NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Comparison

The data places the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M in the same performance tier, with average benchmark scores of 9458 and 9302 respectively. Both sit at the 46th percentile of all GPUs, and the head-to-head results show the desktop card leading in every available test. However, the margin is not uniform, and the architecture and memory differences between the two explain why the gap varies so widely depending on the workload.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The GeForce GTX 760 wins both recorded head-to-head tests, but the scale of its victory depends heavily on the API. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 760 scores 11299 against the GTX 850M’s 9821, a 15% advantage. That is a solid, meaningful lead, but it does not suggest a generational gap. In Geekbench Vulkan, the story changes dramatically: the GTX 760 scores 12551 while the GTX 850M manages only 8782, producing a 42.9% delta. This is a crushing margin, and it points to the GTX 760 being far better suited to modern, low-level graphics APIs.

The Vulkan result is particularly telling because it is the single largest performance gap between the two cards in any metric. The 42.9% lead means the GTX 760 delivers roughly 43% more performance in that test, which is the difference between a playable frame rate and a slideshow in demanding scenarios. The OpenCL gap, by contrast, is more modest; a 15% lead is noticeable but not transformative. When you average these two results, the GTX 760’s overall benchmark score of 9458 is only 1.7% higher than the GTX 850M’s 9302, which shows how heavily the Vulkan result inflates the desktop card’s apparent superiority. Without that Vulkan win, the two would be nearly identical in aggregate.

Looking at the rival data, both cards are clustered tightly with a group of similar performers. The GTX 760’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK, which scores 9474, a delta of just -0.2%. The AMD Radeon R7 M380 is 1.6% behind the GTX 760, and the GTX 850M is 1.7% behind. On the GTX 850M’s side, its closest competitor is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 at 9294 (0.1% delta), followed by the R7 M380 at -0.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 at 0.3%. In short, these two cards are not just in the same class; they are surrounded by the same peers. The GTX 850M is also only 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Vega 8, meaning a single benchmark swing can reshuffle the entire ranking.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 has an average benchmark score of 9458, which is 1.7% higher than the GTX 850M’s 9302. Both cards sit at the 46th percentile of all GPUs, so they are statistically in the same performance tier.

Q: How large is the performance gap in Vulkan workloads?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the GTX 760 scores 12551 versus the GTX 850M’s 8782, giving the desktop card a 42.9% lead. This is the largest margin between the two in any benchmark.

Q: Does the GTX 850M win any benchmark against the GTX 760?

A: No. The data shows the GTX 760 winning both recorded head-to-head tests, with 2 wins and 0 losses for the GTX 850M.

Q: How does the GTX 850M compare to its own closest rivals?

A: The GTX 850M is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465, 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon R7 M380, and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960. It also leads the AMD Radeon Vega 8 by 0.9%.

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

A: The GTX 760 has a memory bandwidth of 192.3 GB/s, while the GTX 850M has only 32.03 GB/s. That is a six-fold difference in raw bandwidth, which heavily influences the Vulkan performance gap.

Q: Are both cards from the same architecture generation?

A: No. The GTX 760 uses the Kepler architecture (chip GK104), while the GTX 850M uses Maxwell (chip GM107). Both are built on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the transistor counts differ significantly.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 is the faster card, winning both head-to-head benchmarks and holding a higher average score. If your priority is raw performance, especially in Vulkan-based games or applications, the GTX 760 is the clear choice. Its 42.9% lead in Vulkan is not a marginal difference; it is a decisive advantage that will translate into noticeably higher frame rates in modern titles that leverage low-level APIs.

However, the GTX 760’s dominance comes with a cost profile that the benchmark scores alone do not capture. The GTX 850M, with a TDP of 45 W, is a mobile part designed for laptops, whereas the GTX 760 is a 170 W desktop card requiring a dual-slot cooler and 2x 6-pin power connectors. If you are building a desktop and have the power supply headroom, the GTX 760 is the obvious pick. If you are constrained to a laptop or an integrated form factor, the GTX 850M is the only option that fits, and its performance is close enough in OpenCL (15% behind) to be acceptable for less demanding workloads.

For a builder choosing between these two as discrete desktop options, the GTX 760 wins on every measurable performance axis. There is no scenario in the data where the GTX 850M comes out ahead. The only reason to select the GTX 850M is if your platform physically cannot accommodate the GTX 760’s size and power requirements — but that is a hardware constraint, not a performance recommendation.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge sharply on memory and compute resources. The GTX 760 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GTX 850M has 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus, yielding just 32.03 GB/s. That bandwidth gap is the single biggest specification difference and explains the Vulkan result. The GTX 760 also has 1152 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, versus the GTX 850M’s 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Pixel rate is 24.77 GPixel/s for the GTX 760 against 14.43 GPixel/s for the GTX 850M; texture rate is 99.07 GTexel/s versus 36.08 GTexel/s.

Clock speeds are not directly comparable because the GTX 850M has no listed base or boost clock, while the GTX 760 runs at 980 MHz base and 1032 MHz boost. The GTX 760’s memory clock is 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective), while the GTX 850M’s is 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The GTX 760’s FP32 throughput is 2.378 TFLOPS, roughly double the GTX 850M’s 1,154.6 GFLOPS. Power and physical specs also differ: the GTX 760 has a 170 W TDP, is dual-slot, and requires a 450 W suggested PSU and 2x 6-pin connectors; the GTX 850M is an IGP with a 45 W TDP and no power connectors.

Architecture Differences

Both GPUs are built on TSMC’s 28 nm process, but they use different architectures. The GTX 760 is Kepler (chip GK104), with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.0M / mm². The GTX 850M is Maxwell (chip GM107), with 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, resulting in a higher density of 12.6M / mm². The Maxwell part is newer, releasing on 2014-03-11 versus the GTX 760’s 2013-06-24, and it belongs to the GeForce 800M generation, while the GTX 760 is in the GeForce 700 generation.

The GTX 760 supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. The GTX 850M also supports DirectX 12 (11_0) and OpenGL 4.6, but its Vulkan support is listed as 1.4, which is a newer API version. Despite that API advantage, the GTX 850M loses badly in Vulkan benchmarks, indicating that its smaller memory bus and fewer shading units outweigh the software support. The GTX 760 has a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and display outputs of 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2, while the GTX 850M’s outputs are “Portable Device Dependent” as expected for a mobile chip.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 760 wins in every benchmark category that the data covers. Its 15% OpenCL lead and 42.9% Vulkan lead make it the superior choice for any compute or graphics workload that leverages those APIs. The GTX 760’s massive bandwidth advantage (192.3 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s) suggests it will also dominate texture-heavy and high-resolution scenarios, though the data does not directly test those. For desktop users with a 450 W PSU and room for a 241 mm dual-slot card, the GTX 760 is the straightforward pick.

The GTX 850M’s only wins are in efficiency and mobility. At 45 W TDP, it uses roughly a quarter of the GTX 760’s 170 W power budget, and it requires no external power connectors. It is an IGP, meaning it is soldered into laptops and cannot be upgraded. In terms of pure benchmark scores, the GTX 850M is 0.1% behind the GTX 465 and 0.1% ahead of the R7 M380, placing it in the same performance bracket as older mid-range desktop cards. Its Vulkan 1.4 support is newer than the GTX 760’s 1.2.175, which could matter for future software compatibility, but the actual Vulkan score is far lower. If you are choosing between these two for a desktop build, the GTX 850M has no performance argument in its favor; its only appeal is the form factor it enables.