ATI Radeon HD 4850 vs GeForce GTX 970M

Place in the ranking	351	804
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	0.21
Power efficiency	13.08	1.73
Architecture	Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)	TeraScale (2005−2013)
GPU code name	GM204	RV770
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	7 October 2014 (10 years ago)	25 June 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$2,560.89	$199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 970M and ATI HD 4850 have a nearly equal value for money.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1280	800
Core clock speed	924 MHz	625 MHz
Boost clock speed	1038 MHz	no data
Number of transistors	5,200 million	956 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	55 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	unknown	110 Watt
Texture fill rate	83.04	25.00
Floating-point processing power	2.657 TFLOPS	1 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	16
TMUs	80	40

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	large	no data
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	MXM-B (3.0)	PCIe 2.0 x16
Length	no data	246 mm
Width	no data	1-slot
Supplementary power connectors	None	1x 6-pin
SLI options	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	512 MB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2500 MHz	993 MHz
Memory bandwidth	120 GB/s	63.55 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	No outputs	2x DVI, 1x S-Video
VGA аnalog display support	+	no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) support	+	no data
HDMI	+	-
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream	+	-
GeForce ShadowPlay	+	-
GPU Boost	2.0	no data
GameWorks	+	-
H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder	+	-
Optimus	+	-
BatteryBoost	+	-
Ansel	+	-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (12_1)	10.1 (10_1)
Shader Model	6.4	4.1
OpenGL	4.5	3.3
OpenCL	1.1	1.1
Vulkan	1.1.126	N/A
CUDA	+	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 970M 14.83
+458%

ATI HD 4850 2.66

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 970M 5724
+458%

ATI HD 4850 1026

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 970M 28845
+222%

ATI HD 4850 8972

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 970M 51247
+355%

ATI HD 4850 11272

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 970M 274626
+277%

ATI HD 4850 72891

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	136 +369%	29 −369%
Full HD	55 +37.5%	40 −37.5%
1200p	100−110 +426%	19 −426%
1440p	25 +525%	4−5 −525%
4K	21 +600%	3−4 −600%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

21−24
+360%

5−6

−360%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	42 +367%	9−10 −367%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27	0−1
Battlefield 5	52 +1200%	4−5 −1200%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−33 +329%	7−8 −329%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +360%	5−6 −360%
Far Cry 5	50 +900%	5−6 −900%
Far Cry New Dawn	48 +586%	7−8 −586%
Forza Horizon 4	144 +1008%	12−14 −1008%
Hitman 3	27−30 +300%	7−8 −300%
Horizon Zero Dawn	75−80 +262%	21−24 −262%
Metro Exodus	53 +2550%	2−3 −2550%
Red Dead Redemption 2	40−45 +583%	6−7 −583%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	81 +636%	10−12 −636%
Watch Dogs: Legion	75−80 +105%	35−40 −105%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	53 +489%	9−10 −489%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27	0−1
Battlefield 5	44 +1000%	4−5 −1000%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−33 +329%	7−8 −329%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +360%	5−6 −360%
Far Cry 5	41 +720%	5−6 −720%
Far Cry New Dawn	37 +429%	7−8 −429%
Forza Horizon 4	131 +908%	12−14 −908%
Hitman 3	27−30 +300%	7−8 −300%
Horizon Zero Dawn	75−80 +262%	21−24 −262%
Metro Exodus	44 +2100%	2−3 −2100%
Red Dead Redemption 2	40−45 +583%	6−7 −583%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +336%	10−12 −336%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	101 +677%	12−14 −677%
Watch Dogs: Legion	75−80 +105%	35−40 −105%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21 +133%	9−10 −133%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24−27	0−1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	30−33 +329%	7−8 −329%
Cyberpunk 2077	21−24 +360%	5−6 −360%
Far Cry 5	29 +480%	5−6 −480%
Forza Horizon 4	36 +177%	12−14 −177%
Hitman 3	27−30 +300%	7−8 −300%
Horizon Zero Dawn	75−80 +262%	21−24 −262%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	45−50 +336%	10−12 −336%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	26 +100%	12−14 −100%
Watch Dogs: Legion	75−80 +105%	35−40 −105%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

40−45
+583%

6−7

−583%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	26 +550%	4−5 −550%
Far Cry New Dawn	25 +525%	4−5 −525%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	17 +750%	2−3 −750%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +500%	2−3 −500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	16−18 +700%	2−3 −700%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +700%	1−2 −700%
Far Cry 5	19 +533%	3−4 −533%
Forza Horizon 4	80 +471%	14−16 −471%
Hitman 3	18−20 +125%	8−9 −125%
Horizon Zero Dawn	30−33 +329%	7−8 −329%
Metro Exodus	25 +525%	4−5 −525%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	27−30 +575%	4−5 −575%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +700%	2−3 −700%
Watch Dogs: Legion	90−95 +469%	16−18 −469%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

24−27
+300%

6−7

−300%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	12 +1100%	1−2 −1100%
Far Cry New Dawn	13 +1200%	1−2 −1200%
Hitman 3	10−12 +1000%	1−2 −1000%
Horizon Zero Dawn	70−75 +517%	12−14 −517%
Metro Exodus	14 +600%	2−3 −600%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16 +700%	2−3 −700%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	9−10 +350%	2−3 −350%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	7−8 +600%	1−2 −600%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	7−8 +600%	1−2 −600%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3	0−1
Far Cry 5	8 +700%	1−2 −700%
Forza Horizon 4	6 +500%	1−2 −500%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +600%	2−3 −600%
Watch Dogs: Legion	6−7	0−1

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

12−14
+225%

4−5

−225%

This is how GTX 970M and ATI HD 4850 compete in popular games:

GTX 970M is 369% faster in 900p
GTX 970M is 38% faster in 1080p
GTX 970M is 426% faster in 1200p
GTX 970M is 525% faster in 1440p
GTX 970M is 600% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Metro Exodus, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 970M is 2550% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

Without exception, GTX 970M surpassed ATI HD 4850 in all 57 of our tests.

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	14.83	2.66
Recency	7 October 2014	25 June 2008
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	512 MB
Chip lithography	28 nm	55 nm

GTX 970M has a 457.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 96.4% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 970M is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 4850 in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 970M is a notebook card while Radeon HD 4850 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.