AMD Radeon HD 8550M vs AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 8550M
► remove from comparisonThe AMD Radeon HD 8550M is a DirectX 11.1 graphics card for small laptops. The core is clocked at 700 MHz, while the DDR3 graphics memory runs at 900 MHz. The 28nm Mars core uses the GCN architecture. Compared to the 8600M and 8700M series, the 8550M is different only in clock speed, memory bus configuration and memory type.
The performance of the Radeon HD 8550M is very similar to the Radeon HD 8570M or GeForce GT 630M. Current and demanding games like Far Cry 3 will run fluently only in low resolutions and detail settings.
The 384 shaders can be used with OpenCL 1.2 for general-purpose calculations (as 6 compute units). Compared to old TeraScale 2 chips, the GCN-based Mars architecture offers improved performance in this framework.
Features of the 8550M include video decoding via UVD3 for decoding MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, and Flash directly from the AMD GPU. Multi-View Codec (MVC) and MPEG-4 part 2 (DivX, xVid) HD videos are now compatible as well.
The 8500M series also supports automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GPU. Called Enduro, the technology supersedes AMD's Dynamic Switchable Graphics and is similar to Nvidia's Optimus. Furthermore, the 8550M can directly support up to 2 connected monitors using Eyefinity Technology if Enduro is disabled.
Other features of the 8500M series include ZeroCore for reducing power consumption when the display is turned off and Power Gating to power down areas of the chip that are not used. PowerTune allows automatic overclocking and underclocking of the graphics card as long as the GPU is within its TDP limit. For example, the chip may be underclocked when running FurMark and OCCT, but will overclock in certain games like Lost Planet, Crysis or Resident Evil 5.
The integrated HD audio processor is able to transmit HD Audio (TrueHD or DTS Master Audio) over HDMI and DisplayPort (e.g., for Blu-Ray videos). Additionally, it now allows audio to output simultaneously and in parallel to multiple devices with the new Discrete Digital Multipoint Audio (DDMA) feature.
The power consumption should be somewhat below that of the old HD 7650M. As a result, the 8550M is suited for 13-inch notebooks or larger.
AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics
► remove from comparisonThe AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics is the combination of an integrated AMD Radeon HD 8650G APU processor graphics card and a dedicated entry level AMD Radeon HD 8570M graphics card in CrossFire combination. It is called AMD Dual Graphics or asymmetric CrossFire and uses AFR (Alternate Frame Rendering) to render different frames on the two graphic cores. Therefore the combination also suffers from micro stuttering (different spaces between two images lead to stuttering altough the framerate is high enough for fluent gaming with only one GPU).
The performance of the Dual Graphics solution depends greatly on the driver support for the used games. In some games the performance may even degrade slightly compared to using only the dedicated graphics card. Only in best case scenarios (mainly synthetic 3D benchmarks) the performance of a GT 640M is possible. Therefore, due to the micro stuttering and performance problems, Dual Graphics may impose more problems than bring performance gains.
The features like PureVideo HD (UVD3) or OpenCL support are similar to the two graphics cards.
As both graphics cards are rendering frames, the power consumption is clearly higher than using only one GPU.
AMD Radeon HD 8550M | AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radeon HD 8500M Series |
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Architecture | GCN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pipelines | 384 - unified | 768 - unified | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Core Speed | 700 MHz | 720 / 650 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memory Speed | 1800 MHz | 1800 - 2000 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memory Bus Width | 64 Bit | 64 Bit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Memory Type | DDR3 | DDR3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shared Memory | no | no | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
API | DirectX 11.1, Shader 5.0 | DirectX 11, Shader 5.0, OpenGL 4.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
technology | 28 nm | 28 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notebook Size | medium sized | medium sized | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of Announcement | 16.11.2012 | 01.08.2013 |
Benchmarks
3DM Vant. Perf. total + AMD Radeon HD 8550M
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64 Bit + AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation
Game Benchmarks
The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.
Thief
2014X-Plane 10.25
2013Call of Duty: Ghosts
2013Battlefield 4
2013F1 2013
2013Fifa 14
2013Total War: Rome II
2013Saints Row IV
2013Company of Heroes 2
2013Metro: Last Light
2013BioShock Infinite
2013SimCity
2013Tomb Raider
2013Crysis 3
2013Dead Space 3
2013Far Cry 3
2012Assassin´s Creed III
2012Hitman: Absolution
2012Dishonored
2012Fifa 13
2012Borderlands 2
2012Guild Wars 2
2012Counter-Strike: GO
2012Darksiders II
2012Sleeping Dogs
2012Max Payne 3
2012Dirt Showdown
2012Diablo III
2012Risen 2: Dark Waters
2012Mass Effect 3
2012Alan Wake
2012Anno 2070
2011Battlefield 3
2011Average Gaming AMD Radeon HD 8550M → 100%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%
Average Gaming AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics → 120%
Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 128%
AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thief | 14 | 11.6 | 9.6 | |||
X-Plane 10.25 | 37.5 | 19.2 | 8.6 | |||
Need for Speed: Rivals | 18.8 | 18.2 | 14.7 | |||
Call of Duty: Ghosts | 24.8 | 23.6 | 12.7 | |||
Battlefield 4 | 35.1 | 24.5 | 15.8 | |||
Batman: Arkham Origins | 42 | 24 | 15 | |||
F1 2013 | 28 | 19 | 18 | 14 | ||
Fifa 14 | 109.3 | 69.2 | 67.7 | 57.2 | ||
Total War: Rome II | 25.8 | 18 | 14.4 | 3.1 | ||
Saints Row IV | 10.6 | 8.9 | 7 | 5.9 | ||
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified | 31.6 | 22.7 | 13.6 | 8.8 | ||
Splinter Cell: Blacklist | 35.4 | 24.2 | 10.5 | |||
Dota 2 | 29 | 19 | 14.1 | |||
Company of Heroes 2 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 5.9 | 3.4 | ||
GRID 2 | 47 | 31.4 | ||||
Metro: Last Light | 15.9 | 14.1 | 9.5 | 5.6 | ||
BioShock Infinite | 41 | 26 | 21 | 6.9 | ||
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm | 47.4 | 25.5 | ||||
SimCity | 34.2 | 20.1 | 15.2 | 7.8 | ||
Tomb Raider | 65 | 35 | 23 | 17.2 | ||
Crysis 3 | 20.4 | 14.6 | 10.5 | 3.2 | ||
Dead Space 3 | 66 | 36 | 30 | 19.7 | ||
Far Cry 3 | 22.9 | 17.5 | 11.8 | 3.9 | ||
Hitman: Absolution | 13.4 | 12 | 9.4 | 8.1 | ||
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | 45.7 | 39.1 | 20.8 | 13.1 | ||
Borderlands 2 | 24.6 | 24.5 | 21.1 | 14.4 | ||
Counter-Strike: GO | 48.1 | 43.7 | 37.3 | 30.8 | ||
Sleeping Dogs | 24.3 | 16.5 | 13.2 | 8.2 | ||
Diablo III | 75.9 | 49.9 | 43.6 | 29 | ||
Anno 2070 | 82.4 | 36.2 | 22.4 | 10.4 | ||
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 27.7 | 23.4 | 17.8 | 11.5 | ||
Battlefield 3 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 13.9 | 10.9 | ||
< 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 16 9 5 | 23 8 1 | 26 4 1 | 21 2 | | |
AMD Radeon HD 8550M | low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Far Cry 3 | 15.4 | 15.3 | 11 | |||
Assassin´s Creed III | 7.2 | 6.8 | ||||
Hitman: Absolution | 11.1 | 9.4 | 8.8 | |||
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 | 36.6 | 28.6 | 15.9 | |||
Need for Speed: Most Wanted | 14.9 | 13.4 | 9.3 | |||
Medal of Honor: Warfighter | 28.1 | 21.6 | 16.5 | |||
Dishonored | 32 | 29.4 | 26.7 | |||
Fifa 13 | 58.7 | 43.5 | 41.5 | |||
Borderlands 2 | 25.4 | 20.9 | 16.7 | |||
Guild Wars 2 | 16.8 | 7.8 | ||||
Counter-Strike: GO | 38.7 | 33.6 | 29.4 | |||
Darksiders II | 31.5 | |||||
Sleeping Dogs | 22.1 | 15.5 | 13.5 | |||
Max Payne 3 | 11.2 | 10.5 | 10 | |||
Dirt Showdown | 16.5 | 11.5 | 10.4 | |||
Diablo III | 59.5 | 44.9 | 34.4 | |||
Risen 2: Dark Waters | 10 | 17 | 13.1 | |||
Mass Effect 3 | 30.2 | 23.6 | ||||
Alan Wake | 20.6 | 12.8 | ||||
Anno 2070 | 56.4 | 25.6 | 19.1 | |||
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 20.9 | 19 | 15.9 | |||
CoD: Modern Warfare 3 | 44.6 | 30.1 | 24 | |||
Battlefield 3 | 16.4 | 14.4 | 13.4 | |||
< 30 fps < 60 fps < 120 fps ≥ 120 fps | 13 8 | 16 5 | 19 2 | | | |
For more games that might be playable and a list of all games and graphics cards visit our Gaming List