AMD Radeon R5 M435 vs NVIDIA Quadro M500M Comparison

AMD Radeon R5 M435 and NVIDIA Quadro M500M are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions targeting different segments, with the former an integrated-style part and the latter a modular MXM offering. In the single available head-to-head benchmark, the Geekbench OpenCL test, the NVIDIA Quadro M500M scores 5986 against the AMD Radeon R5 M435’s 5859, a 2.1% advantage that puts the NVIDIA part ahead. This narrow margin places both firmly in the entry-level mobile GPU tier, with the AMD part sitting at the 33rd percentile of all GPUs and the NVIDIA part at the 32nd percentile, indicating near-identical overall standing despite the NVIDIA win in the compute test.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct benchmark comparison available is Geekbench OpenCL, and the results show a tight contest. The NVIDIA Quadro M500M delivers a score of 5986, while the AMD Radeon R5 M435 trails at 5859, representing a delta of -2.1% from the AMD perspective. This is a slim margin—essentially a statistical tie in real-world terms—but it does establish the NVIDIA part as the winner in raw OpenCL compute performance. Notably, the AMD Radeon R5 M435’s nearest rival list shows it within 1.6% of three other GPUs: the AMD Radeon HD 8730M (5955), NVIDIA Quadro K620M (5957), and Intel UHD Graphics 730 (5929). Meanwhile, the Quadro M500M’s nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro M4000 (5537) at -1.2% and the NVIDIA GeForce MX130 (5508) at 1.7% below it, but the M500M’s own average benchmark score of 5604 is pulled down by its additional Geekbench Vulkan score of 5222, which is not available for the AMD part.

When interpreting the head-to-head result, it is important to note that the Geekbench OpenCL test is the sole data point, and the 2.1% gap is smaller than the variance seen between many of the nearest rivals listed for each GPU. For example, the AMD Radeon R5 M435 sits between the AMD Radeon R7 M465 (5841, +0.3%) and the Intel UHD Graphics 730 (5929, -1.2%), meaning the M500M’s score of 5986 lands just above that Intel integrated solution. The Quadro M500M also has a Vulkan score of 5222, which is 12.8% lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting API-dependent performance characteristics that the AMD part does not have a corresponding data point for. In the single metric where both are measured, the NVIDIA Quadro M500M wins, but the magnitude of that win is negligible for most workloads.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs diverge fundamentally in their underlying architectures. The AMD Radeon R5 M435 is built on GCN 1.0 architecture with the Jet chip, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, using 690 million transistors on a 56 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 12.3M per mm². In contrast, the NVIDIA Quadro M500M uses Maxwell architecture with the GM108S chip, also on a 28 nm TSMC process, but packs 1,020 million transistors onto a 77 mm² die, achieving 13.2M transistors per mm². This means NVIDIA fits roughly 48% more transistors into a 37.5% larger die area, resulting in a higher density and a more complex chip overall.

The compute configurations differ significantly despite similar memory buses. The AMD Radeon R5 M435 has 320 shading units, 20 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 8 ROPs, whereas the NVIDIA Quadro M500M has 384 shading units, 16 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. The AMD part has more TMUs (20 vs 16), but NVIDIA has more shading units (384 vs 320). This translates to a texture rate of 20.60 GTexel/s for AMD versus 17.98 GTexel/s for NVIDIA, while the pixel rates are close: 8.240 GPixel/s for AMD and 8.992 GPixel/s for NVIDIA. In raw FP32 compute, the NVIDIA part leads with 863.2 GFLOPS against AMD’s 659.2 GFLOPS, a 31% advantage that aligns with its higher shading unit count and clock speeds.

Clock speeds also favor NVIDIA. The Quadro M500M runs at a base clock of 1029 MHz with a boost of 1124 MHz, while the Radeon R5 M435 operates at a 780 MHz base and 1030 MHz boost. Memory configurations show a stark contrast: AMD uses 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 64-bit bus with 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective) yielding 36.00 GB/s bandwidth, whereas NVIDIA uses 2 GB of DDR3 on the same 64-bit bus but at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) for just 14.40 GB/s bandwidth. This means AMD has 2.5 times the memory bandwidth of NVIDIA, which could offset some of the compute deficit in bandwidth-sensitive workloads. Power characteristics also differ, with NVIDIA rated at a 30 W TDP and an MXM Module slot width, while AMD is listed as IGP with no TDP specified, and the bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x8 for AMD versus MXM-A (3.0) for NVIDIA.

The Verdict

The data points to the NVIDIA Quadro M500M as the stronger GPU in the one available benchmark, winning the Geekbench OpenCL test by 2.1% with a score of 5986 versus 5859. However, this advantage is marginal and the two parts occupy essentially the same performance tier, as evidenced by their nearly identical percentiles (33rd for AMD, 32nd for NVIDIA). The AMD Radeon R5 M435 does offer a clear bandwidth advantage with 36.00 GB/s versus 14.40 GB/s, which could matter for certain memory-bound tasks, but the NVIDIA part counters with 863.2 GFLOPS FP32 compute versus 659.2 GFLOPS, a 31% raw compute lead. The AMD part also has a higher texture rate (20.60 GTexel/s vs 17.98 GTexel/s) due to its extra TMUs, but NVIDIA’s pixel rate is slightly higher (8.992 GPixel/s vs 8.240 GPixel/s).

For consumers, the choice should come down to the specific application. If the workload is compute-heavy and can leverage FP32 performance, the Quadro M500M is the better pick based on its OpenCL score and higher shading unit count. If the workload is memory-bandwidth-sensitive, the Radeon R5 M435’s GDDR5 memory and 36.00 GB/s bandwidth provide a significant theoretical advantage that the benchmark data does not directly capture. Neither part offers Vulkan data for the AMD side, but the NVIDIA part’s Vulkan score of 5222 is notably lower than its OpenCL score, suggesting API-specific weaknesses. Both GPUs are end-of-life, with the AMD Radeon R5 M435 released on 2016-05-14 and the Quadro M500M on 2016-04-26, so there is no future support advantage. The NVIDIA part’s 30 W TDP is specified, while AMD’s is not, which could influence thermal design choices in portable devices.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher Geekbench OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M500M scores 5986, while the AMD Radeon R5 M435 scores 5859, giving NVIDIA a 2.1% lead.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The AMD Radeon R5 M435 has 36.00 GB/s bandwidth using GDDR5, while the NVIDIA Quadro M500M has 14.40 GB/s using DDR3, meaning AMD has over twice the bandwidth.

Q: How do the transistor counts compare?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M500M uses 1,020 million transistors on a 77 mm² die, while the AMD Radeon R5 M435 uses 690 million on a 56 mm² die, with NVIDIA having a higher density at 13.2M per mm² versus 12.3M per mm².

Q: What are the shading unit counts?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M500M has 384 shading units, while the AMD Radeon R5 M435 has 320 shading units, giving NVIDIA a 20% advantage in this metric.

Q: Does the AMD part have any benchmark advantage?

A: In the single head-to-head benchmark available, the AMD Radeon R5 M435 does not win; the NVIDIA Quadro M500M wins the Geekbench OpenCL test. However, AMD has a higher texture rate of 20.60 GTexel/s versus 17.98 GTexel/s for NVIDIA.

Q: What are the process nodes for both GPUs?

A: Both are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, but the AMD Radeon R5 M435 uses GCN 1.0 architecture with the Jet chip, while the NVIDIA Quadro M500M uses Maxwell with the GM108S chip.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro M500M wins in raw compute throughput, as shown by its higher Geekbench OpenCL score (5986 vs 5859) and its FP32 rating of 863.2 GFLOPS against 659.2 GFLOPS for AMD. It also has more shading units (384 vs 320), a higher base clock (1029 MHz vs 780 MHz), and a higher boost clock (1124 MHz vs 1030 MHz). The NVIDIA part additionally offers a Vulkan benchmark score of 5222, which is not available for the AMD part, and it has a higher pixel rate at 8.992 GPixel/s versus 8.240 GPixel/s. For compute-oriented tasks like OpenCL workloads, the data clearly favors the Quadro M500M.

The AMD Radeon R5 M435 wins in memory bandwidth, with 36.00 GB/s from its GDDR5 memory versus 14.40 GB/s from the Quadro M500M’s DDR3, a 150% advantage. It also has more TMUs (20 vs 16), yielding a higher texture rate of 20.60 GTexel/s versus 17.98 GTexel/s. The AMD part has a smaller die (56 mm² vs 77 mm²) and fewer transistors (690 million vs 1,020 million), which could translate to lower power consumption, though no TDP is specified for the AMD part while NVIDIA lists 30 W. For workloads that are memory-bound, such as certain image processing or data-intensive operations, the Radeon R5 M435’s bandwidth advantage is a clear win, even if its compute capabilities are lower. The AMD part also uses PCIe 3.0 x8 as its bus interface, while NVIDIA uses MXM-A (3.0), which may affect system integration choices.