Radeon HD 3850 vs Radeon HD 4650

Speed and memory

In our performance index the Radeon HD 3850 scores 0.6 and the Radeon HD 4650 scores 0.5, which makes the Radeon HD 3850 about 20% faster. That is a visible but modest gap, usually 5 to 10 fps in a game that runs at 60.

The Radeon HD 3850 has shared GB of video memory and the Radeon HD 4650 has 1 GB. That is a small difference and unlikely to decide anything.

In our estimates for popular games at 1080p on High, the biggest gap is in Red Dead Redemption 2 (3 against 1 fps), and the smallest is in Fortnite (9 against 8 fps). Games that are light enough to run above 200 fps on both cards show little difference at all.

Power and value

The Radeon HD 3850 is rated at 75 W and the Radeon HD 4650 at 48 W. With a mid-range processor that means a power supply of about 450 W for the first and 450 W for the second. The power draw is close enough that cooling and noise will be similar.

At launch the Radeon HD 3850 cost $179 and the Radeon HD 4650 $79. Per dollar, the Radeon HD 4650 gave more performance (0.6 points per $100 against 0.3). Current prices differ, so run the same sum on what you can actually buy today.

Which one to buy

Choose the Radeon HD 3850 if you want the faster card, and you can accept 0 GB of memory. It makes the most sense at 1440p and above, or on a monitor with a high refresh rate.

Choose the Radeon HD 4650 if the price gap matters more than the 20% speed difference, and you value the extra video memory. Whichever you pick, check reviews for the games you play, because two cards with similar scores can differ in individual titles.