AMD Radeon HD 8850M vs NVIDIA Quadro P5000 Comparison

# Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data offers a single direct comparison between these two GPUs, and it is decisively one-sided. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 scores 52,509 points against the AMD Radeon HD 8850M’s 7,447 points. That represents a 605.1% advantage for the Quadro P5000 — a margin of more than seven times the AMD part’s output. This is not a close contest by any metric; the Quadro P5000 simply outclasses the older mobile Radeon in raw compute throughput.

Looking at the broader benchmark landscape, the Quadro P5000’s average benchmark score of 8,039 places it at the 41st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are remarkably close: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M scores 8,040 (a 0% delta), the GeForce GTX 650 Ti scores 8,053 (-0.2%), the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost scores 8,067 (-0.3%), and the NVIDIA GRID K2 scores 8,080 (-0.5%). These delta values indicate that the Quadro P5000 sits in a tightly clustered performance band where a single benchmark run could reorder the rankings.

The Radeon HD 8850M, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 7,447, which places it at the 40th percentile. Its nearest rivals include the Intel UHD Graphics 750 at 7,441 (0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon R7 350 at 7,425 (0.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 at 7,472 (-0.3%), and the Intel Arc A310 at 7,550 (-1.4%). Interestingly, the Radeon HD 8850M is nearly as close to the GeForce GTX 1650 as it is to integrated graphics, despite the GTX 1650 being a much more modern discrete part. The 0.3% difference between the HD 8850M and the R7 350 shows that the older AMD chip still holds its own within its own generation.

The head-to-head data shows 1 win for the Quadro P5000 and 0 wins for the Radeon HD 8850M. That single win, however, is so overwhelming in magnitude that it defines the entire comparison. The Quadro P5000’s OpenCL score is not merely higher — it is in a completely different performance tier.

# Architecture Differences

The fundamental architectural gap between these two GPUs explains the benchmark disparity. The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 is built on the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M uses the older GCN 1.0 architecture on a 28 nm process, also from TSMC. The process node difference alone — 16 nm versus 28 nm — allows the Pascal chip to pack far more transistors into a smaller area.

The Quadro P5000’s GP104 chip contains 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.9 million per square millimeter. The Radeon HD 8850M’s Venus chip has just 1,500 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The Quadro P5000 has nearly five times the transistor count and more than double the die area, yet the density advantage shows that Pascal is a more efficient design per square millimeter.

Compute resources follow the same pattern. The Quadro P5000 has 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The Radeon HD 8850M has 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. In every category, the NVIDIA part has exactly four times the resources of the AMD part — a consistent scaling that reflects the intended performance tier of each product.

Clock speeds further widen the gap. The Quadro P5000 runs at a base clock of 1607 MHz with a boost of 1733 MHz. The Radeon HD 8850M operates at a base of 575 MHz and a boost of 625 MHz. The NVIDIA chip’s boost clock is nearly three times the AMD chip’s boost clock. When multiplied by the shading unit count, the raw throughput difference becomes enormous: the Quadro P5000 delivers 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, while the Radeon HD 8850M manages 800.0 GFLOPS — an order of magnitude difference.

Memory subsystems are equally divergent. The Quadro P5000 features 16 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 288.5 GB/s of bandwidth. The Radeon HD 8850M has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, producing 64.00 GB/s. The Quadro P5000’s memory clock is 1127 MHz (9 Gbps effective) versus 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) for the AMD part. The combination of wider bus and faster memory gives the NVIDIA card a 4.5x bandwidth advantage.

The chip generations reflect their release timelines. The Quadro P5000 belongs to the Quadro Pascal (Px000) generation, released in late 2016, and succeeded the Quadro Maxwell line. The Radeon HD 8850M is part of the Solar System (HD 8800M) generation, released in early 2013, succeeding the London chip and preceding the Gem System. Both are end-of-life products, but the Quadro P5000 represents a much more recent design point.

# The Verdict

The data points to an unambiguous conclusion: the NVIDIA Quadro P5000 is the superior GPU in every measurable way. Its 605.1% lead in the only shared benchmark — Geekbench OpenCL — is not a marginal advantage but a categorical one. The Quadro P5000’s average benchmark score of 8,039 versus the Radeon HD 8850M’s 7,447 shows a 7.9% overall advantage, though this aggregate figure understates the gap because the AMD part only has a single benchmark entry.

For users who need maximum compute performance, the Quadro P5000 is the clear choice. Its 16 GB of GDDR5X memory, 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, and 288.5 GB/s of bandwidth make it suitable for demanding professional workloads. The Radeon HD 8850M, with 2 GB of GDDR5, 800.0 GFLOPS, and 64.00 GB/s, is a much more modest part — appropriate for basic tasks but not for heavy compute.

The Quadro P5000’s position in the 41st percentile of all GPUs, alongside rivals like the GeForce GTX 880M and GTX 650 Ti, indicates that it is a mid-to-upper-tier performer. The Radeon HD 8850M’s 40th percentile placement, near the Intel UHD Graphics 750 and Radeon R7 350, shows that it competes with integrated and entry-level discrete solutions.

However, there is a critical caveat for the Radeon HD 8850M: it has only one benchmark result in the database. The Quadro P5000 has ten benchmark entries across DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, compute, and 3DMark tests. This disparity means the AMD part’s average score is based on limited data, and its true performance profile may be less precisely characterized. The Quadro P5000’s scores range from 44 in Passmark DirectX 12 to 12,634 in Passmark G3D, showing a wide variance across workloads.

From a pure performance standpoint, there is no scenario in which the Radeon HD 8850M outperforms the Quadro P5000. The only consideration is whether the use case requires the Quadro P5000’s extreme capabilities or whether the Radeon HD 8850M’s more modest specs are sufficient for the task at hand.

# Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA Quadro P5000 | AMD Radeon HD 8850M |

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

| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 1.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 7,200 million | 1,500 million |

| Die Size | 314 mm² | 123 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 22.9M / mm² | 12.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1607 MHz | 575 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1733 MHz | 625 MHz |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 2 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5X | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 256 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.5 GB/s | 64.00 GB/s |

| Memory Clock | 1127 MHz (9 Gbps effective) | 1000 MHz (4 Gbps effective) |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 640 |

| TMUs | 160 | 40 |

| ROPs | 64 | 16 |

| Pixel Rate | 110.9 GPixel/s | 10.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 277.3 GTexel/s | 25.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 8.873 TFLOPS | 800.0 GFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 138.6 GFLOPS (1:64) | null |

| TDP | 180 W | null |

| Slot Width | Dual-slot | null |

| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | null |

| Suggested PSU | 450 W | null |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 4x DisplayPort 1.4a | null |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_1) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Release Date | 2016-09-30 | 2013-03-31 |

| Predecessor | Quadro Maxwell | London |

| Successor | Quadro Volta | Gem System |

| Launch MSRP | 2,499 USD | null |

# FAQ

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro P5000 has 2,560 shading units, exactly four times the Radeon HD 8850M’s 640 shading units.

Q: How does the memory bandwidth compare?

A: The Quadro P5000 offers 288.5 GB/s of bandwidth from 16 GB of GDDR5X on a 256-bit bus, while the Radeon HD 8850M provides 64.00 GB/s from 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the difference in FP32 compute performance?

A: The Quadro P5000 delivers 8.873 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, which is more than ten times the Radeon HD 8850M’s 800.0 GFLOPS.

Q: Are both GPUs still in production?

A: No, both are end-of-life products. The Quadro P5000 was released in 2016, and the Radeon HD 8850M was released in 2013.

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The Quadro P5000 has an average benchmark score of 8,039, compared to the Radeon HD 8850M’s 7,447. The Quadro P5000 also has a higher percentile rank at 41 versus 40.

Q: What is the Geekbench OpenCL score difference?

A: The Quadro P5000 scores 52,509 in Geekbench OpenCL, while the Radeon HD 8850M scores 7,447 — a 605.1% advantage for the NVIDIA card.