the OpenCL delta being especially lopsided.

Where Each One Wins

Based strictly on the head-to-head benchmark data, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins in both available test categories: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. There are no benchmark categories where the GTX 850M comes out ahead. The GTX 1070’s wins are not marginal; they are dominant, with deltas of 355.1% and 151.9% respectively. This suggests that for any workload that relies on general-purpose compute through OpenCL or graphics rendering through Vulkan, the GTX 1070 is categorically superior.

For the GTX 850M, there are no wins to discuss in the head-to-head data. However, its average benchmark score of 9,302, which is close to the GTX 1070’s 9,780, indicates that in other tests not covered by the head-to-head comparison, the GTX 850M may perform relatively better. The nearestRivals data for the GTX 850M shows it trading blows with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (deltaPct 0.1), AMD Radeon R7 M380 (deltaPct -0.1), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (deltaPct 0.3), and AMD Radeon Vega 8 (deltaPct 0.9). This implies that in its own performance tier, the GTX 850M is competitive, but it is not in the same class as the GTX 1070.

The use-case split is therefore straightforward: the GTX 1070 is the clear choice for compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL-based applications and for Vulkan-based gaming or rendering. The GTX 850M, given its 45 W TDP and IGP slot width, is a mobile-oriented part that likely targets light gaming and general productivity. But the data does not provide any scenario where the GTX 850M outperforms the GTX 1070.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 wins both head-to-head benchmarks with overwhelming margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1070’s score of 44,700 is 355.1% higher than the GTX 850M’s 9,821. In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 1070’s 22,121 is 151.9% higher than the GTX 850M’s 8,782. The GTX 1070 also has a higher average benchmark score of 9,780 versus 9,302, and its nearestRivals include AMD FirePro W5000 (deltaPct -0.2), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (deltaPct -0.5), NVIDIA Tesla M10 (deltaPct 0.6), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (deltaPct 0.7), all of which are within 1% of its average score. This indicates that the GTX 1070 sits in a specific performance bracket where small deltas separate it from professional and enterprise cards.

For users selecting between these two, the choice is clear: the GTX 1070 is the superior performer in every measurable way from this data. It offers more shading units, more memory, higher bandwidth, and a newer architecture. The GTX 850M, on the other hand, is a low-power mobile part with a 45 W TDP and no dedicated power connectors, making it suitable for laptops where power consumption is a constraint. But from a pure performance standpoint, the GTX 1070 is the only rational choice. The GTX 850M’s 46th percentile ranking and average score of 9,302 place it near the GTX 1070’s 47th percentile and 9,780 average, but the head-to-head tests reveal the true gulf in capability.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1070 in Geekbench OpenCL compared to the GTX 850M?

A: The GTX 1070 scores 44,700, while the GTX 850M scores 9,821. This results in a delta of 355.1%, meaning the GTX 1070 is approximately 4.5 times faster in this test.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 has a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s, while the GTX 850M has 32.03 GB/s. The GTX 1070’s bandwidth is about 8 times higher, which contributes to its performance advantage in memory-intensive workloads.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The GTX 1070 has 1920 shading units, whereas the GTX 850M has 640. This is a 3-to-1 ratio in favor of the GTX 1070.

Q: Are there any benchmark tests where the GTX 850M wins?

A: In the head-to-head data, there are zero wins for the GTX 850M. The GTX 1070 wins both available tests (Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan) with 2 wins and 0 losses.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for each GPU?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9,780, while the GTX 850M has an average of 9,302. Despite the closeness of these averages, the head-to-head tests show a massive performance gap.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in terms of FP32 performance?

A: The GTX 1070 delivers 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the GTX 850M delivers 1,154.6 GFLOPS. This means the GTX 1070 has roughly 5.6 times the FP32 throughput.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 1070 is built on the Pascal architecture using the GP104 chip, fabricated on a 16 nm process node at TSMC. It contains 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 22.9M per mm². In contrast, the GTX 850M uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM107 chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process node, also at TSMC. The GTX 850M has 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, for a density of 12.6M per mm². This process difference is significant: the 16 nm node allows the GTX 1070 to pack nearly four times as many transistors while keeping a reasonable die size.

The memory subsystems differ fundamentally. The GTX 1070 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 850M uses 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing only 32.03 GB/s. The GTX 1070’s memory clock is 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective), while the GTX 850M’s is 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective). This memory configuration is a major factor in the performance gap, especially for bandwidth-sensitive workloads.

The shader and texture configurations also differ enormously. The GTX 1070 has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GTX 850M has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. These translate to pixel rates of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rates of 202.0 GTexel/s for the GTX 1070, versus 14.43 GPixel/s and 36.08 GTexel/s for the GTX 850M. The GTX 1070 also supports FP16 compute at 101.0 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio), while the GTX 850M has no listed FP16 capability.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification field. The GTX 1070 has a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, while the GTX 850M has no listed base or boost clocks. The GTX 1070’s TDP is 150 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W and a 1x 8-pin power connector; the GTX 850M has a TDP of 45 W, no power connectors, and no suggested PSU. The GTX 1070 is a dual-slot card measuring 267 mm in length, while the GTX 850M is an IGP (integrated graphics processor) with no listed dimensions.

The display outputs also differ: the GTX 1070 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, whereas the GTX 850M’s outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile nature. The GTX 1070 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4; the GTX 850M supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX feature level is a notable difference: 12_1 versus 11_0.

The release dates and generations differ as well. The GTX 1070 was released on 2016-06-09, succeeding the GeForce 900 series and preceding the GeForce 20 series. The GTX 850M was released on 2014-03-11, succeeding the GeForce 700M and preceding the GeForce 900M. The GTX 1070 has a launch MSRP of 379 USD, while the GTX 850M has no listed launch MSRP. Both are marked as end-of-life production status.