AMD Radeon PRO W7500 vs AMD Radeon R9 M380 Comparison

The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 and the AMD Radeon R9 M380 represent two entirely different eras of GPU design, and the benchmark data reflects a decisive generational gap. The PRO W7500 is not just faster; it is in a different performance class, delivering a 363.3% higher score in the only shared benchmark while consuming a fraction of the power and offering modern feature support. The R9 M380, an end-of-life mobile chip from 2015, cannot compete on raw compute, memory bandwidth, or architectural efficiency.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the shared OpenCL benchmark?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 is overwhelmingly faster, scoring 58,213 compared to the R9 M380's 12,565. This represents a 363.3% performance advantage for the PRO W7500.

Q: How do their overall performance percentiles compare?

A: The PRO W7500 sits at the 59th percentile of all GPUs, while the R9 M380 is at the 58th percentile. Despite the massive gap in raw compute, both are positioned in a similar mid-range percentile band based on their respective aggregate benchmark scores.

Q: What is the difference in memory technology and capacity?

A: The PRO W7500 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M380 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on the same 128-bit bus width, but only achieves 96.00 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Does the PRO W7500 support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes. The PRO W7500 includes 28 dedicated RT cores as part of its RDNA 3.0 architecture. The R9 M380, based on GCN 2.0, has no RT core support listed.

Q: What is the production status of each card?

A: The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 is marked as "Active" in production, having been released on August 2, 2023. The AMD Radeon R9 M380 is "End-of-life," with a release date of May 4, 2015.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The PRO W7500 has a significantly higher transistor density of 65.2M per mm², thanks to its 6nm process node. The R9 M380 has a density of 13.0M per mm² on a 28nm process.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is vast, defined by a nine-year evolution in process technology and design philosophy. The Radeon PRO W7500 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture (codename "Hotpink Bonefish") using a 6nm process at TSMC. It packs 13,300 million transistors into a 204 mm² die. In contrast, the Radeon R9 M380 uses the GCN 2.0 architecture on a 28nm process, with only 2,080 million transistors on a slightly smaller 160 mm² die. The PRO W7500's transistor density of 65.2M per mm² is five times higher than the R9 M380's 13.0M per mm².

The compute configuration is equally disparate. The PRO W7500 features 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 raster operations pipelines (ROPs). The R9 M380 has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and just 16 ROPs. The PRO W7500 also introduces 28 RT cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a feature completely absent from the older GCN 2.0 design. This translates to a theoretical peak performance of 12.19 TFLOPS FP32 for the PRO W7500 versus a mere 1.536 TFLOPS for the R9 M380. The PRO W7500 further supports FP16 compute at 24.37 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio), while the R9 M380 has no listed FP16 capability.

Memory architecture diverges as well. The PRO W7500 uses 8 GB of GDDR6 at 16 Gbps effective, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The R9 M380 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 at 6 Gbps effective, yielding only 96.00 GB/s. Both use a 128-bit memory bus, but the newer memory standard and higher clock speeds give the PRO W7500 nearly three times the bandwidth. The PRO W7500 also has a faster pixel fill rate (108.8 GPixel/s vs 16.00 GPixel/s) and texture fill rate (190.4 GTexel/s vs 48.00 GTexel/s). Finally, the PRO W7500 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4, while the R9 M380 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 is the superior GPU in every measurable way. It offers a 363.3% advantage in OpenCL compute, has 8 GB of memory versus 4 GB, and supports modern APIs like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. The PRO W7500 is designed for professional workloads, as indicated by its Active production status, 70W TDP, and single-slot form factor, and it delivers performance that places it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs.

The Radeon R9 M380, while still holding a 58th percentile ranking, achieves this with far less brute force. Its 1.536 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is dwarfed by the PRO W7500's 12.19 TFLOPS. The R9 M380 is an end-of-life product with no modern feature support, no RT cores, and half the memory capacity. Its only theoretical advantage lies in its PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, which offers more lanes than the PRO W7500's PCIe 4.0 x8, but this does not compensate for the massive compute deficit.

For any professional workload, content creation task, or modern gaming scenario, the PRO W7500 is the only rational choice. The R9 M380 may still function for legacy applications or basic 2D tasks, but its performance ceiling is far lower. The data shows a clear verdict: the PRO W7500 is a modern, capable workstation GPU, while the R9 M380 is an outdated mobile part best left to history.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon PRO W7500 | AMD Radeon R9 M380 |

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

| Architecture | RDNA 3.0 | GCN 2.0 |

| Process Node | 6 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 13,300 million | 2,080 million |

| Die Size | 204 mm² | 160 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 65.2M / mm² | 13.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1500 MHz | 900 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1700 MHz | 1000 MHz |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 4 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Clock | 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (6 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 96.00 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 768 |

| TMUs | 112 | 48 |

| ROPs | 64 | 16 |

| RT Cores | 28 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 108.8 GPixel/s | 16.00 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 190.4 GTexel/s | 48.00 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 12.19 TFLOPS | 1.536 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 24.37 TFLOPS (2:1) | None |

| TDP | 70 W | Not specified |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan Support | 1.4 | 1.2.170 |

| Display Outputs | 4x DisplayPort 2.1 | Not specified |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | Not specified |

| Power Connectors | None | Not specified |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | Not specified |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-08-02 | 2015-05-04 |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only directly comparable benchmark result is the Geekbench OpenCL test, and it tells a story of total dominance. The AMD Radeon PRO W7500 scores 58,213, while the AMD Radeon R9 M380 scores 12,565. This is a 363.3% delta in favor of the PRO W7500, meaning the newer card is over four and a half times faster in this compute-oriented workload. This single result encapsulates the entire generational leap: the PRO W7500's modern RDNA 3.0 architecture, with its 1,792 shading units and 12.19 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput, simply overwhelms the older GCN 2.0 chip's 768 shading units and 1.536 TFLOPS.

There are no other overlapping benchmark results. The PRO W7500 has extensive benchmark data across PassMark DirectX 9/10/11/12, G2D, G3D, and GPU Compute tests, with its strongest showing in G3D at 13,368 and its weakest in DirectX 12 at 46. The R9 M380 only has a Geekbench Metal score of 18,476, which is irrelevant to the comparison since the PRO W7500 has no Metal result. The win tally is 1-0 in favor of the PRO W7500, and that single win is decisive enough to establish the performance hierarchy.

Where Each One Wins

AMD Radeon PRO W7500 wins in every modern workload. The 363.3% OpenCL advantage makes it the clear choice for GPU compute tasks, scientific simulations, and any professional application that leverages OpenCL. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth allows it to handle larger datasets and textures than the R9 M380's 4 GB GDDR5. The PRO W7500's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 means it can run the latest games and applications with modern rendering techniques, including ray tracing via its 28 RT cores. Its 70W TDP and lack of power connectors make it suitable for compact workstation builds, and its single-slot design with four DisplayPort 2.1 outputs supports multi-monitor professional setups.

AMD Radeon R9 M380 wins in legacy compatibility and PCIe lane count. The R9 M380 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, which provides more lanes than the PRO W7500's PCIe 4.0 x8. In systems with older motherboards that only support PCIe 3.0, the R9 M380 may technically use more available bandwidth, though the PRO W7500's x8 link on PCIe 4.0 offers equivalent or better throughput in practice. The R9 M380's GCN 2.0 architecture is from an era where DirectX 12 (12_0) was the advanced standard, so it may have better compatibility with very old software that predates modern API revisions. However, its 16 ROPs and 1.536 TFLOPS of compute power severely limit its utility in any demanding scenario. The R9 M380 is effectively a legacy part that only wins in the context of retro systems or applications that specifically require its dated feature set.