HD 7850 vs RTX 3050 8GB Mobile
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | HD 7850 | RTX 3050 8GB Mobile | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 616 | 3,092 | -80.1% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 24 | 40 | -40.0% |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 12 | 23 | -47.8% |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 6 | 12 | -50.0% |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 1.8 | 7.7 | -77.2% |
| VRAM | 2 GB GDDR5 | 8 GB GDDR6 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 224 | 224 | — |
| TDP (W) | 130 | 78 | — |
- RTX 3050 8GB Mobile averages 23 fps at 1440p versus 12 fps — about 48% faster.
- RTX 3050 8GB Mobile draws less power (78W vs 130W).
Verdict: HD 7850 or RTX 3050 8GB Mobile?
HD 7850 advantages
- No decisive advantage on the tracked metrics.
RTX 3050 8GB Mobile advantages
- 1440p gaming (+48%)
- 4K gaming (+50%)
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+80%)
- Video memory (+75%)
- Power efficiency (+40%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the RTX 3050 8GB Mobile if you game at 1440p.
HD 7850 vs RTX 3050 8GB Mobile: which should you choose?
HD 7850 — AMD desktop graphics card (2012, GCN 1.0) with 2 GB of GDDR5, averaging 12 fps at 1440p; launched at $249.
RTX 3050 8GB Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2022, Ampere) with 8 GB of GDDR6, averaging 23 fps at 1440p.
HD 7850 vs RTX 3050 8GB Mobile: RTX 3050 8GB Mobile is faster for gaming. RTX 3050 8GB Mobile averages 23 fps at 1440p versus 12 fps — about 48% faster. RTX 3050 8GB Mobile draws less power (78W vs 130W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the RTX 3050 8GB Mobile averages 23 fps against 12. At 4K (6 vs 12 fps) VRAM (2GB vs 8GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 130 W versus 78 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the HD 7850 better than the RTX 3050 8GB Mobile?
RTX 3050 8GB Mobile is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. RTX 3050 8GB Mobile averages 23 fps at 1440p versus 12 fps — about 48% faster.
What is the main difference between the HD 7850 and the RTX 3050 8GB Mobile?
RTX 3050 8GB Mobile averages 23 fps at 1440p versus 12 fps — about 48% faster. RTX 3050 8GB Mobile draws less power (78W vs 130W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the RTX 3050 8GB Mobile if you game at 1440p.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.