AMD Radeon Pro 560 vs NVIDIA Tesla M4 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560 has a higher average benchmark score of 17551, compared to the NVIDIA Tesla M4's 16932. That puts the Radeon Pro 560 in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the Tesla M4 sits just behind in the 60th percentile.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in the only benchmark they share?

A: In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16932 against the AMD Radeon Pro 560's 15504. That is a 8.4% advantage for the Tesla M4, making it the winner in the sole head-to-head test.

Q: What are the nearest performance rivals for each card?

A: The Radeon Pro 560's closest rival is the AMD Radeon 780M at 17588, which is just 0.2% ahead. The Tesla M4's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17019, which leads by 0.5%. Notably, the Radeon Pro 560 also sits within 0.5% of the GeForce RTX 4060, while the Tesla M4 is within 0.9% of the Radeon RX 7600 XT.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The AMD Radeon Pro 560, built on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, packs 24.4 million transistors per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Tesla M4, on TSMC's 28 nm node, achieves only 12.9 million per square millimeter. The Radeon's density is nearly double despite having a similar total transistor count.

Q: What are the memory bandwidth differences?

A: The NVIDIA Tesla M4 offers 88.00 GB/s of bandwidth, which is higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 560's 81.28 GB/s. Both cards use 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, but the Tesla M4 runs its memory at 5.5 Gbps effective versus 5.1 Gbps on the Radeon.

Q: Which card supports Vulkan 1.4?

A: Only the NVIDIA Tesla M4 supports Vulkan 1.4. The AMD Radeon Pro 560 is limited to Vulkan 1.3. Both support DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.6, though the Tesla M4's DirectX version is 12_1 versus 12_0 on the Radeon.

Architecture Differences

The AMD Radeon Pro 560 is built on the Polaris 21 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. This newer node allows for a die size of just 123 mm² while housing 3,000 million transistors, yielding a transistor density of 24.4 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA Tesla M4, by contrast, uses the GM206 chip with Maxwell 2.0 architecture on TSMC's 28 nm process. Its die is significantly larger at 228 mm², yet it contains slightly fewer transistors at 2,940 million, resulting in a much lower density of 12.9 million per square millimeter.

Both GPUs share the same shading unit count of 1024 and 64 texture mapping units. However, the ROP count differs substantially: the Radeon Pro 560 has 16 ROPs, while the Tesla M4 doubles that to 32 ROPs. This architectural difference directly impacts pixel throughput, with the Tesla M4 achieving 34.30 GPixel/s versus the Radeon's 14.51 GPixel/s.

The Tesla M4 is a Maxwell 2.0 part with no FP16 support listed, while the Radeon Pro 560 offers FP16 at a 1:1 ratio with FP32, both at 1.858 TFLOPS. The Tesla M4's FP32 throughput is higher at 2.195 TFLOPS. In terms of API support, the Tesla M4 supports DirectX 12_1 and Vulkan 1.4, while the Radeon Pro 560 is capped at DirectX 12_0 and Vulkan 1.3.

Power characteristics also differ sharply. The Tesla M4 draws only 50 W and requires a 250 W suggested PSU, while the Radeon Pro 560 is rated at 75 W. The Radeon is an integrated graphics processor with no power connectors and a portable-device-dependent display output, whereas the Tesla M4 is a single-slot card with no display outputs at all. The bus interface also differs: the Radeon uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the Tesla uses PCIe 3.0 x16.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Tesla M4 wins the only shared benchmark, Geekbench OpenCL, by a margin of 8.4%. This suggests the Tesla M4 holds the edge in compute workloads that rely on OpenCL execution. Its higher FP32 throughput of 2.195 TFLOPS and doubled ROP count support this result, as do its higher memory clocks and bandwidth.

The AMD Radeon Pro 560, despite losing the direct benchmark comparison, still posts a higher average benchmark score of 17551 across three tests versus the Tesla M4's single-test score of 16932. The Radeon's other benchmark results — Geekbench Metal at 20918 and Geekbench Vulkan at 16232 — indicate strengths in Metal-based applications and Vulkan workloads. The Tesla M4 has no recorded Metal or Vulkan scores in the data, so the Radeon's versatility across multiple API families gives it a broader performance profile.

For pixel-heavy workloads, the Tesla M4's 32 ROPs and 34.30 GPixel/s pixel rate make it the clear choice. For texture-heavy tasks, the Tesla M4 also leads with 68.61 GTexel/s versus the Radeon's 58.05 GTexel/s. The Radeon's advantage lies in its newer process node and higher transistor density, which may imply better energy efficiency per unit of silicon area, though the Tesla M4 actually consumes less power overall at 50 W versus 75 W.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon Pro 560 | NVIDIA Tesla M4 |

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

| Architecture | GCN 4.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 28 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | TSMC |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 228 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 24.4M / mm² | 12.9M / mm² |

| Base Clock | N/A | 872 MHz |

| Boost Clock | N/A | 1072 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1270 MHz / 5.1 Gbps | 1375 MHz / 5.5 Gbps |

| Memory Bandwidth | 81.28 GB/s | 88.00 GB/s |

| ROPs | 16 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 14.51 GPixel/s | 34.30 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 58.05 GTexel/s | 68.61 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1.858 TFLOPS | 2.195 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 1.858 TFLOPS (1:1) | N/A |

| TDP | 75 W | 50 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | N/A |

| Suggested PSU | N/A | 250 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | Portable Device Dependent | No outputs |

| DirectX | 12 (12_0) | 12 (12_1) |

| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2017-04-17 | 2015-11-09 |

| Predecessor | N/A | Tesla Kepler |

| Successor | N/A | Tesla Pascal |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The single shared benchmark tells a clear story. In Geekbench OpenCL, the NVIDIA Tesla M4 scores 16932 against the AMD Radeon Pro 560's 15504. That 8.4% delta is significant, especially considering the Radeon's higher average score across all its benchmarks. The Tesla M4's victory here aligns with its superior raw specifications: 2.195 TFLOPS FP32, 88.00 GB/s bandwidth, and 32 ROPs.

Looking at the broader benchmark picture, the Radeon Pro 560's Metal score of 20918 is its strongest result, far exceeding its OpenCL score. This suggests the card is particularly well-optimized for Apple's Metal API, which makes sense given its "Radeon Pro Mac (500 Series)" generation. Its Vulkan score of 16232 is also respectable, though slightly below its OpenCL result.

The Tesla M4, with only an OpenCL score recorded, cannot be compared on Metal or Vulkan. However, its OpenCL result of 16932 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, almost exactly matching the Radeon's 61st percentile. The average scores reinforce this closeness: the Radeon Pro 560 averages 17551 while the Tesla M4 averages 16932, a difference of about 3.7% in favor of the AMD part.

The nearest rival data further contextualizes these results. The Radeon Pro 560's closest competitor, the AMD Radeon 780M, is only 0.2% ahead, while the GeForce RTX 4060 is 0.5% ahead. The Tesla M4's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7970M, is 0.5% ahead, and the GeForce GTX 690 is 0.6% ahead. These tight margins suggest both cards are clustered in a similar performance tier, with the Tesla M4 being slightly more competitive in OpenCL specifically.

The Verdict

The data presents a nuanced picture. The NVIDIA Tesla M4 is the winner in the only direct comparison available, beating the AMD Radeon Pro 560 by 8.4% in Geekbench OpenCL. Its higher FP32 throughput, doubled ROPs, and greater memory bandwidth make it the stronger choice for raw compute tasks that leverage OpenCL.

However, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 posts a higher average benchmark score of 17551 versus 16932, driven by its exceptional Metal performance of 20918. For users working in Metal-based environments, particularly macOS ecosystems given the "Radeon Pro Mac" generation label, the Radeon Pro 560 is clearly the better option. Its Vulkan support, while at an older version, still provides a recorded score of 16232, whereas the Tesla M4 has no Vulkan or Metal results in the data.

Architecturally, the Radeon Pro 560 benefits from a much newer 14 nm process versus the Tesla M4's 28 nm node, resulting in nearly double the transistor density. The Tesla M4, despite its older process, achieves higher clock speeds with a boost clock of 1072 MHz and consumes less power at 50 W versus 75 W. The Tesla M4 also supports PCIe 3.0 x16, double the interface width of the Radeon's x8 connection, which may matter in bandwidth-sensitive applications.

For compute-focused workloads in a server or workstation context where display output is irrelevant, the Tesla M4's OpenCL dominance and higher texture and pixel rates make it the data-backed choice. For mobile or Mac-integrated systems where Metal performance and integrated graphics matter, the Radeon Pro 560's strong Metal showing and portable-device-dependent outputs give it the edge. The Tesla M4 is end-of-life with Tesla Kepler as its predecessor and Tesla Pascal as its successor, while the Radeon Pro 560 is also end-of-life but belongs to the 500 Series Radeon Pro Mac lineup. Users should match the GPU to their specific API and workload requirements, as the benchmark data shows each card leading in different domains.