AMD FirePro M5100 vs AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile Comparison

# AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile vs AMD FirePro M5100

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile and AMD FirePro M5100 represent two distinct eras of AMD mobile graphics, separated by roughly five years of architectural evolution. The Vega 8 Mobile is a modern integrated GPU built on the 14nm GCN 5.0 architecture, while the FirePro M5100 is a dedicated professional mobile GPU based on the older 28nm GCN 1.0 design. Benchmark data shows the Vega 8 Mobile leads in the only shared test, posting a Geekbench OpenCL score of 7,435 versus 6,830 for the FirePro M5100, an 8.9% advantage. However, the comparison is more nuanced than a single score suggests, as the two parts target fundamentally different use cases and system configurations.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7,435 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 8.9% higher than the AMD FirePro M5100's 6,830. This makes the Vega 8 Mobile the winner in the head-to-head benchmark comparison.

Q: How do the two GPUs rank against all other GPUs?

A: The Radeon Vega 8 Mobile sits at the 39th percentile of all GPUs, while the FirePro M5100 is at the 38th percentile. Despite the Vega 8 Mobile's higher raw score, both cards are statistically very close in overall standing, differing by only one percentile point.

Q: What are the closest competing GPUs for each card?

A: For the Radeon Vega 8 Mobile, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 with an average score of 7,222, which trails by just 0.3%. The FirePro M5100's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon R7 M370 at 6,764, which is 1% behind the M5100.

Q: What memory configurations do these GPUs use?

A: The Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses System Shared memory, meaning the size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all dependent on the host system. The FirePro M5100 has dedicated 2GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU supports the newer API versions?

A: The Radeon Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The FirePro M5100 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both share OpenGL 4.6, but the Vega 8 Mobile has the edge in DirectX and Vulkan versions.

Q: What is the transistor count difference between the two?

A: The Radeon Vega 8 Mobile packs 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, while the FirePro M5100 contains 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die. This represents a 3.3x transistor advantage for the newer Vega part.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is substantial. The Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses the GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the FirePro M5100 relies on the original GCN 1.0 design on TSMC's 28nm process. This node advantage allows the Vega 8 Mobile to achieve a transistor density of 23.5M per mm², nearly double the FirePro M5100's 12.2M per mm².

The compute configurations differ significantly. The Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 raster operation units. In contrast, the FirePro M5100 has more of each: 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. Despite having fewer execution units, the Vega 8 Mobile achieves higher FP32 throughput at 1,127.4 GFLOPS versus 992.0 GFLOPS for the FirePro M5100. This is due to the Vega 8 Mobile's higher peak clock speed of 1,101 MHz boost versus 775 MHz boost for the FirePro.

The Vega 8 Mobile also introduces features absent from the older FirePro. It supports FP16 computation at 2.255 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the FirePro M5100 has no listed FP16 capability. The Vega 8 Mobile's pixel rate of 8.808 GPixel/s is lower than the FirePro M5100's 12.40 GPixel/s, but the texture rate is higher at 35.23 GTexel/s versus 31.00 GTexel/s. The Vega 8 Mobile is built as an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with no power connectors and a 25W TDP, while the FirePro M5100 comes as an MXM module with an MXM-A (3.0) bus interface. The FirePro M5100's TDP is not specified in the data.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins in the only direct benchmark comparison available, but each GPU has distinct advantages in specific scenarios. The Vega 8 Mobile excels in compute-heavy workloads that leverage modern API features. Its Vulkan 1.3 support and DirectX 12 (12_1) capability make it better suited for contemporary applications that can utilize the latest graphics APIs. The FP16 support at 2.255 TFLOPS provides a significant advantage in workloads that can use half-precision arithmetic, such as certain machine learning inference tasks or image processing filters.

The FirePro M5100, despite being older, wins in memory bandwidth and pixel throughput scenarios. Its dedicated 2GB GDDR5 memory with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth is a clear advantage over system-shared memory, whose bandwidth is system dependent and generally lower. The FirePro M5100's 12.40 GPixel/s pixel rate exceeds the Vega 8 Mobile's 8.808 GPixel/s, suggesting better fill-rate-bound performance in traditional rasterization workloads. The 16 ROPs versus 8 ROPs reinforces this advantage in pixel-heavy rendering.

The Vega 8 Mobile's 25W TDP makes it suitable for thin-and-light systems where power efficiency matters. The FirePro M5100, as an MXM module, targets professional mobile workstations where dedicated memory and certified drivers are priorities, though the data does not specify driver certification. For users running legacy OpenGL applications, both support OpenGL 4.6, so there is no differentiator there. The Vega 8 Mobile's end-of-life status and 2019 release date make it a more recent option, while the FirePro M5100 dates from 2013.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification category. On the process side, the Vega 8 Mobile uses 14nm from GlobalFoundries, while the FirePro M5100 uses 28nm from TSMC. The Vega 8 Mobile contains 4,940 million transistors on a 210 mm² die, versus 1,500 million transistors on 123 mm² for the FirePro M5100. Transistor density is 23.5M per mm² for the Vega 8 Mobile and 12.2M per mm² for the FirePro.

Clock speeds show a notable divergence. The Vega 8 Mobile has a 300 MHz base clock and 1,101 MHz boost, while the FirePro M5100 has a 725 MHz base and 775 MHz boost. The FirePro M5100 also has a fixed memory clock of 1,125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective), whereas the Vega 8 Mobile's memory clock is listed as system shared.

Memory configurations are fundamentally different: the Vega 8 Mobile uses system-shared memory with no dedicated VRAM, while the FirePro M5100 has 2GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. The compute units differ, with the Vega 8 Mobile offering 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, compared to the FirePro M5100's 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs.

The Vega 8 Mobile achieves 8.808 GPixel/s pixel rate and 35.23 GTexel/s texture rate, while the FirePro M5100 achieves 12.40 GPixel/s and 31.00 GTexel/s respectively. FP32 performance is 1,127.4 GFLOPS for the Vega 8 Mobile and 992.0 GFLOPS for the FirePro M5100. Only the Vega 8 Mobile lists FP16 performance at 2.255 TFLOPS (2:1). The Vega 8 Mobile has a 25W TDP and uses an IGP slot width with no power connectors, while the FirePro M5100 uses an MXM Module with a 3.0 bus interface. API support differs in DirectX and Vulkan versions, with the Vega 8 Mobile supporting DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, versus DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170 for the FirePro. Both are end-of-life products. The Vega 8 Mobile's predecessor is GCN 3.0 IGP and successor is Navi II IGP, while the FirePro M5100's predecessor is FirePro Mobility and successor is Radeon Pro Mobile.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only shared benchmark between these two GPUs is Geekbench OpenCL, where the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile scores 7,435 against the AMD FirePro M5100's 6,830. This represents an 8.9% delta in favor of the Vega 8 Mobile. The result is notable because the FirePro M5100 has more shading units (640 versus 512), more TMUs (40 versus 32), and more ROPs (16 versus 8), yet still loses by a significant margin. This underscores the efficiency gains from the newer GCN 5.0 architecture and the 14nm process node.

The Vega 8 Mobile's FP32 throughput of 1,127.4 GFLOPS is 13.6% higher than the FirePro M5100's 992.0 GFLOPS, which directly contributes to its OpenCL advantage. The higher boost clock of 1,101 MHz versus 775 MHz allows the Vega 8 Mobile to extract more performance from each shading unit, despite having 20% fewer of them. The texture rate also favors the Vega 8 Mobile at 35.23 GTexel/s versus 31.00 GTexel/s, a 13.6% advantage that likely helps in compute workloads that exercise texture units.

However, the FirePro M5100 does not lose every metric. Its pixel rate of 12.40 GPixel/s is 40.8% higher than the Vega 8 Mobile's 8.808 GPixel/s, which could translate to better performance in fill-rate-limited scenarios. The dedicated 72.00 GB/s memory bandwidth is also a potential advantage in memory-bound workloads, though the Vega 8 Mobile's system-shared memory bandwidth is system dependent and cannot be directly compared with a fixed number.

Looking at the nearest rivals provides additional context. The Vega 8 Mobile's 7,435 OpenCL score places it just 0.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750's 7,222, and 0.4% above the GTX 560 SE's 7,171. It also edges out the Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580 by 0.5% and the GTX 970 by 0.6%. The FirePro M5100's 6,830 score is 1% above the Radeon R7 M370's 6,764, 2% above the GeForce GT 1010's 6,698, but 1.7% below the GTX 675M's 6,946 and 2.1% below the Radeon R5 M240's 6,975. These deltas show that while the FirePro M5100 is competitive within its peer group, the Vega 8 Mobile sits in a slightly higher performance tier despite being an integrated part.

The average benchmark score for the Vega 8 Mobile is 7,203, which is 5.5% higher than the FirePro M5100's 6,830 average. This aggregate metric, which combines the OpenCL score with the Vulkan score of 6,970 for the Vega 8 Mobile, reinforces the overall performance leadership of the newer integrated GPU. The single benchmark win for the Vega 8 Mobile in the head-to-head comparison is decisive, though the FirePro M5100's dedicated memory and higher pixel throughput suggest it retains relevance in specific professional rendering tasks where those characteristics matter more than raw compute throughput.