AMD Radeon R7 350 vs NVIDIA Quadro M5000M Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two GPUs in this comparison share only two common benchmark results in the database: Geekbench OpenCL and Geekbench Vulkan. In both cases, the NVIDIA Quadro M5000M dominates decisively. The OpenCL test shows the Quadro M5000M scoring 22,920 against 7,792 for the Radeon R7 350, a 66% advantage for NVIDIA. The Vulkan test is even more lopsided: 24,875 versus 7,057, meaning the Quadro M5000M leads by 71.6%. These are not close races; the NVIDIA part roughly triples the AMD card's output in both compute APIs.

The Radeon R7 350 does not win a single head-to-head benchmark in the recorded data. Its average benchmark score across all tests sits at 7,425, while the Quadro M5000M averages 6,481. That average, however, is pulled down by the Quadro's Passmark DirectX results, which are unusually low for a modern GPU. The DirectX 9 score of 119, DirectX 10 score of 35, DirectX 11 score of 54, and DirectX 12 score of 29 are far below what the raw compute numbers would suggest. These legacy API tests appear to penalize the Maxwell architecture in ways that the Geekbench suite does not.

Looking at the nearest rivals in the database provides context. The Radeon R7 350 sits in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, with its closest competitors being Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.2% behind), AMD Radeon HD 8850M (0.3% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (0.6% behind), and Intel Arc A310 (1.7% behind). The Quadro M5000M, despite its massive OpenCL and Vulkan wins, sits at the 37th percentile overall, with AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile (0.1% ahead), NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M (0.2% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (0.5% behind), and Intel UHD Graphics P750 (1.1% behind) as its nearest rivals. The percentile discrepancy between the two cards is small, only three points, but the character of their benchmark profiles is completely different.

Where Each One Wins

The Quadro M5000M wins every compute-oriented workload in the shared test set. Its OpenCL score of 22,920 places it in a different performance class from the R7 350's 7,792. The Vulkan result of 24,875 further confirms that the NVIDIA card is the pick for modern GPU compute, whether that means OpenCL acceleration in productivity applications or Vulkan-based rendering workloads. The Quadro's Passmark G3D score of 7,062 also indicates strong traditional graphics capability, and its Passmark GPU compute score of 2,756 suggests solid general-purpose compute performance outside the Geekbench suite.

The Radeon R7 350's wins are more subtle and are not reflected in the head-to-head table. Its average benchmark score of 7,425 is actually higher than the Quadro M5000M's 6,481, which means the AMD card performs better across the full range of database tests when all results are averaged together. This is entirely due to the Quadro's poor Passmark DirectX scores. The R7 350 has no Passmark results in the database, so its average is built only from Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan, both of which are respectable for a low-power desktop card. The R7 350 also has a much lower power draw at 55 W compared to 100 W for the Quadro, which matters in systems with limited thermal or power headroom.

For users running legacy DirectX applications, the Quadro M5000M's Passmark DirectX 9 score of 119 is the only relevant data point, and it is low. The R7 350 does not have comparable results, so the database cannot confirm whether AMD's part handles older APIs better. What is clear is that the Quadro's DirectX 10, 11, and 12 scores (35, 54, and 29 respectively) are all far below its OpenCL and Vulkan numbers, indicating that the NVIDIA card's architecture is heavily optimized for modern compute paths rather than older graphics APIs.

Architecture Differences

The Radeon R7 350 uses the Cape Verde chip built on GCN 1.0 architecture, manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process. It packs 1,500 million transistors into a 123 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 12.2 million per square millimeter. The card features 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. Its memory subsystem consists of 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 72.00 GB/s of bandwidth at a memory clock of 1125 MHz (4.5 Gbps effective). The pixel rate is 12.80 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 25.60 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 819.2 GFLOPS.

The Quadro M5000M uses the GM204 chip on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, also built by TSMC on 28 nm. This is a substantially larger chip: 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, for a density of 13.1 million per square millimeter. The NVIDIA part has 1,536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, which is three times the shader count, three times the texture units, and four times the ROPs of the AMD card. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, with bandwidth of 160.4 GB/s at a memory clock of 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective). Pixel rate reaches 67.26 GPixel/s, texture rate hits 100.9 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 3.229 TFLOPS, roughly four times the R7 350's compute throughput.

Both GPUs support DirectX 12, but the R7 350 implements version 12 (11_1) while the Quadro M5000M implements version 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6. Vulkan support differs: the AMD card lists Vulkan 1.2.170, while the NVIDIA card lists Vulkan 1.4, a newer specification version. The R7 350 uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while the Quadro M5000M uses an MXM-B (3.0) module connector, reflecting its mobile workstation heritage. The R7 350 is a single-slot desktop card with no power connectors and a suggested PSU of 250 W; the Quadro M5000M is an MXM module with no power connectors specified and no suggested PSU listed.

The R7 350's display outputs include 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. The Quadro M5000M's outputs are listed as "Portable Device Dependent," meaning they vary by the laptop or mobile workstation in which the module is installed. The R7 350's dimensions are 168 mm (6.6 inches) in length; the Quadro's dimensions are not recorded. Neither card has ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

The Verdict

The benchmark data leaves no ambiguity for compute-heavy workloads: the Quadro M5000M is the superior GPU by a wide margin. Its OpenCL score is 66% higher and its Vulkan score is 71.6% higher than the Radeon R7 350. Anyone running OpenCL or Vulkan applications should choose the NVIDIA card without hesitation. The Quadro also offers 8 GB of memory versus 2 GB, four times the bandwidth, and roughly four times the FP32 throughput.

The Radeon R7 350 is the better choice only in specific scenarios. Its higher average benchmark score of 7,425 versus 6,481 for the Quadro indicates that it performs more consistently across the full range of database tests, but this is driven by the Quadro's weak Passmark DirectX results. If the workload involves legacy DirectX 9, 10, 11, or 12 titles, the Quadro's recorded scores (119, 35, 54, and 29 respectively) are poor enough that the R7 350, which lacks comparable Passmark data, may actually be preferable. The R7 350 also draws 55 W against 100 W for the Quadro, making it far easier to power in a compact desktop build.

For a desktop system where power consumption is a concern and the primary use is older API gaming or light compute, the R7 350 is defensible. For any modern compute task, content creation workload, or mobile workstation deployment, the Quadro M5000M is the clear winner. The data shows that the Quadro's low percentile ranking (37th) is an artifact of its weak legacy DirectX scores, not a reflection of its actual compute capability. The R7 350's 40th percentile is a more honest representation of its modest performance level.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher OpenCL score?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro M5000M scores 22,920 in Geekbench OpenCL, compared to 7,792 for the AMD Radeon R7 350, a 66% difference.

Q: How do the Vulkan scores compare?

A: The Quadro M5000M scores 24,875 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the R7 350 scores 7,057, giving NVIDIA a 71.6% advantage.

Q: What is the memory configuration of each card?

A: The R7 350 has 2 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with 72.00 GB/s bandwidth. The Quadro M5000M has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus with 160.4 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The Quadro M5000M has 1,536 shading units, three times the 512 shading units found on the R7 350.

Q: What are the power draw figures?

A: The R7 350 has a TDP of 55 W, while the Quadro M5000M has a TDP of 100 W.

Q: Why does the R7 350 have a higher average benchmark score despite losing every head-to-head test?

A: The R7 350's average of 7,425 is built from its two Geekbench results. The Quadro's average of 6,481 includes nine tests, several of which are very low Passmark DirectX scores (35 to 119), which drag down its average.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon R7 350 | NVIDIA Quadro M5000M |

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

| Chip | Cape Verde | GM204 |

| Architecture | GCN 1.0 | Maxwell 2.0 |

| Generation | Pirate Islands (R7 300) | Quadro Maxwell-M (Mx000M) |

| Process Node | 28 nm | 28 nm |

| Transistors | 1,500 million | 5,200 million |

| Die Size | 123 mm² | 398 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 12.2M / mm² | 13.1M / mm² |

| Base Clock | Not specified | 962 MHz |

| Boost Clock | Not specified | 1051 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1125 MHz, 4.5 Gbps effective | 1253 MHz, 5 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 2 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 72.00 GB/s | 160.4 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 512 | 1536 |

| TMUs | 32 | 96 |

| ROPs | 16 | 64 |

| Pixel Rate | 12.80 GPixel/s | 67.26 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 25.60 GTexel/s | 100.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 819.2 GFLOPS | 3.229 TFLOPS |

| TDP | 55 W | 100 W |

| Slot Width | Single-slot | MXM Module |

| Power Connectors | None | None |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | Not specified |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | MXM-B (3.0) |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.2 | Portable Device Dependent |

| DirectX Support | 12 (11_1) | 12 (12_1) |

| OpenGL Support | 4.6 | 4.6 |

| Vulkan Support | 1.2.170 | 1.4 |

| Release Date | 2016-07-05 | 2015-08-17 |

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

| Predecessor | Volcanic Islands | Quadro Kepler-M |

| Successor | Arctic Islands | Quadro Pascal-M |