AMD Radeon R7 M360 vs AMD Radeon R8 M445DX Comparison

The AMD Radeon R7 M360 and AMD Radeon R8 M445DX are both end-of-life mobile graphics solutions from AMD's GCN 3.0 generation, built on the same Meso chip using a 28 nm process at TSMC. Despite sharing a common architectural foundation and identical transistor counts of 1,550 million on a 125 mm² die, the two parts are configured very differently to serve distinct roles: the R7 M360 is a discrete, PCIe-attached GPU, while the R8 M445DX is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) designed for hybrid systems. The benchmark data, based primarily on Geekbench OpenCL scores, shows a narrow victory for the R8 M445DX, but the underlying specifications reveal a more nuanced performance picture that varies by workload and system context.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head benchmark results give a clear, if limited, verdict: the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX wins the only directly comparable test, the Geekbench OpenCL benchmark, by a margin of 1.9% over the R7 M360. The R8 M445DX scores 4,727 points versus the R7 M360's 4,638 points. This win is notable because the R8 M445DX achieves it with fewer shading units (320 versus 384), fewer texture mapping units (20 versus 24), and a lower base clock (780 MHz versus 1,100 MHz). Its advantage appears to stem from a higher boost clock relative to its base (1,021 MHz) and the nature of its hybrid memory architecture, which leverages system memory rather than a dedicated frame buffer.

However, the R7 M360 wins on raw compute potential in several key specification categories. It has a significantly higher FP32 throughput of 864.0 GFLOPS compared to the R8 M445DX's 653.4 GFLOPS, a 32.2% advantage. The R7 M360 also leads in texture rate (27.00 GTexel/s versus 20.42 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (9.000 GPixel/s versus 8.168 GPixel/s). These figures suggest that in workloads that are heavily dependent on shader compute or texture fill, the R7 M360 should theoretically outperform the R8 M445DX, even though the OpenCL benchmark tells a different story. The R7 M360's dedicated 2 GB of DDR3 memory with a 64-bit bus and 14.40 GB/s bandwidth also provides a fixed, predictable memory resource, whereas the R8 M445DX's performance is "System Dependent" and can vary based on the host system's RAM configuration and speed.

In practical terms, the R7 M360 is better suited for tasks that require consistent, dedicated memory bandwidth and higher raw shader throughput, such as older games with moderate texture loads or GPU-accelerated compute tasks that fit within its 2 GB frame buffer. The R8 M445DX, by contrast, benefits from being an integrated solution that can share system memory, potentially offering lower latency access to data already in RAM, but its performance ceiling is tied to the system's memory subsystem. The data suggests that for users with a system where the hybrid memory setup is well-tuned, the R8 M445DX can edge out the R7 M360 in OpenCL compute, but the R7 M360 holds a theoretical advantage in pure fill-rate and compute-bound scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M360 has a higher average benchmark score of 4,931 points, compared to the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX's 4,727 points. The R7 M360 also has a better percentile ranking, sitting in the 29th percentile of all GPUs versus the R8 M445DX's 27th percentile.

Q: How do the two cards compare in the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon R8 M445DX wins the Geekbench OpenCL test with a score of 4,727, which is 1.9% higher than the R7 M360's score of 4,638. This is the only head-to-head benchmark available in the data.

Q: What are the key differences in memory configuration?

A: The R7 M360 has a dedicated 2 GB of DDR3 memory with a 64-bit bus and a fixed bandwidth of 14.40 GB/s. The R8 M445DX uses "System Shared" memory, meaning its memory size, type, and bus width are all shared with the system, and its bandwidth is "System Dependent."

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M360 has 384 shading units, which is 20% more than the 320 shading units found on the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX. The R7 M360 also has 24 TMUs versus 20 TMUs on the R8 M445DX.

Q: Are there any differences in API support?

A: No, both GPUs support the same API set: DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170. This means software compatibility is identical on that front.

Q: What is the form factor difference between the two?

A: The R7 M360 uses a PCIe 3.0 x8 bus interface, making it a discrete card. The R8 M445DX is listed as an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) with a bus interface of "IGP" and display outputs described as "Portable Device Dependent."

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct head-to-head benchmark result is the Geekbench OpenCL test, where the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX emerges victorious with a score of 4,727 against the R7 M360's 4,638. The delta percentage is -1.9% from the perspective of the R7 M360, indicating that the R8 M445DX is 1.9% faster in this specific test. This is a narrow margin, and the result is somewhat counterintuitive given the R7 M360's substantial theoretical compute advantage.

Digging into the specifications, the R7 M360's FP32 performance is 864.0 GFLOPS, which is 32.2% higher than the R8 M445DX's 653.4 GFLOPS. Similarly, the R7 M360's texture rate of 27.00 GTexel/s is 32.2% higher than the R8 M445DX's 20.42 GTexel/s. These are significant deltas that suggest the R7 M360 should dominate in shader-heavy or texture-heavy workloads. Yet, the OpenCL score shows the opposite, with the R8 M445DX performing slightly better. This discrepancy could be attributed to the R8 M445DX's hybrid memory architecture, which allows it to access system memory directly, potentially reducing data transfer overhead in certain compute tasks.

The R7 M360 does hold a clear win in memory bandwidth, with a dedicated 14.40 GB/s versus the R8 M445DX's "System Dependent" bandwidth. While the R8 M445DX's actual bandwidth could be higher or lower depending on the system's RAM, the R7 M360's fixed 14.40 GB/s provides a guaranteed minimum. In terms of pixel rate, the R7 M360 also leads with 9.000 GPixel/s versus 8.168 GPixel/s, a 10.2% advantage. This suggests that for fill-rate-bound scenarios, the R7 M360 should be faster, even though the OpenCL benchmark does not reflect this. The data indicates that the R8 M445DX's win is specific to the OpenCL workload tested, and the R7 M360's architectural strengths position it better for other types of graphics or compute loads.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across several core specification fields. The R7 M360 has a base clock of 1,100 MHz and a boost clock of 1,125 MHz, while the R8 M445DX has a much lower base clock of 780 MHz but a boost clock of 1,021 MHz. The R7 M360's memory is 2 GB of DDR3 with a 64-bit bus and 14.40 GB/s bandwidth, whereas the R8 M445DX uses "System Shared" memory for size, type, and bus width, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." The shading unit count differs, with the R7 M360 featuring 384 units versus 320 on the R8 M445DX. TMUs also differ: 24 on the R7 M360 versus 20 on the R8 M445DX. Both have 8 ROPs.

The pixel rate is higher on the R7 M360 at 9.000 GPixel/s compared to 8.168 GPixel/s on the R8 M445DX. Texture rate follows the same pattern, with the R7 M360 at 27.00 GTexel/s versus 20.42 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 864.0 GFLOPS on the R7 M360 versus 653.4 GFLOPS on the R8 M445DX, and FP16 is identical at a 1:1 ratio for both. The bus interface is a major differentiator: the R7 M360 uses PCIe 3.0 x8, while the R8 M445DX is an IGP with a bus interface of "IGP" and display outputs that are "Portable Device Dependent." The R8 M445DX has a slot width of "IGP," whereas the R7 M360 has no listed slot width. The generation names also differ, with the R7 M360 being part of "Gem System (R7 M300)" and the R8 M445DX part of "Gem System Hybrid (Rx M400)."

Architecture Differences

Both the AMD Radeon R7 M360 and the AMD Radeon R8 M445DX are built on the same fundamental architecture: GCN 3.0, utilizing the Meso chip. They are fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with identical transistor counts of 1,550 million and a die size of 125 mm², resulting in the same transistor density of 12.4M / mm². The core architecture is therefore identical, meaning there are no differences in the underlying instruction set, compute unit design, or render output pipeline. Both support DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.170, and both lack dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores.

The architectural differences are purely in implementation and configuration rather than design. The R7 M360 is a discrete part, connected via PCIe 3.0 x8, with its own dedicated 2 GB DDR3 memory. The R8 M445DX is an integrated processor, sharing system memory and relying on the host platform's memory controller for bandwidth. This means the R8 M445DX has no dedicated memory of its own, and its performance is inherently tied to the system's RAM speed and configuration. The R7 M360's higher clock speeds (1,100 MHz base versus 780 MHz base) and larger number of shader units (384 versus 320) are enabled by its discrete design, which allows for more aggressive power and thermal management. The R8 M445DX, being an IGP, is likely constrained by the thermal and power envelope of the host processor, leading to lower clocks and a reduced compute unit count. In terms of release timing, the R7 M360 was released on 2015-05-04, while the R8 M445DX followed on 2016-05-14, but both are now end-of-life products.