AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in overall benchmark performance?

A: The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation has an average benchmark score of 166,094, placing it in the 97th percentile among all GPUs. The AMD Radeon 860M scores 26,401 on average, which lands in the 72nd percentile. The RTX 4500 leads by a wide margin.

Q: What is the performance gap in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The RTX 4500 scores 160,786 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Radeon 860M scores 22,759. The delta is -85.8% for the AMD part, meaning the NVIDIA card is roughly 6 times faster in this workload.

Q: Does the Radeon 860M have any benchmark wins over the RTX 4500?

A: No. In the head-to-head benchmark data, the RTX 4500 wins both recorded tests. The Radeon 860M has 0 wins, and the RTX 4500 has 2 wins.

Q: What are the closest rivals for each GPU according to the database?

A: The Radeon 860M sits near the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (delta 0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (delta -0.6%), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 (delta -1.1%). The RTX 4500's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5500 (delta 0.5%), AMD Radeon PRO W7800 (delta 0.7%), AMD Radeon Pro W6900X (delta -1.5%), and NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB (delta 2.2%).

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The Radeon 860M has a TDP of 15 W and uses no power connectors. The RTX 4500 has a TDP of 210 W, also uses no power connectors, and has a suggested PSU of 550 W.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units and ray tracing cores?

A: The RTX 4500 has 7,680 shading units and 60 RT cores. The Radeon 860M has 512 shading units and 8 RT cores. The NVIDIA card also has 240 tensor cores, while the AMD card has no tensor core listing.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from completely different design lineages. The AMD Radeon 860M is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, uses a Krackan Point chip, and belongs to the Navi III IGP generation. It is a 4 nm TSMC part, while the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation uses the Ada Lovelace architecture with an AD103 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm TSMC process. The process node difference is notable: 4 nm versus 5 nm, though both come from TSMC.

Transistor counts reveal a massive scale difference. The RTX 4500 packs 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The Radeon 860M's transistor count and die size are listed as unknown, so direct density comparisons are not possible from the recorded data. What is clear is that the NVIDIA chip is a large discrete workstation GPU, while the AMD part is an integrated graphics processor.

The RTX 4500 belongs to the Workstation Ada generation and lists a predecessor of Workstation Ampere and successor of Blackwell PRO W. The Radeon 860M's predecessor is listed as Navi II IGP. Both are active production parts, but they target entirely different market segments.

Feature sets also diverge. The RTX 4500 includes 240 tensor cores, reflecting its workstation AI and compute orientation. The Radeon 860M has no tensor core listing. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is identical on paper. The RTX 4500 has 60 RT cores versus 8 on the Radeon, a 7.5x difference in ray tracing hardware. Texture mapping units stand at 240 versus 32, and ROPs at 80 versus 16, both heavily favoring the NVIDIA part.

Memory architecture is fundamentally different. The Radeon 860M uses system shared memory, with its bandwidth described as system dependent. The RTX 4500 has 24 GB of dedicated GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU clock speeds also differ: the Radeon runs at a 600 MHz base and 3000 MHz boost, while the RTX 4500 runs at 2070 MHz base and 2580 MHz boost. The AMD part has a higher boost clock, but the NVIDIA card starts far higher at base.

The Verdict

The data points to two different buyers. The AMD Radeon 860M is an integrated GPU with a 15 W TDP, no power connectors, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface. It is designed for portable devices, as its display outputs are listed as portable device dependent. Its average benchmark score of 26,401 places it near discrete mobile GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 and the RTX 5060, with deltas of -0.1% and 0.3% respectively. This is a low-power part for light workloads.

The NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation is a dual-slot workstation card with a 210 W TDP and suggested PSU of 550 W. It sits in the 97th percentile of all GPUs, a full 25 percentile points above the Radeon. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5500, AMD Radeon PRO W7800, and NVIDIA A100 PCIe 40 GB, all high-end workstation or datacenter parts. This is a professional compute and rendering card.

For users relying on integrated graphics in a thin-and-light portable system, the Radeon 860M is the only option between these two, given its IGP form factor and minimal power draw. For anyone needing workstation-class performance, the RTX 4500 is the clear choice, but it requires a dual-slot chassis and a 550 W PSU. The benchmark data shows no scenario where the AMD part wins, but the two are not competing for the same socket or use case.

Specification Differences

The table below highlights only the fields where the two GPUs differ.

| Field | AMD Radeon 860M | NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.5 | Ada Lovelace |

| Chip | Krackan Point | AD103 |

| Generation | Navi III IGP (Strix Point Mobile) | Workstation Ada |

| Process Node | 4 nm | 5 nm |

| Transistors | unknown | 45,900 million |

| Die Size | unknown | 379 mm² |

| Transistor Density | null | 121.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 600 MHz | 2070 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 3000 MHz | 2580 MHz |

| Memory Size | System Shared | 24 GB |

| Memory Type | System Shared | GDDR6 |

| Bus Width | System Shared | 192 bit |

| Bandwidth | System Dependent | 432.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 7680 |

| TMUs | 32 | 240 |

| ROPs | 16 | 80 |

| RT Cores | 8 | 60 |

| Tensor Cores | null | 240 |

| Pixel Rate | 48.00 GPixel/s | 206.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 96.00 GTexel/s | 619.2 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 3.072 TFLOPS | 39.63 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 3.072 TFLOPS (1:1) | 39.63 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 15 W | 210 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Dual-slot |

| Suggested PSU | null | 550 W |

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

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | 4x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| Dimensions | null | 245 mm, 112 mm |

| Release Date | 2025-02-28 | 2023-08-08 |

| Predecessor | Navi II IGP | Workstation Ampere |

| Successor | null | Blackwell PRO W |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data contains two Geekbench tests, and the NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada Generation wins both decisively.

In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 4500 scores 160,786 against the Radeon 860M's 22,759. The delta is -85.8% for the AMD part. Put another way, the RTX 4500 delivers roughly 7 times the OpenCL score. This is the larger of the two gaps, and it reflects the massive difference in shading units, memory bandwidth, and compute resources. The Radeon's 3.072 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is dwarfed by the RTX 4500's 39.63 TFLOPS, a ratio that closely tracks the benchmark disparity.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 4500 scores 171,401, while the Radeon 860M scores 30,043. The delta is -82.5% for AMD. The NVIDIA card again leads by a factor of roughly 5.7. Interestingly, both GPUs score higher in Vulkan than in OpenCL. The Radeon improves from 22,759 to 30,043, a gain of about 32%. The RTX 4500 improves from 160,786 to 171,401, a gain of about 6.6%. The AMD part shows a larger relative uplift from switching to the Vulkan API, but it still trails by a wide margin.

The average benchmark score reinforces the trend. The Radeon 860M averages 26,401, while the RTX 4500 averages 166,094. The NVIDIA card's average is about 6.3 times higher. In percentile terms, the RTX 4500 sits at 97 versus the Radeon's 72, a 25-point spread that places them in entirely different performance tiers.

Where Each One Wins

The Radeon 860M wins in power efficiency and form factor. Its 15 W TDP is a fraction of the RTX 4500's 210 W. It requires no power connectors and no suggested PSU, and its IGP slot width means it occupies no expansion slot at all. Its PCIe 4.0 x8 interface suits integrated designs. The display output is portable device dependent, confirming its role in laptops and compact systems. For any workload that must run on battery power or in a chassis without discrete GPU space, the Radeon is the only viable option between these two.

The RTX 4500 wins in every recorded performance metric. Its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth dwarfs the system shared memory of the Radeon, whose bandwidth is system dependent. The RTX 4500's 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs provide the hardware foundation for its dominant scores. Its 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores make it suitable for ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads, features the Radeon lacks entirely in tensor form. The 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs support multi-monitor professional setups, while the Radeon's outputs depend on the host device.

The use cases split cleanly. The Radeon 860M serves integrated graphics scenarios, light media tasks, and portable devices where the 15 W power envelope is non-negotiable. Its nearest rivals, including the MX550 and RTX 5060, confirm it competes in the entry-level discrete mobile tier despite being an IGP. The RTX 4500 serves workstation compute, rendering, and professional visualization, where its nearest rivals are the RTX A5500, Radeon PRO W7800, and A100 PCIe 40 GB. No benchmark in the database shows the Radeon winning, but the power and form factor differences mean the two GPUs rarely compete for the same installation.