AMD FirePro M5100 vs AMD Radeon HD 8850M Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, and by how much?

A: The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447, while the AMD FirePro M5100 scores 6830. The Radeon HD 8850M is the winner in this head-to-head test, with a 9% deltaPct advantage.

Q: How do these two GPUs compare in overall performance percentiles?

A: The Radeon HD 8850M sits at the 40th percentile among all GPUs, while the FirePro M5100 sits at the 38th percentile. This indicates the Radeon part is slightly higher in the overall performance distribution.

Q: Are these two GPUs based on the same silicon?

A: Yes. Both use the Venus chip, built on the GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. Both have identical transistor counts of 1,500 million and the same die size of 123 mm².

Q: Do they have the same memory configuration?

A: Both have 2 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. However, the memory clocks differ: the Radeon HD 8850M runs at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) yielding 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, while the FirePro M5100 runs at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) yielding 72.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the difference in shading units, TMUs, and ROPs?

A: There is no difference. Both GPUs feature 640 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation pipelines.

Q: Which GPU has higher clock speeds?

A: The FirePro M5100 has higher clocks. Its base clock is 725 MHz and boost clock is 775 MHz, compared to the Radeon HD 8850M's 575 MHz base and 625 MHz boost.

Architecture Differences

Both the AMD Radeon HD 8850M and the AMD FirePro M5100 are built on the same fundamental architecture: GCN 1.0, using the Venus chip. The process node is identical at 28 nm, fabricated by TSMC, with the same 1,500 million transistors packed into a 123 mm² die. The transistor density is also the same at 12.2M / mm². This means the underlying compute fabric is essentially the same, with both parts having 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs.

The primary architectural differences lie in clock speeds and the resulting throughput rates. The Radeon HD 8850M has a base clock of 575 MHz and a boost clock of 625 MHz. The FirePro M5100 runs significantly higher, with a base clock of 725 MHz and a boost clock of 775 MHz. This clock advantage directly translates into higher fill rates and compute throughput for the FirePro part. Specifically, the FirePro M5100 achieves a pixel rate of 12.40 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 31.00 GTexel/s, versus 10.00 GPixel/s and 25.00 GTexel/s for the Radeon HD 8850M. Similarly, FP32 compute is 992.0 GFLOPS for the FirePro M5100, compared to 800.0 GFLOPS for the Radeon part.

Memory architecture is also differentiated by clock speed. While both use 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, the Radeon HD 8850M runs memory at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for 64.00 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the FirePro M5100 runs memory at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) for 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. This gives the FirePro part a 12.5% bandwidth advantage, which can be relevant for memory-intensive workloads.

The bus interface differs as well. The Radeon HD 8850M uses PCIe 3.0 x16, a standard expansion interface. The FirePro M5100 uses MXM-A (3.0) and is presented as an MXM Module, with display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent." This reflects the FirePro line's intended integration into modular mobile workstations rather than general-purpose laptops.

The API support is identical across both parts: DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Neither GPU has ray tracing or tensor cores. The production status for both is end-of-life, with the Radeon HD 8850M released on 2013-03-31 and the FirePro M5100 released on 2013-10-15. The Radeon predecessor is "London" and successor is "Gem System," while the FirePro predecessor is "FirePro Mobility" and successor is "Radeon Pro Mobile."

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only head-to-head benchmark data available is the Geekbench OpenCL test. In this metric, the AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447, while the AMD FirePro M5100 scores 6830. The Radeon HD 8850M wins this comparison with a deltaPct of 9%. This is a notable margin — a 9% performance lead in a compute-oriented benchmark like OpenCL. The result is somewhat counterintuitive given the FirePro M5100's higher clock speeds and memory bandwidth, but the benchmark data stands as the definitive measure here.

To contextualize the Radeon HD 8850M's score, its nearest rivals are the Intel UHD Graphics 750 at 7441 (deltaPct 0.1%), the AMD Radeon R7 350 at 7425 (deltaPct 0.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 at 7472 (deltaPct -0.3%), and the Intel Arc A310 at 7550 (deltaPct -1.4%). This places the Radeon HD 8850M in a tight cluster where it is essentially neck-and-neck with these other entries, all within a 1.4% range. The Radeon HD 8850M is effectively on par with the GTX 1650 in this OpenCL test, which is a notable data point for its performance class.

For the FirePro M5100, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R7 M370 at 6764 (deltaPct 1%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M at 6946 (deltaPct -1.7%), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 at 6698 (deltaPct 2%), and the AMD Radeon R5 M240 at 6975 (deltaPct -2.1%). The FirePro M5100's 6830 score places it slightly above the R7 M370 and GT 1010, but below the GTX 675M and R5 M240. This shows the FirePro M5100 is competitive within its immediate segment, though it does not match the Radeon HD 8850M's standing relative to its own rivals.

The overall win count is 1 for the Radeon HD 8850M and 0 for the FirePro M5100 in this head-to-head set. All available benchmark evidence points to the Radeon HD 8850M being the faster GPU in raw OpenCL compute performance.

The Verdict

Based strictly on the benchmark data, the AMD Radeon HD 8850M is the superior performer. It wins the sole head-to-head benchmark with a 9% margin, scoring 7447 versus 6830 for the FirePro M5100. Its percentile rank is also higher at 40 versus 38. The data shows that despite the FirePro M5100's higher clock speeds, memory bandwidth, and fill rates, the Radeon HD 8850M delivers better real-world OpenCL results.

The FirePro M5100 does have positive attributes in its specification sheet — higher clocks (725 MHz base, 775 MHz boost), higher pixel rate (12.40 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (31.00 GTexel/s), higher FP32 throughput (992.0 GFLOPS), and higher memory bandwidth (72.00 GB/s). These figures suggest it should be faster in certain theoretical throughput scenarios. However, the actual benchmark result contradicts this expectation, and the benchmark is the authoritative measure of performance in this database.

For any user choosing between these two GPUs based on performance, the Radeon HD 8850M is the clear pick. It has a 9% OpenCL advantage and a higher percentile rank. The FirePro M5100's only advantages are in specification sheets and presumably its mobile workstation form factor (MXM-A interface), but those do not translate to a benchmark win. The verdict is straightforward: the Radeon HD 8850M wins on measured performance, and the FirePro M5100 wins on paper specifications but loses where it counts in this dataset.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two GPUs:

• Base Clock: Radeon HD 8850M at 575 MHz; FirePro M5100 at 725 MHz.
• Boost Clock: Radeon HD 8850M at 625 MHz; FirePro M5100 at 775 MHz.
• Memory Clock: Radeon HD 8850M at 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective); FirePro M5100 at 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective).
• Memory Bandwidth: Radeon HD 8850M at 64.00 GB/s; FirePro M5100 at 72.00 GB/s.
• Pixel Rate: Radeon HD 8850M at 10.00 GPixel/s; FirePro M5100 at 12.40 GPixel/s.
• Texture Rate: Radeon HD 8850M at 25.00 GTexel/s; FirePro M5100 at 31.00 GTexel/s.
• FP32: Radeon HD 8850M at 800.0 GFLOPS; FirePro M5100 at 992.0 GFLOPS.
• Bus Interface: Radeon HD 8850M at PCIe 3.0 x16; FirePro M5100 at MXM-A (3.0).
• Slot Width: Radeon HD 8850M has no value; FirePro M5100 is MXM Module.
• Display Outputs: Radeon HD 8850M has no value; FirePro M5100 is Portable Device Dependent.
• Release Date: Radeon HD 8850M on 2013-03-31; FirePro M5100 on 2013-10-15.
• Predecessor: Radeon HD 8850M is London; FirePro M5100 is FirePro Mobility.
• Successor: Radeon HD 8850M is Gem System; FirePro M5100 is Radeon Pro Mobile.

All other specification fields — including process node (28 nm), foundry (TSMC), transistors (1,500 million), die size (123 mm²), memory size (2 GB), memory type (GDDR5), bus width (128 bit), shading units (640), TMUs (40), ROPs (16), DirectX (12 (11_1)), OpenGL (4.6), Vulkan (1.2.170), and production status (End-of-life) — are identical.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon HD 8850M:

• Wins the only available benchmark (Geekbench OpenCL) with a 9% margin over the FirePro M5100.
• Holds a higher percentile rank at 40 versus 38.
• Has a higher absolute benchmark score (7447) and a higher average benchmark score (7447).
• Is more closely matched to higher-tier rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (score 7472, deltaPct -0.3%) and Intel Arc A310 (7550, deltaPct -1.4%), indicating it operates in a faster performance neighborhood.
• Uses a standard PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, which is more broadly compatible across laptop platforms.

AMD FirePro M5100:

• Wins on every theoretical specification metric: higher base and boost clocks (725/775 MHz), higher memory clock (1125 MHz), higher bandwidth (72.00 GB/s), higher pixel rate (12.40 GPixel/s), higher texture rate (31.00 GTexel/s), and higher FP32 compute (992.0 GFLOPS).
• Has a mobile workstation form factor (MXM-A 3.0) with display outputs that are portable device dependent, which suits integrated mobile workstation designs.
• Is positioned among rivals like the AMD Radeon R7 M370 (6764, deltaPct 1%) and NVIDIA GeForce GT 1010 (6698, deltaPct 2%), where it holds a slight edge.

In practice, the Radeon HD 8850M wins where measured performance matters — the OpenCL benchmark score is the only quantitative performance metric in the data, and it wins decisively. The FirePro M5100 wins in scenarios where raw specification throughput (fill rates, compute GFLOPS, memory bandwidth) might be relevant, but the benchmark data does not support that those specifications translate into a performance win. For users prioritizing the actual measured benchmark, the Radeon HD 8850M is the choice. For users prioritizing a modular mobile workstation GPU with higher theoretical throughput, the FirePro M5100 has that profile, but it comes with a benchmark deficit.