AMD Radeon 840M vs NVIDIA RTX 5000 Max-Q Ada Generation Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between these two mobile graphics parts, though direct head-to-head benchmark scores are not available in the database. The specification differences are so large that the performance hierarchy is unambiguous. The NVIDIA RTX 5000 Max-Q Ada Generation delivers 32.69 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the AMD Radeon 840M delivers 1,484.8 GFLOPS. That places the NVIDIA part roughly 22 times ahead in raw floating-point throughput. Even accounting for architectural efficiency differences, the gap is overwhelming.

The pixel throughput tells a similar story. The RTX 5000 Max-Q achieves 188.2 GPixel/s versus 23.20 GPixel/s for the Radeon 840M, an eight-fold advantage. Texture rate favors NVIDIA as well: 510.7 GTexel/s versus 46.40 GTexel/s, an eleven-fold margin. These are not close contests; they represent entirely different performance classes. The RTX 5000 Max-Q is a professional-grade mobile GPU, while the Radeon 840M is an integrated graphics solution.

Memory bandwidth amplifies the divide. The RTX 5000 Max-Q has 576.0 GB/s of dedicated bandwidth from its 16 GB GDDR6 frame buffer on a 256-bit bus. The Radeon 840M relies on System Shared memory with bandwidth described as System Dependent. Shared memory bandwidth varies with the system's DRAM configuration, but it cannot match dedicated GDDR6 at 576.0 GB/s. The memory subsystem alone could account for a substantial portion of the performance difference in bandwidth-sensitive workloads.

Both parts support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. API feature parity means software compatibility is not the differentiator. The performance gap is purely a matter of hardware capability.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and design philosophies. The AMD Radeon 840M uses the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process node. It is part of the Navi III IGP generation for Strix Point Mobile, based on the Krackan Point chip. It is an integrated graphics processor, meaning it shares system memory and has no dedicated VRAM. The chip integrates 256 shading units, 16 texture mapping units, 8 raster operations units, and 4 ray tracing cores. The boost clock reaches 2900 MHz from a 400 MHz base clock. The FP32 and FP16 performance are identical at 1,484.8 GFLOPS, indicating a 1:1 ratio for those precisions. The pixel rate is 23.20 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 46.40 GTexel/s. The TDP is 15 W, and it connects via PCIe 4.0 x8.

The NVIDIA RTX 5000 Max-Q Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process node. The chip is AD103, containing 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². This is a discrete-class GPU with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The shading unit count is 9,728, with 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 76 ray tracing cores, and 304 tensor cores. Base clock is 930 MHz, boost clock is 1680 MHz, and memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective data rate. FP32 and FP16 both measure 32.69 TFLOPS, also a 1:1 ratio. Pixel rate is 188.2 GPixel/s, texture rate is 510.7 GTexel/s. The TDP is 120 W, and the bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16.

The transistor count difference is stark: 45,900 million versus unknown for the Radeon 840M. The die size difference (379 mm² versus unknown) reflects the discrete versus integrated design split. The Radeon 840M has no tensor cores listed, while the RTX 5000 Max-Q has 304 tensor cores, which enable AI-accelerated workloads. The RTX 5000 Max-Q also has 76 ray tracing cores versus 4 on the Radeon 840M. The process node advantage goes to AMD at 4 nm versus 5 nm for NVIDIA, but the massive difference in die size and transistor budget overwhelms that process advantage.

The Radeon 840M's predecessor is listed as Navi II IGP, while the RTX 5000 Max-Q's predecessor is Ampere-MW and its successor is Blackwell-MW. The Radeon 840M was released on 2025-02-28, while the RTX 5000 Max-Q was released on 2023-03-20. The NVIDIA part is older by nearly two years but still dominates in every measurable specification.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 5000 Max-Q Ada Generation has 9,728 shading units, compared to 256 on the AMD Radeon 840M.

Q: How do the memory subsystems compare?

A: The RTX 5000 Max-Q has 16 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth. The Radeon 840M uses System Shared memory with System Dependent bandwidth, meaning it relies on the host system's DRAM.

Q: What is the TDP difference?

A: The Radeon 840M has a 15 W TDP, while the RTX 5000 Max-Q has a 120 W TDP. This eight-fold difference in power envelope explains much of the performance gap.

Q: Do both GPUs support the same graphics APIs?

A: Yes, both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. API compatibility is identical.

Q: Which GPU has more ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 5000 Max-Q has 76 ray tracing cores, while the Radeon 840M has 4.

Q: What are the release dates?

A: The Radeon 840M was released on 2025-02-28. The RTX 5000 Max-Q was released on 2023-03-20.

The Verdict

The data indicates a complete mismatch. The RTX 5000 Max-Q Ada Generation is designed for demanding professional and creative workloads where GPU compute matters most. Its 32.69 TFLOPS FP32 performance, 576.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, and 304 tensor cores place it in a different category entirely from the Radeon 840M. The Radeon 840M is an integrated GPU with 1,484.8 GFLOPS, shared memory, and a 15 W power budget. It is suitable for basic rendering, light gaming, and general desktop acceleration in thin-and-light laptops.

The benchmark percentile for both parts is 50th among all GPUs, but that is a database placement based on the available data, not a reflection of direct comparability. The specification sheet makes the hierarchy clear: anyone needing ray tracing performance, tensor core acceleration, or high-bandwidth dedicated VRAM must choose the RTX 5000 Max-Q. Anyone constrained to a 15 W integrated solution with no discrete graphics option would use the Radeon 840M.

The RTX 5000 Max-Q is the only one of the two with tensor cores (304), making AI inference and machine learning workloads feasible. The Radeon 840M lists no tensor cores. The RTX 5000 Max-Q also has 76 ray tracing cores versus 4, meaning hardware-accelerated ray tracing is far more practical on the NVIDIA part.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon 840M | NVIDIA RTX 5000 Max-Q Ada Generation |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | RDNA 3.5 | Ada Lovelace |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | unknown | 45,900 million |

| Die Size | unknown | 379 mm² |

| Transistor Density | null | 121.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 400 MHz | 930 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2900 MHz | 1680 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 16 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | System Shared | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | System Dependent | 576.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 256 | 9,728 |

| TMUs | 16 | 304 |

| ROPs | 8 | 112 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 4 | 76 |

| Tensor Cores | null | 304 |

| Pixel Rate | 23.20 GPixel/s | 188.2 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 46.40 GTexel/s | 510.7 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 1,484.8 GFLOPS | 32.69 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 1,484.8 GFLOPS (1:1) | 32.69 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 15 W | 120 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| Release Date | 2025-02-28 | 2023-03-20 |

| Predecessor | Navi II IGP | Ampere-MW |

| Successor | null | Blackwell-MW |

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5000 Max-Q wins in every compute-intensive category. Its 32.69 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is roughly 22 times the Radeon 840M's 1,484.8 GFLOPS. This makes it the clear choice for 3D rendering, scientific computation, video encoding, and any workload that scales with shading unit count. The 304 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for AI inference, deep learning training, and DLSS-style upscaling where supported. The 76 ray tracing cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing in supported games and DCC applications. The 576.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB GDDR6 frame buffer allow large datasets and high-resolution textures to reside on the GPU without spilling into system memory. The 188.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 510.7 GTexel/s texture rate handle high-resolution displays and complex materials.

The Radeon 840M wins in power efficiency and system integration. Its 15 W TDP is one-eighth of the RTX 5000 Max-Q's 120 W, making it suitable for fanless or low-power designs where battery life takes priority. As an IGP, it requires no separate VRAM allocation and shares system memory, simplifying system design and reducing cost at the platform level. Its 2900 MHz boost clock is higher than the RTX 5000 Max-Q's 1680 MHz boost, which helps in lightly-threaded or latency-sensitive tasks where clock speed matters more than raw throughput. The 4 nm process node gives it a manufacturing advantage in terms of density and power characteristics, though the absence of transistor and die size data prevents a full comparison.

For gaming, the RTX 5000 Max-Q is the obvious choice given its dedicated memory and massive shading resources. For basic office productivity, video playback, and light 2D acceleration, the Radeon 840M is sufficient and consumes far less power. The RTX 5000 Max-Q's 120 W TDP requires adequate cooling and battery capacity, while the Radeon 840M's 15 W TDP fits into ultraportable chassis. The bus interface also differs: PCIe 4.0 x16 for NVIDIA versus PCIe 4.0 x8 for AMD, which affects bandwidth available for data transfer in discrete versus integrated configurations.

The release timing matters for platform choices. The Radeon 840M launched 2025-02-28 and is part of the active Navi III IGP generation. The RTX 5000 Max-Q launched 2023-03-20 and has a successor, Blackwell-MW, already listed. Users selecting a new system should note that the NVIDIA part is from an older generation but still far ahead in raw capability. The Radeon 840M's predecessor is Navi II IGP, indicating a continuous line of integrated graphics evolution, while the RTX 5000 Max-Q's lineage from Ampere-MW to Blackwell-MW shows NVIDIA's discrete mobile GPU roadmap.

Neither part has a launch MSRP listed in the database, so no price comparison is possible. The decision between them rests entirely on performance requirements, power constraints, and system form factor. The RTX 5000 Max-Q is for users who need maximum GPU throughput in a portable workstation. The Radeon 840M is for users who need basic graphics acceleration in a low-power integrated design.