AMD Radeon 610M vs AMD Radeon R7 Graphics Comparison

The AMD Radeon 610M and AMD Radeon R7 Graphics are both end-of-life integrated graphics solutions from AMD, but they represent vastly different eras of the company's technology. The Radeon 610M is a modern 6 nm RDNA 2.0 part designed for Mendocino mobile chips, while the Radeon R7 Graphics is a 28 nm GCN 2.0 IGP from the 2014 Kaveri generation. Benchmark data from Geekbench shows the newer Radeon 610M holds a clear performance advantage, winning both head-to-head tests, but the older R7 Graphics still offers a distinct feature set and a different architectural profile that may matter in specific contexts.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark results are unambiguous: the AMD Radeon 610M wins both available tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Radeon 610M scores 4535 against the R7 Graphics' 4015, a 13% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap narrows but still favors the 610M, which scores 6353 versus 5980, a 6.2% lead. The average benchmark score tells the same story: the 610M averages 5444 points, placing it in the 32nd percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 Graphics averages 4998, sitting in the 29th percentile.

The Radeon 610M's wins are most pronounced in compute-heavy OpenCL workloads, where its 13% delta indicates a more substantial architectural efficiency gain. The Vulkan test, while still a win, shows a smaller 6.2% margin, suggesting that the R7 Graphics' higher raw shading unit count helps it stay competitive in modern graphics APIs. However, the R7 Graphics does not win any head-to-head benchmark, so its "win" is more about maintaining relative competitiveness in Vulkan rather than outright superiority.

For users prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL applications, the Radeon 610M is the clear choice. For scenarios heavily reliant on Vulkan, the R7 Graphics narrows the gap but still trails. The data does not support any workload where the R7 Graphics outperforms the 610M, but its closer Vulkan result indicates it is not completely outclassed in that specific API.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs are built on fundamentally different architectures and process technologies. The Radeon 610M uses RDNA 2.0, manufactured on a 6 nm process at TSMC with a die size of 100 mm². The Radeon R7 Graphics uses GCN 2.0, built on GlobalFoundries' 28 nm process with a much larger 245 mm² die and 2,410 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 9.8M per mm². The process node difference alone—6 nm versus 28 nm—explains a significant portion of the performance and efficiency gap.

Core configuration differs markedly. The Radeon 610M packs 128 shading units, 8 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 4 render output units (ROPs), along with 2 dedicated ray tracing cores. The Radeon R7 Graphics has significantly more raw resources: 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, but no ray tracing cores. Despite having three times the shading units, the R7 Graphics produces lower peak throughput—553.0 GFLOPS FP32 versus 486.4 GFLOPS for the 610M—highlighting the efficiency of RDNA 2.0's architecture. The 610M also supports FP16 at 972.8 GFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the R7 Graphics has no listed FP16 capability.

Clock speeds also differ, though the R7 Graphics lacks listed base and boost clocks. The Radeon 610M operates at a 1500 MHz base and 1900 MHz boost. Pixel and texture rates further illustrate the architectural divide: the 610M achieves 7.600 GPixel/s and 15.20 GTexel/s, while the R7 Graphics manages 5.760 GPixel/s and 17.28 GTexel/s. The R7 Graphics wins on texture rate due to its higher TMU count, but loses on pixel rate due to lower clock efficiency.

API support is another differentiator. The Radeon 610M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, while the R7 Graphics is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The 610M's ray tracing cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature entirely absent from the R7 Graphics. Power consumption also differs: the 610M has a 15 W TDP, while the R7 Graphics draws 25 W. The 610M uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface, whereas the R7 Graphics is an IGP with no discrete bus interface.

The Verdict

The data presents a straightforward conclusion: the AMD Radeon 610M is the superior performer in every measured benchmark. Its 13% OpenCL lead and 6.2% Vulkan lead, combined with a higher average score (5444 vs 4998) and better percentile ranking (32nd vs 29th), make it the better choice for most users. The 610M also achieves this with a lower 15 W TDP versus 25 W, and it brings modern features like ray tracing cores, DirectX 12 Ultimate, and Vulkan 1.4 support.

The Radeon R7 Graphics is not without merit. Its 384 shading units and 24 TMUs give it a raw resource advantage that narrows the Vulkan gap, and its higher texture rate (17.28 GTexel/s vs 15.20 GTexel/s) suggests it may handle texture-heavy workloads better. However, these advantages do not translate into any benchmark win. For users with legacy systems or those specifically targeting older GCN-optimized software, the R7 Graphics remains functional, but the data indicates the 610M is the better investment for new builds or upgrades.

The verdict is clear: pick the Radeon 610M for better performance, lower power draw, and modern API support. The R7 Graphics only makes sense if you are constrained to an older Kaveri platform and cannot upgrade the entire system.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon 610M has an average benchmark score of 5444, while the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics averages 4998.

Q: What is the performance difference in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Radeon 610M scores 4535 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 13% higher than the R7 Graphics' score of 4015.

Q: Does the Radeon 610M support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the Radeon 610M has 2 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), whereas the R7 Graphics has no ray tracing cores and only supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: How do the TDP ratings compare?

A: The Radeon 610M has a 15 W TDP, while the Radeon R7 Graphics has a 25 W TDP, making the 610M more power-efficient.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The Radeon R7 Graphics has 384 shading units, compared to the Radeon 610M's 128 shading units, yet the 610M still wins both benchmarks.

Q: What is the process node difference?

A: The Radeon 610M is built on a 6 nm TSMC process, while the Radeon R7 Graphics uses a 28 nm GlobalFoundries process, a significant generational leap.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data shows a consistent victory for the Radeon 610M across both tested APIs. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 610M scores 4535 against the R7 Graphics' 4015, a 13% delta. This is the larger of the two margins and likely reflects the RDNA 2.0 architecture's superior compute efficiency per shading unit. The R7 Graphics, despite having 384 shading units versus 128, cannot match the 610M's throughput because its GCN 2.0 design on 28 nm is far less efficient per clock.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows a closer contest. The Radeon 610M scores 6353, while the R7 Graphics scores 5980, for a 6.2% delta. This narrower margin suggests that the R7 Graphics' higher shading unit count and texture rate (17.28 GTexel/s versus 15.20 GTexel/s) provide meaningful benefits in modern graphics API workloads. However, the 610M still prevails, likely due to its higher clock speeds (1500 MHz base, 1900 MHz boost) and architectural optimizations in RDNA 2.0.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each GPU adds context. The Radeon 610M's average score of 5444 places it nearly on par with the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 (5467, -0.4% delta) and slightly above the AMD Radeon R7 M365X (5416, 0.5% delta). The Radeon R7 Graphics' average of 4998 is similarly competitive with its peers: it is 0.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 (4979) and 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (4970), a notably modern card that it edges out in this specific benchmark set.

The biggest win for the Radeon 610M is the 13% OpenCL margin, which is more than double its Vulkan advantage. This indicates that the 610M's architectural improvements are most pronounced in compute-heavy tasks, while the R7 Graphics' higher raw resource count keeps it relatively closer in graphics-oriented workloads. Neither benchmark shows the R7 Graphics winning, but the Vulkan result demonstrates that the older GCN 2.0 design is not entirely obsolete in modern APIs. Overall, the data supports the Radeon 610M as the stronger performer, with its biggest advantages in compute throughput and power efficiency (15 W versus 25 W TDP).