AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Comparison

The GeForce GTX 850M and the Radeon Pro WX 5100 are separated by more than just a generation; they are built for entirely different jobs. The GTX 850M is a low-power mobile chip from 2014, while the Pro WX 5100 is a professional desktop card from 2016. Benchmark results show a complete sweep for the AMD card, but the real story is in how each card wins and for whom.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the Radeon Pro WX 5100 wins every head-to-head benchmark listed. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 24,217 versus the GTX 850M's 9,821, a delta of -59.4% from the AMD card's perspective. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap widens further: 26,909 for the Pro WX 5100 versus 8,782 for the GTX 850M, a -67.4% difference. If your workload is compute-heavy—OpenCL, Vulkan, or any modern API—the Pro WX 5100 is the only rational choice.

However, the GTX 850M's role is different. It is an integrated (IGP) mobile part with a 45 W TDP, designed for laptops where power draw is critical. The Pro WX 5100 is a single-slot desktop card with a 75 W TDP and a suggested PSU of 250 W. The GTX 850M exists to make a laptop usable for light gaming and general tasks; the Pro WX 5100 exists to accelerate professional workloads in a workstation. Pick the GTX 850M only if you are constrained to a laptop chassis from 2014. Pick the Pro WX 5100 for any desktop build where performance is the priority.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 850M wins in exactly one category: portability. Its 45 W TDP and "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs mean it can be dropped into a thin laptop without external power connectors. It also has a higher percentile rank (46th) than the Pro WX 5100 (44th), despite scoring far lower in head-to-head tests—this reflects the fact that the GTX 850M competes against other low-end mobile parts, while the Pro WX 5100 is measured against all GPUs including far stronger desktop cards.

The Pro WX 5100 wins every performance metric. It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 160.0 GB/s of bandwidth versus the GTX 850M's 2 GB of DDR3 on a 128-bit bus at 32.03 GB/s. Its pixel rate is 34.75 GPixel/s versus 14.43 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 121.6 GTexel/s versus 36.08 GTexel/s. In FP32 compute, the Pro WX 5100 delivers 3.892 TFLOPS against 1,154.6 GFLOPS—a 3.4x advantage. It also supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio, which the GTX 850M does not list at all. The Pro WX 5100's 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs make it suitable for multi-monitor professional setups, while the GTX 850M's outputs are dependent on the host laptop.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 850M is built on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture, using the GM107 chip fabricated by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It contains 1,870 million transistors on a 148 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.6 million per mm². Its 640 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 16 ROPs are paired with a 128-bit memory interface.

The Pro WX 5100 uses AMD's GCN 4.0 architecture, with the Ellesmere chip made by GlobalFoundries on a 14 nm process. This is a much larger chip: 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, for a density of 24.6 million per mm²—nearly double the GTX 850M's density. It has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a 256-bit memory bus. The Pro WX 5100 also supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the GTX 850M is limited to DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 850M lists Vulkan 1.4 while the Pro WX 5100 lists Vulkan 1.3.

FAQ

Q: Which card has better raw compute performance?

A: The Radeon Pro WX 5100. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 24,217 versus 9,821 for the GTX 850M, a 59.4% advantage. Its FP32 throughput is 3.892 TFLOPS compared to 1,154.6 GFLOPS.

Q: Is the GTX 850M suitable for modern gaming?

A: The data suggests limited capability. It has only 2 GB of DDR3 memory with 32.03 GB/s bandwidth, and its DirectX 12 support is limited to the 11_0 feature level. Its average benchmark score of 9,302 places it in the 46th percentile, but that is relative to all GPUs—most of which are far newer and faster.

Q: How does the Pro WX 5100 handle professional workloads?

A: It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 160.0 GB/s bandwidth and 4x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, which are standard for workstation multi-monitor setups. Its PassMark G3D score is 5,496, and its GPU compute score is 2,053.

Q: What is the power consumption difference?

A: The GTX 850M has a TDP of 45 W and requires no power connectors. The Pro WX 5100 has a TDP of 75 W, also requires no power connectors, but has a suggested PSU of 250 W.

Q: Which card has better driver/API support?

A: The Pro WX 5100 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), the higher feature level. The GTX 850M supports DirectX 12 (11_0). Both support OpenGL 4.6, but the GTX 850M lists Vulkan 1.4 while the Pro WX 5100 lists Vulkan 1.3.

Q: Are these cards still relevant?

A: Both are end-of-life. The GTX 850M was released in March 2014, the Pro WX 5100 in November 2016. The Pro WX 5100's successor is the Radeon Pro Vega, while the GTX 850M's successor is the GeForce 900M series.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two shared benchmarks tell a clear story. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Pro WX 5100 scores 24,217 against the GTX 850M's 9,821. That is a 146.5% improvement for the AMD card, or a -59.4% delta when viewed from the AMD side. The result is driven by the massive difference in shading units (1,792 versus 640), memory bandwidth (160.0 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s), and FP32 throughput (3.892 TFLOPS versus 1,154.6 GFLOPS).

In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap is even larger. The Pro WX 5100 scores 26,909 versus 8,782 for the GTX 850M, a -67.4% delta. This suggests the AMD card scales better with the lower-level Vulkan API, likely due to its newer GCN 4.0 architecture and higher memory bandwidth. The GTX 850M's Maxwell architecture, from 2014, does not translate its compute resources as efficiently in this API.

The Pro WX 5100 also has PassMark scores across multiple DirectX versions, which the GTX 850M lacks entirely. These show a peculiar pattern: DirectX 9 scores 88, DirectX 10 scores 29, DirectX 11 scores 36, and DirectX 12 scores 26. The high DirectX 9 result suggests legacy compatibility is strong, while modern API performance is lower—likely due to driver optimization priorities for professional applications rather than gaming. The G2D score of 777 and G3D score of 5,496 provide additional context for 2D and 3D workload performance.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M | AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 |

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

| Chip | GM107 | Ellesmere |

| Architecture | Maxwell | GCN 4.0 |

| Process Node | 28 nm (TSMC) | 14 nm (GlobalFoundries) |

| Transistors | 1,870 million | 5,700 million |

| Die Size | 148 mm² | 232 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.6M / mm² | 24.6M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not listed | 713 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not listed | 1086 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1001 MHz (2 Gbps effective) | 1250 MHz (5 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | DDR3 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 32.03 GB/s | 160.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 640 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 40 | 112 |

| ROPs | 16 | 32 |

| Pixel Rate | 14.43 GPixel/s | 34.75 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 36.08 GTexel/s | 121.6 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 1,154.6 GFLOPS | 3.892 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | Not listed | 3.892 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 45 W | 75 W |

| Slot Width | IGP | Single-slot |

| Power Connectors | None | None |

| Suggested PSU | Not listed | 250 W |

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

| DirectX | 12 (11_0) | 12 (12_0) |

| Vulkan | 1.4 | 1.3 |

| Length | Not listed | 173 mm (6.8 inches) |

| Height | Not listed | 112 mm (4.4 inches) |

| Release Date | 2014-03-11 | 2016-11-17 |

| Launch MSRP | Not listed | 499 USD |

| Avg Benchmark Score | 9302 | 8863 |

| Percentile | 46 | 44 |

The specification table confirms what the benchmarks suggest: the Pro WX 5100 is a fundamentally more capable part in every measurable way except power draw and physical size. The GTX 850M's only advantages are its 45 W TDP and its IGP form factor, which make it suitable for laptops. The Pro WX 5100's 75 W TDP and 173 mm length still allow it to fit in compact workstations, but it is not a mobile part. The 2.6x difference in transistor count (5,700 million versus 1,870 million) and 5x difference in memory bandwidth (160.0 GB/s versus 32.03 GB/s) are the primary drivers of the performance gap.