Iris Xe MAX Graphics vs Radeon HD 7850M

Place in the ranking	724	626
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Power efficiency	6.14	14.13
Architecture	GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)	Generation 12.1 (2020−2021)
GPU code name	Heathrow	DG1
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	24 April 2012 (12 years ago)	31 October 2020 (4 years ago)

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	640	768
Core clock speed	675 MHz	300 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1650 MHz
Number of transistors	1,500 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	10 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	40 Watt	25 Watt
Texture fill rate	27.00	79.20
Floating-point processing power	0.864 TFLOPS	2.534 TFLOPS
ROPs	16	24
TMUs	40	48

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
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x4

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	LPDDR4X
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1000 MHz	2133 MHz
Memory bandwidth	64 GB/s	68.26 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

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_1)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	5.1	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	3.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.2

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 7850M 3.57

Iris Xe MAX Graphics 5.13
+43.7%

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.

HD 7850M 1372

Iris Xe MAX Graphics 1971
+43.7%

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 7850M 2467

Iris Xe MAX Graphics 8214
+233%

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:

Full HD	18−20 −50%	27 +50%
1440p	12−14 −66.7%	20 +66.7%
4K	10−12 −60%	16 +60%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Elden Ring	8−9 −62.5%	12−14 +62.5%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	10−11 −50%	14−16 +50%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +14.3%	7 −14.3%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −144%	39 +144%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −229%	23 +229%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 −175%	33 +175%
Valorant	4−5 −625%	29 +625%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−11 −50%	14−16 +50%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +33.3%	6 −33.3%
Dota 2	10−11 −170%	27 +170%
Elden Ring	8−9 −62.5%	12−14 +62.5%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −52.6%	29 +52.6%
Fortnite	20−22 −50%	30−33 +50%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −106%	33 +106%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−12 −81.8%	20 +81.8%
Metro Exodus	7−8 −157%	18 +157%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 −34.4%	40−45 +34.4%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +33.3%	9 −33.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 −30.8%	16−18 +30.8%
Valorant	4−5 −275%	15 +275%
World of Tanks	60−65 −35.5%	80−85 +35.5%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	10−11 −50%	14−16 +50%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −18.2%	12−14 +18.2%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Dota 2	10−11 −280%	38 +280%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −121%	42 +121%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −81.3%	29 +81.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	30−35 −34.4%	40−45 +34.4%
Valorant	4−5 −225%	12−14 +225%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	1−2 −300%	4−5 +300%
Elden Ring	3−4 −100%	6−7 +100%
Grand Theft Auto V	2−3 −150%	5−6 +150%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −32%	30−35 +32%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 −100%	4−5 +100%
World of Tanks	24−27 −48%	35−40 +48%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	4−5 −100%	8−9 +100%
Counter-Strike 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Far Cry 5	8−9 −37.5%	10−12 +37.5%
Forza Horizon 4	3−4 −567%	20 +567%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	5−6 −20%	6−7 +20%
Valorant	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	16−18 −6.3%	16−18 +6.3%
Elden Ring	1−2 −200%	3−4 +200%
Grand Theft Auto V	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	10−11 −50%	14−16 +50%
Red Dead Redemption 2	2−3 −50%	3−4 +50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	3−4 −33.3%	4−5 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −100%	2−3 +100%
Dota 2	16−18 −25%	20 +25%
Far Cry 5	4−5 −50%	6−7 +50%
Fortnite	2−3 −100%	4−5 +100%
Forza Horizon 4	1−2 −1000%	11 +1000%
Valorant	3−4 −66.7%	5−6 +66.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Metro Exodus

4−5

+0%

4−5

+0%

4K
High Preset

Metro Exodus

1−2

+0%

1−2

+0%

This is how HD 7850M and Iris Xe MAX Graphics compete in popular games:

Iris Xe MAX Graphics is 50% faster in 1080p
Iris Xe MAX Graphics is 67% faster in 1440p
Iris Xe MAX Graphics is 60% faster in 4K

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

in Cyberpunk 2077, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the HD 7850M is 33% faster.
in Forza Horizon 4, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the Iris Xe MAX Graphics is 1000% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

HD 7850M is ahead in 3 tests (5%)
Iris Xe MAX Graphics is ahead in 53 tests (87%)
there's a draw in 5 tests (8%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	3.57	5.13
Recency	24 April 2012	31 October 2020
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	10 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	40 Watt	25 Watt

Iris Xe MAX Graphics has a 43.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 180% more advanced lithography process, and 60% lower power consumption.

The Iris Xe MAX Graphics is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 7850M in performance tests.

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