AMD FirePro M4150 vs AMD Radeon RX 560 Comparison

The Verdict

The AMD Radeon RX 560 is the clear choice for anyone needing actual graphics performance in a desktop system. The recorded data shows the RX 560 beats the AMD FirePro M4150 by 310.5% in the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, with scores of 16472 versus 4013. This is not a close contest; it is a generational and architectural gap that shows up in every measurable way. The RX 560 sits at the 26th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the FirePro M4150 sits at the 24th percentile, but that narrow percentile gap hides the fact that the FirePro only has one benchmark entry, which skews its placement. The RX 560 has an average benchmark score of 4569, while the FirePro M4150 averages 4013.

The FirePro M4150 is an end-of-life mobile workstation part from 2013, built on a 28 nm process with only 384 shading units. Its only recorded benchmark is Geekbench OpenCL at 4013, which places it just below the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M (4033, 0.5% ahead) and just above the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 (3977, 0.9% behind). The RX 560, by contrast, is a 14 nm desktop part with 1024 shading units and a full suite of benchmark results across DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, OpenCL, and 2D tests. If you are building or upgrading a desktop and want to play games or run GPU-accelerated workloads, the RX 560 is the only sensible pick from this pair. The FirePro M4150 should only be considered by someone maintaining legacy mobile workstation hardware, where its MXM module form factor and portable-device-dependent display outputs are the deciding factors, not performance.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in OpenCL compute?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 560 scores 16472 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the AMD FirePro M4150 scores 4013. The RX 560 is 310.5% ahead in this test.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RX 560 has 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 112.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FirePro M4150 has 1024 MB (1 GB) of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus but with only 64.00 GB/s bandwidth. The RX 560 also runs its memory at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) on the FirePro.

Q: Are these GPUs still in production?

A: No. Both are marked end-of-life in the database. The RX 560 was released on 2017-04-17, and the FirePro M4150 was released on 2013-10-15.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RX 560 has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The FirePro M4150 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs.

Q: What API levels do they support?

A: The RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The FirePro M4150 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What is the RX 560's launch MSRP?

A: The RX 560 had a launch MSRP of 99 USD. The FirePro M4150 has no recorded launch MSRP in the database.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different eras of AMD's design philosophy. The Radeon RX 560 uses the Polaris 21 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The FirePro M4150 uses the Opal chip built on the original GCN 1.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. This node difference is substantial: the RX 560 packs 3,000 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. The FirePro M4150 fits 950 million transistors into a 77 mm² die, with a density of 12.3 million per square millimeter. The RX 560 more than doubles the transistor density, which explains how it delivers far higher compute throughput from a similar physical footprint.

The compute resources differ by a factor of roughly 2.7 in shading units: 1024 on the RX 560 versus 384 on the FirePro M4150. Texture units follow the same ratio, 64 versus 24, and ROPs double from 8 to 16. These are not incremental changes. The RX 560 achieves 2.611 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 2.611 TFLOPS of FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio. The FirePro M4150 manages 549.1 GFLOPS of FP32 and has no recorded FP16 capability. That is roughly a 4.8x gap in raw floating-point throughput, which matches the OpenCL benchmark delta of 310.5%. The architecture also differs in feature support. The RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3, while the FirePro M4150 only reaches DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The RX 560 is a desktop part with a dual-slot cooler, no power connectors, a suggested PSU of 250 W, and a length of 170 mm (6.7 inches). It draws its power entirely from the PCIe slot, with a TDP of 75 W. The FirePro M4150 is an MXM module, meaning it is designed for laptops and small-form-factor industrial systems. Its TDP is not recorded, and its display outputs are listed as portable device dependent. The RX 560 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. The FirePro relies on whatever ports the host laptop provides. These are fundamentally different products for different physical environments.

Specification Differences

The specification sheet shows a long list of divergences. The RX 560 uses the Polaris 21 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture; the FirePro M4150 uses the Opal chip with GCN 1.0. The process nodes are 14 nm versus 28 nm. Transistor counts are 3,000 million versus 950 million. Die sizes are 123 mm² versus 77 mm². Transistor densities are 24.4M per mm² versus 12.3M per mm².

Clock speeds: the RX 560 has a base clock of 1175 MHz and a boost clock of 1275 MHz, while the FirePro M4150 has no recorded base or boost clocks. Memory clocks: the RX 560 runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective), the FirePro at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective). Memory capacity: 4 GB versus 1024 MB, both GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus. Memory bandwidth: 112.0 GB/s versus 64.00 GB/s.

Compute units: shading units 1024 versus 384, TMUs 64 versus 24, ROPs 16 versus 8. Pixel rate: 20.40 GPixel/s versus 5.720 GPixel/s. Texture rate: 81.60 GTexel/s versus 17.16 GTexel/s. FP32: 2.611 TFLOPS versus 549.1 GFLOPS. FP16: 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1) on the RX 560, none recorded on the FirePro.

The RX 560 has a TDP of 75 W, a dual-slot form factor, no power connectors, a suggested PSU of 250 W, and a 170 mm length. The FirePro M4150 has no recorded TDP, uses an MXM module form factor, and has no recorded power connector or PSU requirements. The RX 560 provides DVI, HDMI 2.0b, and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The FirePro's outputs are portable device dependent. The RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The FirePro supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both use PCIe 3.0 x8.

The RX 560 was released on 2017-04-17, with a launch MSRP of 99 USD, and its predecessor is Arctic Islands with a successor of Vega. The FirePro M4150 was released on 2013-10-15, with no launch MSRP, and its predecessor is FirePro Mobility with a successor of Radeon Pro Mobile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database records only one shared benchmark between these two GPUs: Geekbench OpenCL. The RX 560 scores 16472, and the FirePro M4150 scores 4013. The RX 560 wins with a delta of 310.5%. To put that in perspective, the RX 560's OpenCL score is more than four times the FirePro's. This single result is decisive because it aligns perfectly with the theoretical compute specifications. The RX 560's 2.611 TFLOPS FP32 rating versus the FirePro's 549.1 GFLOPS predicts a 4.75x advantage, and the actual benchmark shows a 4.1x advantage. The small discrepancy is expected, as real workloads do not scale perfectly with raw FLOP counts, but the direction and magnitude are consistent.

The RX 560 also has a much broader benchmark footprint. It records scores in Passmark DirectX 10 (16), DirectX 11 (25), DirectX 12 (21), DirectX 9 (57), G2D (485), G3D (3671), and GPU Compute (1437), plus Geekbench Metal (18941) and OpenCL (16472). The FirePro M4150 has only the single OpenCL entry. This means the RX 560's average benchmark score of 4569 is based on nine tests, while the FirePro's 4013 average is based on one. The RX 560's nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon R5 M230 (4577, 0.2% ahead of the RX 560), the Intel HD Graphics P530 (4560, 0.2% behind), the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M (4621, 1.1% ahead), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (4628, 1.3% ahead). The FirePro M4150's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M (4033, 0.5% ahead), the AMD Radeon HD 6850 X2 (3977, 0.9% behind), the NVIDIA Quadro K2000 (3964, 1.2% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce 830M (3957, 1.4% behind). These rival deltas show that both cards sit in crowded mid-low performance tiers, but the RX 560 sits in a tier that is roughly 14% higher in average score.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 560 wins in every scenario where performance matters. In compute workloads, the 310.5% OpenCL advantage makes it the obvious choice for OpenCL-accelerated applications, whether that is video encoding, physics simulation, or machine learning inference. In gaming, the RX 560's DirectX 12 (12_0) support, 4 GB of VRAM, and 112.0 GB/s of bandwidth give it a functional edge for modern titles, even if its 26th percentile percentile rank means it is not a high-end gaming card. The Passmark G3D score of 3671 and GPU Compute score of 1437 demonstrate that it can handle real graphics workloads, not just synthetic tests. The 2.611 TFLOPS of FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio also makes it usable for workloads that leverage half-precision math, a feature the FirePro M4150 lacks entirely.

The FirePro M4150 wins only in scenarios where the MXM module form factor is a hard requirement. If a system is a legacy mobile workstation with an MXM slot and no possibility of a desktop GPU, the FirePro M4150 is the compatible part. Its portable device dependent display outputs mean it works with the host laptop's integrated panel and ports, so no external port configuration is needed. Its TDP is unrecorded, but the absence of power connectors and the 28 nm architecture indicate it is a low-power mobile part, suitable for thermal environments that cannot accommodate a dual-slot desktop card. The RX 560's 170 mm length and dual-slot width would not fit in those chassis at all.

For any other use case, the RX 560 is the answer. It has a launch MSRP of 99 USD, it is end-of-life but still a far more modern design, and it has a 4.8x theoretical FP32 advantage and a 4.1x measured OpenCL advantage. Its average benchmark score of 4569 places it in the same neighborhood as the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M and GeForce GTX 970M, both of which are 1.1% and 1.3% ahead respectively, while the FirePro M4150 sits near the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M and Quadro K2000, which are 0.5% and 1.2% ahead of it. The RX 560 is a usable low-end desktop GPU. The FirePro M4150 is a legacy mobile component. The data does not support any other conclusion.