Radeon 680M vs Radeon HD 7850

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

Radeon 680M

2023

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 50W instead of 130W, a 80W reduction.
✅Measures 1mm instead of 210mm, a 209mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 15.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Radeon HD 7850

2012

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 15.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌160% higher power demand at 130W vs 50W.
❌20900% longer card at 210mm vs 1mm.

Radeon 680M

2023

Radeon HD 7850

2012

Why buy it

✅More future proof: RDNA 2.0 (2020−2025) on 6nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.
✅Draws 50W instead of 130W, a 80W reduction.
✅Measures 1mm instead of 210mm, a 209mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 15.7 vs 0 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 15.7 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌160% higher power demand at 130W vs 50W.
❌20900% longer card at 210mm vs 1mm.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon HD 7850 better than Radeon 680M?

Yes. Radeon HD 7850 is clearly the better overall GPU here. You are also looking at 3,897 vs 3,836 in G3D Mark. On top of that, Radeon HD 7850 is a 2012 card with FSR upscaling, while Radeon 680M is a 2023 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon 680M is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2023 generation instead of 2012, 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware, and a 6nm process instead of 28nm. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

Radeon HD 7850 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $249 MSRP. Radeon HD 7850 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. Radeon HD 7850 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $249 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 1.6% higher G3D Mark. Radeon 680M is the newer 2023 card, so it still has a real case if you care more about newer architecture, lower power draw (50W vs 130W), and future-proofing than about squeezing out the strongest gaming value today.

When does Radeon 680M make more sense than Radeon HD 7850?

Yes. Radeon 680M is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (50W vs 130W), future-proofing, and staying closer to an unclear MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon HD 7850. The trade-off is that Radeon HD 7850 currently gives you 1.6% higher G3D Mark. It also leads G3D-per-dollar by 100+%.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

Radeon 680M Benchmark Check

Radeon HD 7850 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
1080p
low	103 FPS	77 FPS
medium	91 FPS	62 FPS
high	77 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	64 FPS	32 FPS
1440p
low	89 FPS	65 FPS
medium	75 FPS	53 FPS
high	62 FPS	36 FPS
ultra	52 FPS	23 FPS
4K
low	44 FPS	23 FPS
medium	41 FPS	22 FPS
high	30 FPS	14 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	12 FPS

Open Radeon 680M Open Radeon HD 7850

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
1080p
low	161 FPS	113 FPS
medium	128 FPS	83 FPS
high	95 FPS	63 FPS
ultra	63 FPS	38 FPS
1440p
low	107 FPS	63 FPS
medium	82 FPS	43 FPS
high	62 FPS	31 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	20 FPS
4K
low	54 FPS	23 FPS
medium	43 FPS	15 FPS
high	34 FPS	12 FPS
ultra	22 FPS	8 FPS

Open Radeon 680M Open Radeon HD 7850

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
1080p
low	173 FPS	175 FPS
medium	138 FPS	140 FPS
high	115 FPS	117 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	88 FPS
1440p
low	129 FPS	132 FPS
medium	104 FPS	105 FPS
high	86 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	65 FPS	66 FPS
4K
low	86 FPS	88 FPS
medium	69 FPS	70 FPS
high	58 FPS	58 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	44 FPS

Open Radeon 680M Open Radeon HD 7850

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
1080p
low	173 FPS	133 FPS
medium	138 FPS	105 FPS
high	115 FPS	88 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	73 FPS
1440p
low	129 FPS	97 FPS
medium	104 FPS	78 FPS
high	86 FPS	67 FPS
ultra	65 FPS	51 FPS
4K
low	86 FPS	58 FPS
medium	69 FPS	44 FPS
high	58 FPS	34 FPS
ultra	43 FPS	24 FPS

Open Radeon 680M Open Radeon HD 7850

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Radeon 680M and Radeon HD 7850

Radeon 680M

The Radeon 680M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 3 2023. It features the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 2000 MHz to 2200 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 6 nm process technology. It features 12 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,836 points.

Radeon HD 7850

The Radeon HD 7850 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in March 5 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 1024 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 130W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 3,897 points. Launch price was $249.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The Radeon 680M scores 3,836 and the Radeon HD 7850 reaches 3,897 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The Radeon 680M is built on RDNA 2.0 while the Radeon HD 7850 uses GCN 1.0, both on 6 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (Radeon 680M) vs 1,024 (Radeon HD 7850). Raw compute: 3.379 TFLOPS (Radeon 680M) vs 1.761 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7850). Boost clocks: 2200 MHz vs 1000 MHz.

Feature	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
G3D Mark Score	3,836	3,897+2%
Architecture	RDNA 2.0	GCN 1.0
Process Node	6 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	768	1024+33%
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.379 TFLOPS+92%	1.761 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	2200 MHz+120%	1000 MHz
ROPs	32	32
TMUs	48	64+33%
L1 Cache	256 KB	256 KB
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB
Frame Generation	FSR upscaling + RSR	FSR upscaling

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
Upscaling Tech	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	AMD Anti-Lag	AMD Anti-Lag

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Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards feature 2 GB of video memory. Bus width: System vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (Radeon 680M) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon HD 7850) — the Radeon 680M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
VRAM Capacity	2 GB	2 GB
Memory Type	Shared	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	System	153.6 GB/s
Bus Width	System	256-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+300%	0.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12_2 (Radeon 680M) vs 12 (Radeon HD 7850). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 4.

Feature	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
DirectX	12_2	12
Max Displays	0	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: VCN 3.1 (Radeon 680M) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7850). Decoder: VCN 3.1 vs UVD 3.1.

Feature	Radeon 680M	Radeon HD 7850
Encoder	VCN 3.1	VCE 1.0
Decoder	VCN 3.1	UVD 3.1
Codecs	—	H.264

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The Radeon 680M draws 50W versus the Radeon HD 7850's 130W — a 88.9% difference. The Radeon 680M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (Radeon 680M) vs 500W (Radeon HD 7850). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 1mm vs 210mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots.