AMD Radeon R7 M350 vs AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile Comparison

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile and AMD Radeon R7 M350 represent two distinct approaches to mobile graphics, one as an integrated processor component and the other as a dedicated discrete solution. The database shows the Vega 8 Mobile holds a clear performance advantage across recorded benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 7203 compared to the R7 M350's 6327, a difference of roughly 876 points. This places the Vega 8 Mobile in the 39th percentile of all GPUs, while the R7 M350 sits slightly lower in the 36th percentile. For anyone choosing between these two, the data consistently favors the Vega 8 Mobile, though the specific strengths and architectural differences deserve a closer look.

The Verdict

The benchmark data points to the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile as the superior performer in every recorded test. It wins both head-to-head benchmark comparisons, with a 6.4% advantage in Geekbench OpenCL and a larger 23.1% edge in Geekbench Vulkan. The average benchmark score of 7203 versus 6327 reinforces this, showing a lead of about 13.8% overall. The Vega 8 Mobile also ranks higher in the database's percentile system, sitting at 39 versus the R7 M350's 36. For users prioritizing raw compute performance in OpenCL workloads or Vulkan-based applications, the Vega 8 Mobile is the clear choice based on these measurements.

The R7 M350, while less performant, is not without its place. Its architecture and dedicated memory configuration make it a functional option for systems where the integrated Vega 8 Mobile is not available or where a discrete GPU is required for a particular platform. However, the data shows no benchmark where the R7 M350 outperforms the Vega 8 Mobile, so the recommendation for performance-focused users is unambiguous. Those who need a GPU for general-purpose compute tasks should look at the Vega 8 Mobile's higher scores, while the R7 M350 may suit users who specifically require a PCIe-based discrete solution with its own memory, accepting lower performance in exchange for that form factor.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different architectural generations and manufacturing processes. The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile uses the GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, with the chip codenamed Raven-M. It integrates 4,940 million transistors on a die size of 210 mm², yielding a transistor density of 23.5 million per square millimeter. The R7 M350, by contrast, uses the older GCN 3.0 architecture on a 28 nm process from TSMC, with the chip named Meso. It packs 1,550 million transistors on a 125 mm² die, for a density of 12.4 million per square millimeter. This gap in process node and transistor density explains part of the Vega 8 Mobile's performance advantage.

Core counts differ significantly. The Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 8 raster operations pipelines. The R7 M350 has fewer shading units at 384, fewer texture units at 24, and the same 8 ROPs. This means the Vega 8 Mobile can process more parallel work per clock cycle, which contributes directly to its higher compute throughput. The recorded pixel rate for the Vega 8 Mobile is 8.808 GPixel/s versus 8.120 GPixel/s for the R7 M350, and the texture rate is 35.23 GTexel/s versus 24.36 GTexel/s. These are modest but consistent wins for the Vega 8 Mobile.

Memory configuration is another major differentiator. The Vega 8 Mobile uses system shared memory, with no dedicated VRAM, and its bandwidth is listed as system dependent. The R7 M350 has 4 GB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus, with a fixed bandwidth of 16.00 GB/s and an effective clock of 1000 MHz or 2 Gbps effective. The Vega 8 Mobile's memory performance is variable, depending on the host system's memory, while the R7 M350 offers predictable, dedicated memory bandwidth. This is a trade-off: the Vega 8 Mobile can potentially access faster system memory, but the R7 M350's dedicated memory may be more consistent in workloads that are sensitive to memory latency.

Feature support also differs. The Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. The R7 M350 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. The newer Vulkan version on the Vega 8 Mobile aligns with its newer architecture, which may enable better performance in modern Vulkan titles, as evidenced by its larger Vulkan benchmark win. The Vega 8 Mobile also has a higher FP32 compute rating at 1,127.4 GFLOPS versus 779.5 GFLOPS for the R7 M350, and its FP16 performance is listed at 2.255 TFLOPS with a 2:1 ratio, while the R7 M350 offers 779.5 GFLOPS at a 1:1 ratio.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile wins in both recorded benchmark categories. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 7435 against the R7 M350's 6991, a 6.4% advantage. This makes it the stronger choice for OpenCL compute workloads, such as general-purpose GPU computing in applications that leverage this API. The Vega 8 Mobile's higher shading unit count and newer architecture likely drive this result.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the Vega 8 Mobile's lead is more pronounced, scoring 6970 versus 5662, a 23.1% difference. This suggests the Vega 8 Mobile is particularly well-suited for Vulkan-based rendering and compute tasks, which are common in modern games and cross-platform applications. The newer Vulkan 1.3 support on the Vega 8 Mobile, compared to Vulkan 1.2.170 on the R7 M350, may contribute to this larger gap.

The R7 M350 does not win any recorded benchmark, so there is no performance category where it takes the lead. However, its dedicated 4 GB DDR3 memory and PCIe 3.0 x8 interface could be beneficial in scenarios where system memory bandwidth is constrained or where a discrete GPU is mandatory. The Vega 8 Mobile's system shared memory means its performance scales with the host's memory, so in a system with slow RAM, the R7 M350 might close the gap, but the database does not provide data to quantify this. For users who need a GPU that does not consume system memory bandwidth, the R7 M350 has a structural advantage, though not a performance one in the recorded tests.

The Vega 8 Mobile also has a lower TDP at 25 W, while the R7 M350's TDP is not listed in the database. This makes the Vega 8 Mobile a more power-efficient option on paper, though the R7 M350's absence of a TDP figure prevents a direct comparison. The Vega 8 Mobile is an IGP with no power connectors and a bus interface of IGP, while the R7 M350 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, indicating it is a discrete card that requires a slot.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 7203, while the AMD Radeon R7 M350 has an average score of 6327.

Q: How large is the Vega 8 Mobile's lead in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile scores 6970 in Geekbench Vulkan, which is 23.1% higher than the R7 M350's score of 5662.

Q: Does the R7 M350 have dedicated memory?

A: Yes, the R7 M350 has 4 GB of dedicated DDR3 memory on a 64-bit bus with a bandwidth of 16.00 GB/s. The Vega 8 Mobile uses system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth.

Q: What are the shading unit counts for each GPU?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, while the R7 M350 has 384 shading units.

Q: Which GPU supports a newer version of Vulkan?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile supports Vulkan 1.3, while the R7 M350 supports Vulkan 1.2.170.

Q: What is the process node difference between the two?

A: The Vega 8 Mobile is built on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the R7 M350 is built on a 28 nm process from TSMC.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head benchmark data shows a consistent winner. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Vega 8 Mobile scores 7435, which is 6.4% higher than the R7 M350's 6991. This is a solid but not overwhelming lead, indicating that in OpenCL compute tasks, the Vega 8 Mobile is clearly ahead but not by a dramatic margin. The difference of 444 points is meaningful for applications that rely heavily on OpenCL, such as certain video encoding or scientific computing workloads.

The second benchmark, Geekbench Vulkan, shows a much larger gap. The Vega 8 Mobile scores 6970, while the R7 M350 scores 5662, giving the Vega 8 Mobile a 23.1% advantage. This is a significant margin, suggesting that Vulkan-based applications, which include many modern games and cross-platform graphics APIs, will see a substantial performance boost on the Vega 8 Mobile. The raw score difference of 1308 points is more than triple the OpenCL gap, highlighting the Vega 8 Mobile's architectural superiority in Vulkan workloads.

Across both benchmarks, the Vega 8 Mobile wins 2 out of 2 comparisons, with no wins for the R7 M350. The average benchmark score confirms this trend, with the Vega 8 Mobile at 7203 versus 6327 for the R7 M350. The nearest rivals in the database put these scores in context: the Vega 8 Mobile is within 0.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750's average score of 7222, and 0.4% ahead of the GeForce GTX 560 SE at 7171. The R7 M350, by contrast, is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100 at 6330, and 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K620 at 6282. These comparisons show the Vega 8 Mobile competing with older discrete desktop GPUs, while the R7 M350 sits at a lower performance tier.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across several key specifications. The Vega 8 Mobile uses the GCN 5.0 architecture on a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries, while the R7 M350 uses GCN 3.0 on a 28 nm process from TSMC. The transistor count is 4,940 million for the Vega 8 Mobile versus 1,550 million for the R7 M350, and the die size is 210 mm² versus 125 mm². Transistor density is 23.5M per mm² for the Vega 8 Mobile and 12.4M per mm² for the R7 M350.

Clock speeds differ: the Vega 8 Mobile has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 1101 MHz, while the R7 M350 has a base clock of 1000 MHz and a boost clock of 1015 MHz. The R7 M350's higher base clock does not compensate for its lower core count, as the Vega 8 Mobile's boost clock is also higher. Memory is another major difference: the Vega 8 Mobile uses system shared memory with system dependent bandwidth, while the R7 M350 has 4 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus with 16.00 GB/s bandwidth. The Vega 8 Mobile has 512 shading units, 32 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, while the R7 M350 has 384 shading units, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs.

Compute performance reflects these differences: the Vega 8 Mobile delivers 1,127.4 GFLOPS FP32 and 2.255 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1), while the R7 M350 delivers 779.5 GFLOPS FP32 and 779.5 GFLOPS FP16 (1:1). Pixel rate is 8.808 GPixel/s for the Vega 8 Mobile versus 8.120 GPixel/s for the R7 M350, and texture rate is 35.23 GTexel/s versus 24.36 GTexel/s. API support also differs: the Vega 8 Mobile supports DirectX 12 (12_1) and Vulkan 1.3, while the R7 M350 supports DirectX 12 (12_0) and Vulkan 1.2.170. Both support OpenGL 4.6.

The Vega 8 Mobile has a TDP of 25 W, is an IGP with no power connectors, and uses a bus interface of IGP. The R7 M350 has no listed TDP, no listed slot width or power connectors, and uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 interface. The Vega 8 Mobile's release date is 2019-01-07, while the R7 M350's is 2015-05-04. The Vega 8 Mobile's predecessor is GCN 3.0 IGP and its successor is Navi II IGP, while the R7 M350's predecessor is Solar System and its successor is Polaris Mobile. Both are end-of-life products, and neither has a launch MSRP in the database.