AMD Radeon 860M vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell Comparison

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is a dedicated workstation GPU built on the GB203 chip, while the AMD Radeon 860M is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) from the Krackan Point chip. The data shows a stark performance divide, with the RTX PRO 4000 dominating in raw compute and the Radeon 860M serving a fundamentally different power-constrained role. Their average benchmark scores, 27,135 and 26,401 respectively, are surprisingly close, but this masks a massive difference in how those scores are achieved and what they represent in real-world workloads.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single direct head-to-head benchmark available, Geekbench Vulkan, reveals an overwhelming victory for the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell. It scored 194,168 points against the AMD Radeon 860M’s 30,043, a delta of 546.3%. This is not a marginal win; it is a six-fold performance advantage in a modern graphics API workload. This suggests that in any Vulkan-based application, the dedicated NVIDIA GPU will deliver a fundamentally superior experience, handling complex geometry, high-resolution textures, and advanced effects with far greater ease.

This result is corroborated by the broader benchmark suite for the RTX PRO 4000. Its performance in Passmark G3D is 28,427, and in Passmark GPU Compute it reaches 14,805, showing strength in both rasterization and compute tasks. While the Radeon 860M lacks these specific Passmark scores, its single Geekbench Vulkan result of 30,043 is a clear indicator of its relative position. The RTX PRO 4000’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,648 further underscores its capability in DirectX 12 workloads, a test the IGP does not have a recorded score for.

The data indicates that the RTX PRO 4000’s wins are comprehensive, not situational. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, from which it trails by only 1.6% in average score, and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, which it trails by 1.1%. This places it in the same performance class as those high-end desktop parts. Conversely, the Radeon 860M’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce MX550, a low-end discrete laptop GPU, from which it trails by a mere 0.1%. The fact that the 860M is competitive with that class of hardware, rather than the RTX 3090 class, is the most telling statistic of all.

Architecture Differences

The architectural chasm between these two processors is vast. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and uses a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring a massive 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. This results in a transistor density of 120.6M / mm². In contrast, the AMD Radeon 860M uses the newer RDNA 3.5 architecture on a 4 nm process at TSMC, but its transistor count and die size are listed as unknown, reflecting its nature as an integrated component within a larger APU.

The core configurations are wildly different. The RTX PRO 4000 is equipped with 8,960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 96 render output units (ROPs). It also has 70 dedicated ray tracing cores and 280 tensor cores, making it a powerhouse for both ray-traced workloads and AI-accelerated tasks. The Radeon 860M, by contrast, has only 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. It has 8 ray tracing cores and no tensor cores, indicating a much more limited capacity for those specialized functions.

Memory architecture could not be more different. The RTX PRO 4000 has 24 GB of dedicated GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This is critical for large datasets and high-resolution textures. The Radeon 860M uses System Shared memory, meaning its performance is entirely dependent on the system's RAM and its bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent." This is a fundamental limitation for a GPU, as it must compete with the CPU for memory access. The clock speeds also tell a story: the RTX PRO 4000 has a base clock of 1230 MHz and a boost of 2055 MHz, while the 860M has a much lower base of 600 MHz but a significantly higher boost of 3000 MHz, illustrating the different power and thermal envelopes.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell wins in every scenario where raw performance is paramount. Its 36.83 TFLOPS of FP32 performance dwarfs the Radeon 860M’s 3.072 TFLOPS. This makes it the clear choice for professional 3D rendering, complex CAD, scientific simulation, and any workload that can leverage its 24 GB of dedicated GDDR7 memory. Its 70 RT cores also make it suitable for professional ray-tracing applications, and its 280 tensor cores provide a platform for AI and machine learning tasks. Its pixel rate of 197.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 575.4 GTexel/s are indicative of its ability to drive high-resolution displays and complex scenes without bottlenecking.

The AMD Radeon 860M wins in the domain of efficiency and integration. With a TDP of just 15 W, it is designed for ultra-portable devices where battery life and thermal headroom are critical. The RTX PRO 4000, with a TDP of 140 W and a single-slot design requiring a 16-pin power connector, is a power-hungry add-in card. The 860M is an IGP, meaning it requires no extra power connectors and is soldered onto the motherboard. Its 3.072 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is respectable for an integrated solution and is suitable for light gaming, media playback, and general productivity tasks where a dedicated GPU is not feasible. Its 8 RT cores provide basic ray tracing capability, but the overall performance level will be limited. In essence, the 860M wins in scenarios where a dedicated GPU is physically or thermally impossible, while the RTX PRO 4000 wins in every scenario where maximum performance is the goal.

FAQ

Q: Is the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell always faster than the AMD Radeon 860M?

A: Yes, in the single head-to-head benchmark available (Geekbench Vulkan), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is 546.3% faster. Its other benchmark scores, such as 28,427 in Passmark G3D, are far higher than any score recorded for the Radeon 860M.

Q: What is the most significant architectural difference between the two?

A: The most significant difference is memory. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 has 24 GB of dedicated GDDR7 memory with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the AMD Radeon 860M relies on System Shared memory with bandwidth that is System Dependent.

Q: Can the AMD Radeon 860M be used for professional 3D rendering?

A: While it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, its performance capabilities are far lower. Its FP32 compute is 3.072 TFLOPS compared to the RTX PRO 4000's 36.83 TFLOPS, indicating it would be severely limited for professional rendering workloads.

Q: How does the power consumption of these two GPUs compare?

A: The NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 has a TDP of 140 W and requires a single 16-pin power connector, while the AMD Radeon 860M has a TDP of just 15 W and requires no power connectors as it is an integrated processor.

Q: What does the RTX PRO 4000's tensor core count enable?

A: With 280 tensor cores, the RTX PRO 4000 is equipped for AI-accelerated tasks such as deep learning inference and training. The Radeon 860M has no tensor cores.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M has a higher boost clock of 3000 MHz compared to the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000's 2055 MHz. However, the RTX PRO 4000's superior core count and memory bandwidth make it significantly faster overall.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell | AMD Radeon 860M |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | RDNA 3.5 |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 45,600 million | unknown |

| Die Size | 378 mm² | unknown |

| Base Clock | 1230 MHz | 600 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2055 MHz | 3000 MHz |

| Memory Size | 24 GB | System Shared |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | System Shared |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | System Shared |

| Memory Bandwidth | 672.0 GB/s | System Dependent |

| Shading Units | 8960 | 512 |

| TMUs | 280 | 32 |

| ROPs | 96 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 70 | 8 |

| Tensor Cores | 280 | null |

| Pixel Rate | 197.3 GPixel/s | 48.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 575.4 GTexel/s | 96.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 36.83 TFLOPS | 3.072 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 140 W | 15 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | IGP |

| Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | None |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |

| Release Date | 2025-03-17 | 2025-02-28 |