AMD Radeon 860M vs AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive performance gap between these two AMD parts. Across the two shared benchmark tests, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE wins both, with the integrated Radeon 860M trailing by substantial margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 7900 GRE scores 175,758 against 22,759 for the 860M, a delta of -87.1% from the 860M's perspective. This is not a close contest; the discrete card delivers roughly 7.7 times the raw compute throughput in this workload. The Geekbench Vulkan result is similarly one-sided: the RX 7900 GRE posts 99,850 while the 860M manages 30,043, a -69.9% difference. The discrete GPU still leads by more than 3.3 times, though the smaller gap in Vulkan suggests the integrated part's RDNA 3.5 architecture handles this API relatively better than it does OpenCL.

Looking at the broader database averages, the RX 7900 GRE sits at 32,456 points across all recorded benchmarks, placing it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs. The 860M averages 26,401 points, good for the 72nd percentile. The absolute difference in average score is 6,055 points, or about 23% higher for the discrete card. However, the 860M's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 26,331 (a 0.3% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary at 26,553 (-0.6%), which indicates the integrated GPU is competing in a much lower performance band. The RX 7900 GRE's nearest rivals are dual-GPU workstation cards like the AMD FirePro S10000 at 32,388 (0.2% delta) and the S9300 X2 at 32,540 (-0.3%), confirming its placement in a higher tier entirely.

The starkest single-workload disparity appears in the OpenCL test, where the 860M's 22,759 is less than 13% of the RX 7900 GRE's 175,758. In Vulkan, the 860M achieves roughly 30% of the discrete card's score. This pattern suggests that while the integrated part has capable hardware, its shared-memory architecture and limited execution resources bottleneck sustained compute loads. The RX 7900 GRE's dedicated 16 GB of GDDR6 with 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus the 860M's system-shared memory explains much of this divergence, especially in memory-intensive OpenCL workloads.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE has a significantly higher average score of 32,456 across all recorded tests, compared to 26,401 for the Radeon 860M. The RX 7900 GRE also ranks higher in the 77th percentile of all GPUs versus the 860M's 72nd percentile.

Q: How do the two compare in Geekbench Vulkan performance?

A: The RX 7900 GRE scores 99,850 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 69.9% higher than the 860M's 30,043. This represents the smaller of the two performance gaps between the cards, indicating the 860M's RDNA 3.5 architecture handles Vulkan more efficiently relative to its hardware limits.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The RX 7900 GRE uses 16 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth, clocked at 18 Gbps effective. The 860M uses system-shared memory with a system-dependent bandwidth, which means its memory performance scales with the host system's RAM configuration.

Q: Which GPU has higher clock speeds?

A: The 860M has a higher boost clock at 3000 MHz versus 2245 MHz for the RX 7900 GRE, and a lower base clock at 600 MHz versus 1287 MHz. The RX 7900 GRE also has a specified game clock of 1880 MHz, while the 860M has no game clock listed.

Q: How do their rendering rates compare?

A: The RX 7900 GRE delivers 359.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 718.4 GTexel/s texture rate. The 860M produces 48.00 GPixel/s and 96.00 GTexel/s respectively. The discrete card is roughly 7.5 times faster in pixel throughput and texture throughput.

Q: What are the power requirements for each?

A: The RX 7900 GRE has a TDP of 260 W and requires two 8-pin power connectors with a suggested 600 W power supply. The 860M has a TDP of 15 W, uses no power connectors, and is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) that draws power from the motherboard.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 7900 GRE wins every benchmark where both cards have recorded scores. In Geekbench OpenCL, its 175,758 versus 22,759 demonstrates overwhelming superiority in compute-heavy applications such as rendering, scientific simulation, and machine learning workloads that leverage OpenCL acceleration. The Vulkan result of 99,850 versus 30,043 shows a smaller but still commanding lead in modern graphics APIs used by contemporary games and Vulkan-based creative software.

The 860M's theoretical advantage lies in its 3000 MHz boost clock, which is 755 MHz higher than the RX 7900 GRE's boost. This higher clock can benefit latency-sensitive tasks that rely on single-threaded execution or low-occupancy shaders. Additionally, its 15 W TDP means it operates within the thermal and power envelope of a laptop or compact desktop, making it the only viable choice for systems without a discrete GPU slot. The 860M also supports the same DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs as the RX 7900 GRE, so feature-level compatibility is not a differentiator.

For gaming, the RX 7900 GRE's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory eliminates concerns about VRAM capacity at high resolutions or with high-resolution texture packs. The 860M's system-shared memory can be a bottleneck, as the memory bandwidth is system dependent and shared with the CPU. The discrete card's 80 ray accelerators (RT cores) versus the 860M's 8 also gives it a substantial edge in ray-traced workloads, though the benchmark data does not isolate this specific feature.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The RX 7900 GRE uses the Navi 31 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process, while the 860M uses the Krackan Point chip on a 4 nm TSMC process. The RX 7900 GRE has 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, with a transistor density of 109.1M per mm². The 860M's transistor count and die size are not listed in the database.

Memory is a major divergence: the RX 7900 GRE has 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 576.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the 860M relies on system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth. The RX 7900 GRE has 5,120 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, 160 ROPs, and 80 ray accelerators. The 860M has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, 16 ROPs, and 8 ray accelerators. This means the RX 7900 GRE has exactly 10 times the shading units, 10 times the TMUs, 10 times the ROPs, and 10 times the ray accelerators.

Compute throughput follows the same pattern: the RX 7900 GRE delivers 45.98 TFLOPS FP32 and 91.96 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio), while the 860M produces 3.072 TFLOPS FP32 and 3.072 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The RX 7900 GRE is a dual-slot card measuring 276 mm long, 110 mm tall, and 51 mm wide, requiring two 8-pin power connectors and a 600 W power supply. The 860M is an IGP with no slot width, no power connectors, and no physical dimensions listed. The RX 7900 GRE's display outputs include 1x HDMI 2.1a, 2x DisplayPort 2.1, and 1x USB Type-C, while the 860M's outputs are portable device dependent.

Architecture Differences

The RX 7900 GRE is built on RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, codenamed Plum Bonito, and belongs to the Navi III (RX 7000) generation. The 860M uses RDNA 3.5 architecture with the Krackan Point chip and is part of the Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) generation. Both are manufactured by TSMC, but on different nodes: the RX 7900 GRE uses 5 nm, while the 860M uses 4 nm. The smaller process node for the integrated part partially explains its much higher boost clock of 3000 MHz versus 2245 MHz.

The RX 7900 GRE has a base clock of 1287 MHz, a game clock of 1880 MHz, and a boost clock of 2245 MHz. Its memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed. The 860M has a base clock of 600 MHz and a boost of 3000 MHz, with no game clock specified and system-shared memory. The RX 7900 GRE's memory clock is fixed, while the 860M's memory performance depends entirely on the host system.

Both GPUs support the same API set: DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RX 7900 GRE uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, while the 860M uses PCIe 4.0 x8. This halved bus width could further limit the integrated GPU's access to system memory, though the benchmark data does not isolate this variable. The RX 7900 GRE's predecessor is Navi II and its successor is Navi IV; the 860M's predecessor is Navi II IGP with no successor listed. The RX 7900 GRE was released on July 26, 2023, while the 860M came later on February 28, 2025.

The Verdict

The data clearly indicates the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is the superior performer in every measured category. Its average benchmark score of 32,456 versus 26,401 for the 860M, combined with its 77th versus 72nd percentile ranking, establishes it as a dramatically more powerful GPU. The 10x advantage in shading units, TMUs, ROPs, and ray accelerators, along with its dedicated 16 GB GDDR6 memory and 576.0 GB/s bandwidth, make it suitable for demanding gaming at high resolutions, content creation, and compute-intensive tasks.

The AMD Radeon 860M, however, serves a completely different purpose. Its 15 W TDP, lack of power connectors, and IGP form factor mean it can operate in thin-and-light laptops and compact desktops where installing a discrete card is impossible. Its 3000 MHz boost clock and 4 nm process node show that AMD designed it for efficiency within a constrained power envelope. The 860M's support for the same DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs as the RX 7900 GRE means it offers modern feature support, just at a fraction of the performance level.

For users building a desktop with room for a discrete GPU, the RX 7900 GRE is the only rational choice based on the recorded performance. Its 45.98 TFLOPS FP32 and 91.96 TFLOPS FP16 throughput dwarf the 860M's 3.072 TFLOPS in both precision formats. The RX 7900 GRE's launch MSRP of 549 USD also places it in a premium tier, though that price is not part of the performance analysis. For users who need a GPU in a system without expansion slots, the 860M is the only option presented, and its 72nd percentile ranking shows it outperforms a majority of all GPUs in the database, including the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and RTX 5060 in its nearest rival list. The choice between these two is not about performance equivalence; it is about system form factor and power delivery capabilities.