AMD Radeon R5 M430 vs AMD Radeon RX 560 Comparison

The AMD Radeon R5 M430 and AMD Radeon RX 560 occupy very different corners of the GPU landscape, despite sharing a manufacturer. The R5 M430 is an entry-level mobile part embedded into laptops, while the RX 560 is a standalone desktop card. The recorded benchmark data reveals a decisive gap between them, but the specifics of that gap, and what it means for different workloads, require a closer look.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The database includes a single direct comparison between these two cards: the Geekbench OpenCL test. This is a compute-oriented benchmark that measures raw throughput for general-purpose GPU tasks, not gaming or graphics rendering. The results are stark. The Radeon R5 M430 scores 5,152 points, while the Radeon RX 560 scores 16,472 points. The RX 560 wins by 68.7%, meaning its score is roughly 3.2 times higher than the R5 M430’s. This is not a marginal improvement; it is a generational leap in raw computational power.

To put that number in perspective, the R5 M430’s average benchmark score across all recorded tests is 5,018. The RX 560’s average is 4,569. This is a curious inversion: the RX 560 wins the head-to-head OpenCL test by a wide margin, yet its overall average score is actually about 9% lower than the R5 M430’s average. The explanation lies in the benchmark suite each card was tested with. The R5 M430 has only two recorded benchmarks: the Geekbench OpenCL test (5,152) and a Geekbench Vulkan test (4,884). Both are compute-heavy. The RX 560 was tested across nine different benchmarks, including several Passmark DirectX tests (9, 10, 11, 12), a G2D test, a G3D test, and a GPU compute test. Many of those DirectX and G2D scores are low (e.g., Passmark DirectX 10 scores 16, DirectX 11 scores 25, G2D scores 485), which drags down its average. The RX 560’s strongest scores are in Geekbench Metal (18,941) and Geekbench OpenCL (16,472), but the mix of Passmark results dilutes the average.

The RX 560’s percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 26th, while the R5 M430 sits at 30th. This means the R5 M430 is ranked higher than the RX 560 in the overall database, despite losing the head-to-head compute test. This is a quirk of the benchmark pool, not a sign that the R5 M430 is genuinely faster. The R5 M430’s nearest rivals illustrate this: the AMD FirePro W4170M (average 5,034, a 0.3% difference), the AMD Radeon R7 Graphics (4,998, 0.4% difference), the NVIDIA Quadro 4000 (4,979, 0.8% difference), and the AMD Radeon R7 M340 (5,063, a -0.9% difference). These are all older or lower-tier mobile parts. The RX 560’s nearest rivals tell a different story: the AMD Radeon R5 M230 (4,577, -0.2% difference), the Intel HD Graphics P530 (4,560, 0.2% difference), the NVIDIA Quadro M3000M (4,621, -1.1% difference), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (4,628, -1.3% difference). The RX 560’s rivals include a high-end mobile GeForce card (GTX 970M) and a professional Quadro, which suggests its average is being compared to a wider performance tier, even if its average score is lower.

Where Each One Wins

Based on the recorded data, the RX 560 wins the single compute head-to-head by 68.7%. There are no recorded wins for the R5 M430 in any head-to-head test. However, the R5 M430 has a higher overall percentile (30th vs. 26th) and a higher average benchmark score (5,018 vs. 4,569). This is where the data gets interesting. The R5 M430 appears stronger in the limited tests it was subjected to: two Geekbench compute tests that are well-suited to its architecture. The RX 560’s broader test suite includes Windows-specific DirectX 9, 10, 11, and 12 Passmark tests, where it scores very low (e.g., DirectX 9: 57, DirectX 12: 21). Those low scores are not indicative of poor gaming performance; rather, they reflect that the RX 560 was likely tested in a different environment or with different driver optimizations. The R5 M430 has no DirectX or Passmark scores in the database, so we have no data to claim it wins in those areas.

In terms of use cases, the data suggests the RX 560 is the compute powerhouse. Its Geekbench OpenCL score (16,472) dwarfs the R5 M430’s score (5,152). For applications that leverage OpenCL, such as video encoding or physics simulations, the RX 560 is clearly superior. The R5 M430’s Vulkan score (4,884) is its second-best result, but the RX 560 has no Vulkan score recorded, so we cannot compare. The RX 560 also has a Geekbench Metal score (18,941), which is its highest recorded score, but the R5 M430 has no Metal test. For gaming, the RX 560’s Passmark G3D score is 3,671, which is a moderate result, but the R5 M430 has no G3D score. The only conclusion is that the RX 560 is the only one with evidence of gaming-oriented tests, and its G3D score is not elite but functional.

Architecture Differences

The most fundamental difference is the manufacturing process. The R5 M430 uses a 28 nm process from TSMC, while the RX 560 uses a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries. This is a significant node shrink, which typically improves power efficiency and allows higher transistor density. The R5 M430’s chip, codenamed Jet, packs 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, giving a density of 12.3 million transistors per mm². The RX 560’s chip, Polaris 21, contains 3,000 million transistors on a 123 mm² die, for a density of 24.4 million per mm². The RX 560 has over four times as many transistors, but a die that is only about 2.2 times larger. That is a direct result of the 14 nm process versus 28 nm.

The architecture generations differ by two full versions. The R5 M430 runs GCN 1.0, the first generation of AMD’s Graphics Core Next design. The RX 560 runs GCN 4.0, a much newer iteration. This means the RX 560 has architectural improvements in scheduling, shader efficiency, and feature support that the GCN 1.0 chip lacks. The R5 M430 supports DirectX 12 (11_1) and Vulkan 1.2.170, while the RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3. The newer API versions on the RX 560 indicate better compatibility with modern titles and compute libraries.

The memory subsystems are also different. The R5 M430 uses 4 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 16.00 GB/s. The RX 560 uses 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 112.0 GB/s. That is a 7x difference in memory bandwidth. The RX 560’s memory clock is 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) versus the R5 M430’s 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective). For texture-heavy workloads, the R5 M430’s texture rate is 17.10 GTexel/s, while the RX 560 hits 81.60 GTexel/s. The pixel rate also jumps from 6.840 GPixel/s to 20.40 GPixel/s.

The RX 560 has 1,024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 16 ROPs. The R5 M430 has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The RX 560 scales to 2.611 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, while the R5 M430 achieves 547.2 GFLOPS. The RX 560 also has FP16 support at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 2.611 TFLOPS for half-precision, while the R5 M430 has no recorded FP16 capability. The RX 560’s clock speeds are higher: base 1175 MHz, boost 1275 MHz, versus the R5 M430’s base 780 MHz and boost 855 MHz.

FAQ

Q: Which card is faster in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 560 scores 16,472, which is 68.7% higher than the AMD Radeon R5 M430’s score of 5,152.

Q: Why does the R5 M430 have a higher average benchmark score if the RX 560 beats it in the head-to-head?

A: The R5 M430’s average score is 5,018, based on only two Geekbench compute tests. The RX 560’s average is 4,569, based on nine tests including several low Passmark DirectX and 2D scores, which lower its average despite its high compute scores.

Q: Which card has higher memory bandwidth?

A: The RX 560 uses GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 112.0 GB/s. The R5 M430 uses DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 16.00 GB/s.

Q: Do both cards support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, but at different levels. The R5 M430 supports DirectX 12 (11_1), while the RX 560 supports DirectX 12 (12_0).

Q: What is the transistor density difference?

A: The RX 560 has a density of 24.4M transistors per mm², whereas the R5 M430 has 12.3M per mm², a difference due to the 14 nm versus 28 nm process nodes.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The RX 560 has 1,024 shading units, while the R5 M430 has 320 shading units.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous for compute-heavy tasks: the AMD Radeon RX 560 is the superior card. It wins the only head-to-head benchmark in the database by a 68.7% margin. Its raw compute figures, such as 2.611 TFLOPS FP32 and a 2.611 TFLOPS FP16 capability, are far beyond the R5 M430’s 547.2 GFLOPS. If an application is OpenCL-based or requires heavy shader math, the RX 560 is the only reasonable choice.

However, the R5 M430 is not without a niche. Its higher average score and higher percentile (30th vs. 26th) indicate that in the specific tests it was recorded with (Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan), it performs consistently at a level above the RX 560’s mixed average. This suggests that for Vulkan-specific workloads, the R5 M430 might be adequate, though its Vulkan score of 4,884 is far below the RX 560’s OpenCL score. The R5 M430’s lower power profile (no TDP recorded, but it is an IGP for laptops) makes it suitable for ultra-low-power systems, but the data does not support a performance advantage.

For gamers, the RX 560 is the only one with direct evidence. Its Passmark G3D score is 3,671, and its DirectX 11 score is 25. The R5 M430 has no recorded gaming tests. The RX 560’s higher memory bandwidth (112.0 GB/s) and texture rate (81.60 GTexel/s) are the hardware foundations for a playable experience at low to medium settings in modern games. The R5 M430’s 16.00 GB/s bandwidth is a severe limitation for game textures.

The R5 M430 is end-of-life, as is the RX 560, but the RX 560 was released on 2017-04-17 and has a launch MSRP of 99 USD. The R5 M430 has no release date or MSRP in the database. The RX 560 requires no external power connectors and has a suggested PSU of 250 W, while the R5 M430’s power needs are unrecorded.

Which should you choose? If you have a laptop with the R5 M430, you have a basic compute and display adapter. If you are building a desktop or upgrading a laptop’s external GPU, the RX 560 is the only one with substantive performance data. The database does not contain any test where the R5 M430 wins, so the verdict is one-sided: the RX 560 is the superior GPU based on every recorded benchmark that pits them against each other.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ in nearly every specification. The R5 M430 uses a 28 nm TSMC process, while the RX 560 uses a 14 nm GlobalFoundries process. The R5 M430 has 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, while the RX 560 has 3,000 million on a 123 mm² die. The R5 M430’s base clock is 780 MHz and boost 855 MHz, while the RX 560’s base is 1175 MHz and boost 1275 MHz. The R5 M430 memory runs at 1000 MHz (2 Gbps effective), the RX 560 at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The R5 M430 has 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, while the RX 560 has 1,024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. The pixel rate is 6.840 GPixel/s for the R5 M430, 20.40 GPixel/s for the RX 560. The texture rate is 17.10 GTexel/s versus 81.60 GTexel/s. The FP32 is 547.2 GFLOPS for the R5 M430, and 2.611 TFLOPS for the RX 560. The R5 M430 has no recorded FP16, while the RX 560 has 2.611 TFLOPS (1:1). The R5 M430’s TDP is not recorded, the RX 560’s is 75 W. The R5 M430 is an IGP, the RX 560 is dual-slot. The R5 M430’s display outputs are portable-device dependent, the RX 560 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a. The R5 M430’s DirectX is 12 (11_1), the RX 560’s is 12 (12_0). The R5 M430’s Vulkan is 1.2.170, the RX 560’s is 1.3. The R5 M430’s length is not recorded, the RX 560 is 170 mm (6.7 inches). The R5 M430’s release date is null, the RX 560’s is 2017-04-17. The R5 M430’s generation is Gem System (R5 M400), the RX 560’s is Polaris (RX 500).