AMD FirePro M4000 vs NVIDIA Quadro M4000 Comparison

The AMD FirePro M4000 and NVIDIA Quadro M4000 are both end-of-life professional mobile/workstation GPUs, but they target very different performance tiers. Despite both holding the 32nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, the benchmark data reveals a stark performance gap, with the NVIDIA part delivering over three times the OpenCL compute throughput of the AMD part.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark between the two cards is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and the results are decisively one-sided. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 scores 19,118 points, while the AMD FirePro M4000 manages only 5,537 points. This represents a 71% delta in favor of the NVIDIA card, meaning the Quadro M4000 is approximately 3.45 times faster in raw compute throughput. The data shows that in this specific workload, the NVIDIA card completely dominates, with the deltaPct of -71 indicating that the AMD card's score is just 29% of what the NVIDIA card achieves.

This single head-to-head result aligns with the broader benchmark distribution. The AMD FirePro M4000's nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 (scoring 5,508, a 0.5% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M (5,501, 0.7% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 M440 (5,483, 1% delta). The NVIDIA Quadro M4000's nearest rivals, meanwhile, include the same AMD Radeon R7 M440 (5,483, -0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon 610M (5,444, 0.4% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M (5,501, -0.6% delta). This places the AMD FirePro M4000 in performance territory comparable to entry-level mobile GeForce parts, while the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 sits in a similar average-score range despite its much higher OpenCL result — the Quadro M4000's average score of 5,467 is dragged down by its other benchmark results, which are not shared with the AMD card.

The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 also has a substantial set of additional benchmarks not available for the AMD card, including a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 680, a Vulkan score of 24,640, and a Passmark G3D score of 6,680. Its Passmark DirectX scores show 113 in DX9, 49 in DX11, 33 in DX10, and 26 in DX12, alongside a Passmark G2D score of 673 and a GPU compute score of 2,660. These figures cannot be compared directly to the AMD part, but they indicate the NVIDIA card has been tested across a wider range of workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which card performs better in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 wins decisively with a score of 19,118 versus the AMD FirePro M4000's 5,537, a 71% difference in the NVIDIA card's favor.

Q: How does the AMD FirePro M4000 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD card's OpenCL score of 5,537 places it within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 (5,508), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M (5,501), and AMD Radeon R7 M440 (5,483), with deltas of 0.5%, 0.7%, and 1%, respectively. It trails the NVIDIA Quadro M500M (5,604) by 1.2%.

Q: What is the NVIDIA Quadro M4000's position among its closest competitors?

A: The NVIDIA card's average score of 5,467 is within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon R7 M440 (5,483, -0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon 610M (5,444, 0.4% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M (5,501, -0.6% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 (5,508, -0.7% delta).

Q: Does the AMD FirePro M4000 have any benchmark where it beats the NVIDIA Quadro M4000?

A: Based on the data available, no. The only shared benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL, where the NVIDIA card wins outright. The AMD card has zero recorded wins in head-to-head comparisons.

Q: What additional benchmarks exist for the NVIDIA Quadro M4000?

A: The NVIDIA card has results for 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (680), Geekbench Vulkan (24,640), Passmark DirectX 9 (113), DirectX 10 (33), DirectX 11 (49), DirectX 12 (26), G2D (673), G3D (6,680), and GPU compute (2,660).

Q: Are both cards based on the same manufacturing process?

A: Yes, both are fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process node, but they use different architectures and have vastly different transistor counts and die sizes.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural lineages entirely. The AMD FirePro M4000 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture with the Chelsea chip, while the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 uses Maxwell 2.0 architecture with the GM204 chip. Both are manufactured by TSMC on the same 28 nm process node, but the similarities end there.

The NVIDIA chip is substantially larger and more complex. The GM204 packs 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 13.1 million per mm². In contrast, the AMD Chelsea chip contains just 1,500 million transistors on a much smaller 123 mm² die, with a density of 12.2 million per mm². This means the NVIDIA chip has over three times the transistor count and more than three times the die area.

The compute resources differ dramatically. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 features 1,664 shading units, 104 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The AMD FirePro M4000 offers 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. These figures translate into significantly higher theoretical throughput rates for the NVIDIA card: 49.47 GPixel/s pixel rate and 80.39 GTexel/s texture rate, versus 10.80 GPixel/s and 21.60 GTexel/s for the AMD part. The FP32 compute performance is 2.573 TFLOPS for NVIDIA versus 691.2 GFLOPS for AMD.

Both cards support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan, but with version differences. The AMD card supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the NVIDIA card supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4. This indicates the NVIDIA architecture has more complete support for newer API features.

Specification Differences

The memory subsystems are dramatically different. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 comes with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 192.3 GB/s of bandwidth at an effective speed of 6 Gbps (1502 MHz). The AMD FirePro M4000 offers only 1 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, with 64.00 GB/s bandwidth at 4 Gbps effective (1000 MHz). The NVIDIA card has eight times the memory capacity and three times the bandwidth.

Power and physical specifications also diverge sharply. The NVIDIA card has a 120 W TDP, requires a single 6-pin power connector, and needs a 300 W suggested PSU. It occupies a single slot with dimensions of 241 mm in length and 111 mm in height. The AMD card has a much lower 33 W TDP, uses no power connectors, and comes in an MXM module form factor with an MXM-A (3.0) bus interface. The NVIDIA card uses a standard PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

Display outputs reflect their different target platforms. The NVIDIA card provides 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, while the AMD card's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile MXM design. The NVIDIA card is a desktop workstation card, while the AMD part is designed for mobile workstations.

Release timing also differs, with the AMD card launching on 2012-06-26 and the NVIDIA card arriving on 2015-06-28, a gap of roughly three years. The AMD card's predecessor is FirePro Mobility and its successor is Radeon Pro Mobile, while the NVIDIA card follows Quadro Kepler and precedes Quadro Pascal.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 wins in every measurable benchmark category where both cards have data. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 19,118 is roughly 3.45 times higher than the AMD card's 5,537. The NVIDIA card also wins on every architectural specification that influences performance: it has more than three times the shading units (1,664 versus 512), more than three times the TMUs (104 versus 32), four times the ROPs (64 versus 16), and nearly four times the FP32 compute throughput (2.573 TFLOPS versus 691.2 GFLOPS).

The NVIDIA card's memory advantages are equally pronounced. Its 8 GB capacity versus 1 GB, 256-bit bus versus 128-bit, and 192.3 GB/s versus 64.00 GB/s bandwidth make it far better suited for workloads that require large datasets or high-bandwidth access. The higher effective memory speed of 6 Gbps versus 4 Gbps further reinforces this advantage.

The AMD FirePro M4000's only clear advantage lies in power efficiency and physical footprint. Its 33 W TDP is less than a third of the NVIDIA card's 120 W rating, and its MXM module form factor with no power connectors makes it suitable for compact mobile systems. The NVIDIA card's 241 mm length and single-slot design with a 6-pin connector requires more space and a larger power supply.

For workstation use cases, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 is the clear choice for compute-intensive tasks, large memory footprints, and multi-display setups with its four DisplayPort outputs. The AMD FirePro M4000 would be limited to lighter workloads that fit within its 1 GB memory pool and 691.2 GFLOPS compute budget, but it offers the advantage of lower power consumption in mobile configurations. The data strongly indicates that the NVIDIA card is in a higher performance class, while the AMD card occupies the entry-level mobile professional segment.