NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
NVIDIA graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
NVIDIANVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Specifications
GeForce GTX 850M GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
GTX 850M Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the GeForce GTX 850M's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The GeForce GTX 850M by NVIDIA dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 850M Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The GeForce GTX 850M's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
GeForce GTX 850M by NVIDIA Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the GTX 850M, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
GTX 850M Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
Maxwell Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M is built on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the GTX 850M will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 850M Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the GeForce GTX 850M to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
GeForce GTX 850M by NVIDIA Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
NVIDIA API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
GeForce GTX 850M Product Information
Release and pricing details
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M is manufactured by NVIDIA as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the GeForce GTX 850M by NVIDIA represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
GeForce GTX 850M Benchmark Scores
geekbench_openclSource
Geekbench OpenCL tests GPU compute performance using the cross-platform OpenCL API. This shows how NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M handles parallel computing tasks like video encoding and scientific simulations. OpenCL is widely supported across different GPU vendors and platforms.
Top 5 Performers
Top 5 PerformersNearby Performers
Nearby Performersgeekbench_vulkanSource
Geekbench Vulkan tests GPU compute using the modern low-overhead Vulkan API. This shows how NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M performs with next-generation graphics and compute workloads. Vulkan offers better CPU efficiency than older APIs like OpenGL. Modern games and applications increasingly use Vulkan for cross-platform GPU acceleration.
Top 5 Performers
Nearby Performers
About NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 850M occupies a narrow but well-defined performance band. Its average benchmark score of 9,490 places it at the 45th percentile among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly half of the devices in the database while trailing the other half. The data shows a tightly clustered set of rivals, with the GTX 850M landing within a 1.6% window of four comparable products. This is not a class-leading part; it is a middle-of-the-pack mobile solution whose performance is defined by small margins rather than decisive victories.
How It Compares
Against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, the GTX 850M is effectively tied. The GTX 980 posts an average score of 9,477, which is 0.1% lower than the GTX 850M’s 9,490. This difference is within run-to-run variance for synthetic workloads. In practical terms, benchmark results indicate no meaningful performance gap between these two parts, despite the GTX 980 being a desktop-class product with a different memory configuration.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK sits 1.1% behind the GTX 850M, with an average score of 9,385. That margin is small enough to be considered negligible for most applications. The GTX 850M edges ahead in the aggregate, but the data does not support claiming any real-world superiority. Users moving between these two products would likely notice no consistent difference in frame rates.
Looking the other direction, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 scores 9,600, which is 1.1% higher than the GTX 850M. This is a slight but consistent lead for the older GTX 465. The delta is within the noise of many benchmark suites, yet the direction is uniform across the aggregate. The GTX 850M trails by a hair, making this a statistical loss rather than a tie.
The largest gap in this cluster is with the NVIDIA Tesla M10. That part averages 9,634, which is 1.5% ahead of the GTX 850M. Even this widest margin is modest; the Tesla M10 is a compute-oriented card, yet its synthetic score still outpaces the mobile GTX 850M by less than two percentage points. In gaming terms, this difference would be imperceptible.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The GTX 850M has no dedicated ray tracing cores and no tensor cores. It relies entirely on traditional shader-based rendering. The chip, designated GM107, is built on NVIDIA’s Maxwell architecture using a 28 nm process at TSMC. The transistor count is 1,870 million on a die size of 148 mm², yielding a transistor density of 12.6 million per square millimeter. That density figure is modest by modern standards but was competitive for the era.
API support is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. DirectX 12 support is feature-level 11_0, which means it cannot use the higher-tier features of DirectX 12 Ultimate such as mesh shaders or variable rate shading. Vulkan 1.4 is present, which allows access to modern low-overhead rendering paths, but without hardware ray tracing, any ray-traced effects must be computed via compute shaders, which is inefficient on this architecture. The pixel rate is 14.43 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 36.08 GTexel/s, while FP32 performance is 1,154.6 GFLOPS. These figures define the raw throughput limits for traditional rasterization workloads.
Power and Cooling
The GTX 850M has a thermal design power of 45 W. This is a low figure for a discrete GPU, reflecting its mobile orientation. The slot width is listed as IGP, meaning it is intended for integration into a laptop motherboard rather than a desktop expansion slot. There are no power connectors required; power is delivered through the motherboard. The bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16, which provides adequate bandwidth for the memory subsystem.
No suggested PSU is listed in the data. Because the card draws power entirely from the motherboard and uses no auxiliary connectors, a desktop power supply recommendation is not applicable. The cooling solution is also portable-device dependent, meaning the laptop manufacturer determines the thermal solution. With a 45 W TDP, a capable air cooler should suffice, but the data does not specify any particular cooler design. The production status is end-of-life, and the release date is March 11, 2014. The predecessor is the GeForce 700M series, and the successor is the GeForce 900M series.
FAQ
Q: Does the GTX 850M support hardware ray tracing?
A: No. The GTX 850M has no ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, so all ray-traced effects would need to be computed via traditional shaders.
Q: What is the maximum API level supported?
A: The card supports DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. DirectX 12 support is limited to feature level 11_0.
Q: How much memory does the GTX 850M have and what type?
A: It has 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, with 32.03 GB/s of bandwidth.
Q: What is the performance percentile of this GPU?
A: The GTX 850M sits at the 45th percentile among all GPUs in the database.
Q: Does the GTX 850M require a power connector?
A: No. It uses no power connectors and draws power through the motherboard, with a 45 W TDP.
Q: What is the release date and production status?
A: The release date is March 11, 2014, and the production status is end-of-life.
Who Should Consider It
Given the GTX 850M’s average benchmark score of 9,490 and 45th percentile ranking, this is a GPU for users who prioritize portability over raw performance. The data shows it is competitive with the GTX 980 and GTX TITAN BLACK, both of which score within 1.1% of the GTX 850M, but those parts are likely desktop or high-end mobile units with different power envelopes. For 1080p gaming, the GTX 850M can handle esports titles and older games at medium settings, but newer AAA releases will require reduced resolutions or lower graphical presets. The 2 GB DDR3 memory and 32.03 GB/s bandwidth are limiting factors at high resolutions; 1440p or 4K gaming would strain the memory subsystem severely.
Users who play competitive shooters with modest graphics demands, such as older titles or indie games, would find the GTX 850M adequate. Those seeking to play recent graphically intensive games should look elsewhere, as the 45th percentile ranking indicates below-average performance in the current database. The lack of ray tracing and tensor cores further limits future-proofing for next-generation effects. The card is best suited for a secondary laptop or a budget gaming notebook where the 45 W TDP keeps thermals manageable.
Memory Subsystem
The GTX 850M is equipped with 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus. The memory clock is 1001 MHz, which translates to 2 Gbps effective. This configuration yields a bandwidth of 32.03 GB/s. That bandwidth figure is low by contemporary standards and directly constrains performance at high resolutions. For 1080p, 32.03 GB/s is marginal but workable for lighter titles. At 1440p or higher, the memory subsystem becomes a bottleneck, as the GPU must repeatedly fetch texture data across a narrow bus.
The 2 GB capacity is also a limiting factor. Modern games at high detail can exceed 2 GB of VRAM usage, causing the card to fall back to system memory, which is far slower. The DDR3 type further compounds the issue, as GDDR5 would offer higher bandwidth for the same bus width. The 128-bit bus width is narrow, capping the theoretical peak throughput. For users targeting high resolutions, this memory configuration is the primary weakness of the GTX 850M, more so than the compute performance.
Benchmark Performance
The Geekbench OpenCL score for the GTX 850M is 9,821, and the Vulkan score is 9,158. The average of these two results is 9,490. This aggregate score is the basis for all comparisons. Against the nearest rivals, the deltas are small. The GTX 980 is 0.1% behind, the GTX TITAN BLACK is 1.1% behind, the GTX 465 is 1.1% ahead, and the Tesla M10 is 1.5% ahead.
The most striking finding is the near-parity with the GTX 980. The data shows a 0.1% difference, which is statistically insignificant. This suggests that, in synthetic workloads, the GTX 850M punches well above its mobile positioning. However, the percentile rank of 45 indicates that most GPUs in the database are faster. The gap to the top performers is not captured by the immediate rivals list; the average score of 9,490 is simply a midpoint.
The GTX 465 and Tesla M10 both edge out the GTX 850M by more than a percentage point. While these margins are small, they are consistent. In a benchmark loop, the GTX 850M would lose to the GTX 465 and Tesla M10 in the majority of runs. The performance profile is thus one of a solid mid-tier part that trades blows with older desktop cards but does not dominate any category. The FP32 throughput of 1,154.6 GFLOPS and the texture rate of 36.08 GTexel/s define the ceiling for compute and texturing workloads, and the data confirms that this ceiling is modest within the broader GPU landscape.
The AMD Equivalent of GeForce GTX 850M
Looking for a similar graphics card from AMD? The AMD Radeon RX 480 offers comparable performance and features in the AMD lineup.
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