GeForce GTX 1660 vs Radeon HD 6850M

VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon HD 6850M with GeForce GTX 1660, including specs and performance data.

HD 6850M
2011
1 GB GDDR3, 50 Watt
2.00

GTX 1660 outperforms HD 6850M by a whopping 1413% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking882180
Place by popularitynot in top-10052
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data48.92
Power efficiency2.7717.46
ArchitectureTeraScale 2 (2009−2015)Turing (2018−2022)
GPU code nameGranvilleTU116
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date4 January 2011 (13 years ago)14 March 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$219

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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 cores8001408
Core clock speed675 MHz1530 MHz
Boost clock speedno data1785 MHz
Number of transistors1,040 million6,600 million
Manufacturing process technology40 nm12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)50 Watt120 Watt
Texture fill rate27.00157.1
Floating-point processing power1.08 TFLOPS5.027 TFLOPS
ROPs1648
TMUs4088

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 sizelargeno data
InterfacePCIe 2.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Lengthno data229 mm
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsno data1x 8-pin

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 typeGDDR3GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount1 GB6 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speed800 MHz2001 MHz
Memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s192.1 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 ConnectorsNo outputs1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
HDMI-+

API compatibility

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

DirectX11.2 (11_0)12 (12_1)
Shader Model5.06.5
OpenGL4.44.6
OpenCL1.21.2
VulkanN/A1.2.131
CUDA-7.5

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.

HD 6850M 2.00
GTX 1660 30.26
+1413%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

HD 6850M 1470
GTX 1660 21064
+1333%

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.

HD 6850M 6246
GTX 1660 71229
+1040%

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:

900p20
−1400%
300−350
+1400%
Full HD26
−219%
83
+219%
1440p3−4
−1600%
51
+1600%
4K1−2
−2700%
28
+2700%

Cost per frame, $

1080pno data2.64
1440pno data4.29
4Kno data7.82

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−1675%
71
+1675%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
−829%
65−70
+829%
Battlefield 5 1−2
−9800%
95−100
+9800%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
−1360%
73
+1360%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−1350%
58
+1350%
Far Cry 5 3−4
−2167%
65−70
+2167%
Far Cry New Dawn 5−6
−1440%
75−80
+1440%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
−1963%
160−170
+1963%
Hitman 3 7−8
−886%
69
+886%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
−1700%
306
+1700%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
−2700%
112
+2700%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
−950%
100−110
+950%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
−549%
227
+549%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
−1657%
123
+1657%
Battlefield 5 1−2
−9800%
95−100
+9800%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
−1240%
67
+1240%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−1075%
47
+1075%
Far Cry 5 3−4
−2167%
65−70
+2167%
Far Cry New Dawn 5−6
−1440%
75−80
+1440%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
−1963%
160−170
+1963%
Hitman 3 7−8
−857%
67
+857%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
−1588%
287
+1588%
Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
−1875%
79
+1875%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
−1000%
110
+1000%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
−433%
60−65
+433%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
−511%
214
+511%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
−829%
65−70
+829%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 5−6
−880%
49
+880%
Cyberpunk 2077 4−5
−900%
40
+900%
Far Cry 5 3−4
−2167%
65−70
+2167%
Forza Horizon 4 8−9
−1125%
98
+1125%
Hitman 3 7−8
−743%
59
+743%
Horizon Zero Dawn 16−18
−447%
93
+447%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−11
−850%
95
+850%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
−375%
57
+375%
Watch Dogs: Legion 35−40
+20.7%
29
−20.7%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 4−5
−1925%
81
+1925%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 3−4
−1800%
55−60
+1800%
Far Cry New Dawn 3−4
−1433%
45−50
+1433%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
−1500%
30−35
+1500%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1−2
−3300%
34
+3300%
Cyberpunk 2077 1−2
−2300%
24
+2300%
Far Cry 5 2−3
−1650%
35−40
+1650%
Hitman 3 7−8
−457%
39
+457%
Horizon Zero Dawn 6−7
−1017%
67
+1017%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 1−2
−3900%
40−45
+3900%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10−12
−1600%
187
+1600%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 5−6
−960%
53
+960%

4K
High Preset

Far Cry New Dawn 1−2
−2300%
24−27
+2300%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 2−3
−850%
18−20
+850%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1−2
−1400%
15
+1400%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 0−1 17
Far Cry 5 1−2
−1600%
16−18
+1600%
Watch Dogs: Legion 0−1 12

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 3−4
−767%
26
+767%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla 59
+0%
59
+0%
Metro Exodus 144
+0%
144
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla 42
+0%
42
+0%
Metro Exodus 113
+0%
113
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla 37
+0%
37
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Valhalla 27
+0%
27
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 170−180
+0%
170−180
+0%
Metro Exodus 59
+0%
59
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 67
+0%
67
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Hitman 3 21
+0%
21
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 63
+0%
63
+0%
Metro Exodus 44
+0%
44
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 35
+0%
35
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 10
+0%
10
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 50
+0%
50
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 36
+0%
36
+0%

This is how HD 6850M and GTX 1660 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 1660 is 1400% faster in 900p
  • GTX 1660 is 219% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 1660 is 1600% faster in 1440p
  • GTX 1660 is 2700% faster in 4K

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

  • in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the HD 6850M is 21% faster.
  • in Battlefield 5, with 1080p resolution and the Medium Preset, the GTX 1660 is 9800% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

  • HD 6850M is ahead in 1 test (1%)
  • GTX 1660 is ahead in 52 tests (74%)
  • there's a draw in 17 tests (24%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 2.00 30.26
Recency 4 January 2011 14 March 2019
Maximum RAM amount 1 GB 6 GB
Chip lithography 40 nm 12 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 50 Watt 120 Watt

HD 6850M has 140% lower power consumption.

GTX 1660, on the other hand, has a 1413% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, a 500% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 233.3% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 1660 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6850M in performance tests.

Be aware that Radeon HD 6850M is a notebook card while GeForce GTX 1660 is a desktop one.


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

Vote for your favorite

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AMD Radeon HD 6850M
Radeon HD 6850M
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
GeForce GTX 1660

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


3.3 14 votes

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4.1 5156 votes

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Questions & comments

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