AMD Radeon R5 M255 vs NVIDIA Quadro M500M Comparison

# AMD Radeon R5 M255 vs NVIDIA Quadro M500M: Benchmark Analysis

The Verdict - who should pick which, strictly from the data

The recorded benchmark results separate these two mobile graphics parts clearly. The AMD Radeon R5 M255 averages 4,788 points across the OpenCL and Vulkan workloads, while the NVIDIA Quadro M500M averages 5,604 points. That is a 17.0% advantage for the NVIDIA part in aggregate scoring. In direct head-to-head runs, the Quadro M500M wins both recorded comparisons: it leads by 22.3% in the Geekbench OpenCL test (5,986 vs 4,650) and by 5.7% in the Vulkan test (5,222 vs 4,925). The data therefore points to the NVIDIA Quadro M500M as the stronger part for general compute and graphics workloads. The AMD part is not without merit: it trails by a single-digit margin in the Vulkan test and remains competitive in synthetic OpenCL workloads, but the NVIDIA part's lead in the primary OpenCL test is substantial. Users who prioritize peak compute performance, particularly in OpenCL applications, should select the NVIDIA Quadro M500M. The AMD Radeon R5 M255 is the choice only if the workload is dominated by the specific Vulkan test where the gap is smallest, though it still loses that round in the recorded data.

Architecture Differences

The two parts come from different architectural generations. The AMD Radeon R5 M255 is built on the GCN 3 architecture with a chip codenamed Topaz. It belongs to the Gem System (R5 M200) generation. The GPU is manufactured on a 28 nm process at TSMC, packing 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die, a density of 12.4M transistors per mm². The NVIDIA Quadro M500M, in contrast, uses the Maxwell architecture with the GM108S chip. It is part of the Quadro Maxwell-M (Mx000M) generation and is also fabricated on a 28 nm node at TSMC. This chip contains 1,020 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.2M per mm². These numbers show a clear difference in design philosophy: NVIDIA packs fewer transistors onto a smaller die but achieves a higher density, while AMD uses a larger die with more total transistors.

Clock behavior follows the architectural split. The AMD Radeon R5 M255 has a base clock of 925 MHz and a boost clock of 940 MHz, with its memory clocked at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). The NVIDIA Quadro M500M runs at a base of 1029 MHz and boosts to 1124 MHz, while its memory operates at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective). The NVIDIA part holds a clock advantage in both core and boost frequencies, which helps explain its benchmark lead.

Memory subsystems also differ. The AMD Radeon R5 M255 is equipped with 2 GB of DDR3 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 32.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA Quadro M500M also has 2 GB of DDR3, but uses a narrower 64-bit bus, producing a 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. The AMD part's wider memory interface provides more than twice the memory bandwidth, a notable spec advantage even if it does not translate to benchmark supremacy in this data set.

Compute resources differ in scale. The AMD part has 384 shading units, 24 texture memory units, and 8 ROPs. The NVIDIA part has 384 shading units, 16 texture memory units, and 8 ROPs. Both parts support the same API feature set: DirectX 12 (12_0 for AMD, 11_0 for NVIDIA), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170 for AMD vs Vulkan 1.4 for NVIDIA. The NVIDIA exposes a portable device dependent display output, while the AMD uses a device dependent output as well. The AMD part is an MXM Module (3.0), while the NVIDIA part uses an MXM-A (3.0) slot. The NVIDIA part has a 30 W thermal design power; the AMD part does not have a TDP listed in the database.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two recorded benchmark comparisons both favor the NVIDIA Quadro M500M. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA part scores 5,986 compared to 4,650 for the AMD Radeon R5 M255, a 22.3% lead. This is the larger victory in the pairing. In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the NVIDIA scores 5,222 against 4,925, a narrower 5.7% lead. These results show that the NVIDIA part is consistently ahead across different GPGPU APIs, with a larger advantage in the OpenCL workload. The AMD part's closest score to the NVIDIA part is in the Vulkan test, but it is still behind. The recorded data gives the NVIDIA part a total of 2 wins in 2 head-to-head matchups, while the AMD part has no wins.

Specification Differences

The key specification differences appear in the chip generation and memory interface. The AMD part is GCN 3 "Topaz", while NVIDIA uses Maxwell "GM108S". The AMD is from the "Gem System (R5 M200)" generation, the NVIDIA from the "Quadro Maxwell-M (Mx000M)" generation. The AMD is a 28nm TSMC chip with 1,550 million transistors on a 125mm² die. The NVIDIA is a 28nm TSMC chip with 1,020 million transistors on a 77mm² die. The AMD has a higher transistor count and a larger die, but the NVIDIA is denser at 13.2M transistors per mm² vs 12.4M per mm². The clock speeds differ: the AMD base is 925MHz and boost is 940MHz; the NVIDIA base is 1029MHz and boost is 1124MHz. The memory clock differs: the AMD memory is 1000MHz (2 Gbps effective), the NVIDIA memory is 900MHz (1800 Mbps effective). The memory bus width is the biggest differentiator: AMD has 128-bit memory, NVIDIA has 64-bit memory. The memory bandwidth is 32.00 GB/s for the AMD, 14.40 GB/s for the NVIDIA.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU is faster in the recorded benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M500M. It wins both head-to-head tests, leading by 22.3% in Geekbench OpenCL (5,986 vs 4,650) and by 5.7% in Geekbench Vulkan (5,222 vs 4,925).

Q: Does the AMD Radeon R5 M255 have more memory bandwidth?

A: Yes. With a 128-bit memory bus and DDR3 memory at 1000MHz, its bandwidth is 32.00 GB/s. The NVIDIA Quadro M500M has a 64-bit bus and 900MHz memory, which gives 14.40 GB/s.

Q: Do these parts have the same API support?

A: Both support DirectX 12 (AMD 12_0, NVIDIA 11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan (AMD 1.2.170, NVIDIA 1.4). The NVIDIA part has a lower DirectX feature level, but both are compatible with modern APIs.

Q: Which architecture is the newer one?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M500M uses Maxwell architecture, which is newer than the GCN 3 used by the AMD Radeon R5 M255. The Quadro's generation (Quadro Maxwell-M) also succeeds the AMD's "Gem System" generation.

Q: What is the pixel rate difference?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M255 achieves a pixel rate of 7.520 GPixel/s, while the NVIDIA Quadro M500M achieves 8.992 GPixel/s. The NVIDIA part has a higher pixel throughput.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: Both have 384 shading units. The NVIDIA part has 16 texture memory units and the AMD part has 24, but the ROP count is 8 for both.