AMD Radeon R7 M440 vs NVIDIA Quadro M4000 Comparison

# AMD Radeon R7 M440 vs NVIDIA Quadro M4000

The AMD Radeon R7 M440 and NVIDIA Quadro M4000 occupy the same overall percentile rank (32nd) among all GPUs, yet their average benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. The R7 M440 posts an average benchmark score of 5483, while the Quadro M4000 sits at 5467 — a razor-thin 0.3% gap that places them as direct rivals. However, this near-parity in aggregate scores masks dramatic differences in individual workload performance, particularly in compute-oriented tests where the Quadro M4000 demonstrates overwhelming superiority. The data reveals two very different design philosophies: one optimized for integrated, power-conscious mobile deployment, and another engineered for professional workstation tasks with substantial memory bandwidth and shading resources.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head comparison between these two GPUs is starkly one-sided in the two tests where both were evaluated. In Geekbench OpenCL, the Quadro M4000 scores 19118 against the R7 M440's 5214 — a delta of -72.7% for the AMD part. This is not a marginal victory; the Quadro M4000 delivers roughly 3.7 times the OpenCL performance. Even more decisive is the Geekbench Vulkan result, where the Quadro M4000 reaches 24640 versus the R7 M440's 5751, representing a -76.7% delta. The NVIDIA part outperforms the AMD chip by a factor of approximately 4.3 in Vulkan compute.

These results are particularly striking given the near-identical average benchmark scores. The explanation lies in the benchmark composition: the Quadro M4000's average includes ten different tests, spanning PassMark DirectX 9/10/11/12, G2D, G3D, and GPU compute, alongside the two Geekbench tests. The R7 M440's average derives from just two Geekbench entries. When the Quadro M4000's PassMark scores — such as 6680 in G3D and 2660 in GPU compute — are factored in, the aggregate pulls close to the R7 M440's narrower results. The PassMark DirectX 9 score of 113 and DirectX 11 score of 49 suggest the Quadro M4000 handles legacy graphics APIs with relative ease, while its DirectX 12 score of 26 indicates newer API workloads are less favorable.

The R7 M440's wins tally is zero in this head-to-head; the Quadro M4000 claims both victories. Yet the average benchmark scores imply that in certain unmeasured workloads, the AMD part must be competitive — otherwise the aggregates would diverge more significantly. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 5214 and Vulkan score of 5751 for the R7 M440 are internally consistent, showing only a 10% gap between these two compute APIs. The Quadro M4000, by contrast, shows a 29% gap between OpenCL (19118) and Vulkan (24640), suggesting its architecture scales better with Vulkan's execution model.

The Verdict

The data indicates that professional compute workloads belong squarely to the NVIDIA Quadro M4000. Its OpenCL and Vulkan scores are multiples of the AMD Radeon R7 M440's, and its broader benchmark portfolio — including PassMark G3D at 6680 — demonstrates versatility across both compute and graphics rendering tasks. The R7 M440, with its integrated form factor and minimal benchmark footprint, appears designed for scenarios where the GPU is a secondary consideration rather than a primary compute engine.

However, the near-identical average benchmark scores (5483 vs 5467) and matching 32nd percentile rankings suggest that for the specific workloads captured in the aggregate, these GPUs perform similarly. Users running only the two Geekbench tests would see a massive difference favoring NVIDIA, but the PassMark results included in the Quadro M4000's average indicate that its performance is not uniformly superior. The Quadro M4000's PassMark DirectX 12 score of 26 is notably low, and its PassMark DirectX 10 score of 33 suggests diminishing returns in older API paths.

For system integrators prioritizing a single-slot professional card with extensive display outputs (4x DisplayPort 1.2), the Quadro M4000 is the clear choice based on raw compute headroom. For ultra-portable or embedded designs where the GPU must share space with the CPU, the R7 M440's integrated package (IGP slot width) offers a compelling footprint advantage — though the data cannot quantify the power savings since no TDP is listed for the AMD part.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two GPUs is enormous, even though both are built on a 28 nm TSMC process. The AMD Radeon R7 M440 uses the Meso chip with GCN 3.0 architecture, packing 1,550 million transistors into a 125 mm² die — a transistor density of 12.4M per mm². The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 employs the GM204 chip with Maxwell 2.0 architecture, containing 5,200 million transistors across a 398 mm² die, yielding a slightly higher density of 13.1M per mm². The Quadro M4000's die is more than three times larger in area and holds over three times the transistor count.

Memory subsystems diverge fundamentally. The R7 M440 offers 4 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus, delivering 14.40 GB/s of bandwidth. The Quadro M4000 provides 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, achieving 192.3 GB/s — more than 13 times the bandwidth. This memory disparity directly explains the compute benchmark gaps, as OpenCL and Vulkan workloads often stress memory throughput. The R7 M440's memory clock is listed at 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective), while the Quadro M4000's memory runs at 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective).

Shader resources tell a similar story. The R7 M440 contains 320 shading units, 20 TMUs, and 8 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 7.128 GPixel/s and texture rate of 17.82 GTexel/s. The Quadro M4000 fields 1664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, achieving 49.47 GPixel/s and 80.39 GTexel/s. FP32 compute rates are 570.2 GFLOPS for the AMD part versus 2.573 TFLOPS for the NVIDIA part — a 4.5-fold advantage. Notably, the R7 M440 supports FP16 at a 1:1 ratio (570.2 GFLOPS), while the Quadro M4000 lists no FP16 capability, suggesting the AMD architecture may handle certain machine-learning or media workloads more flexibly.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has higher average benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon R7 M440 averages 5483, while the NVIDIA Quadro M4000 averages 5467 — a 0.3% difference favoring the AMD part, placing them as nearest rivals.

Q: How much faster is the Quadro M4000 in Geekbench OpenCL?

A: The Quadro M4000 scores 19118 versus the R7 M440's 5214, a delta of -72.7% for the AMD GPU, meaning the NVIDIA card delivers roughly 3.7 times the OpenCL performance.

Q: What memory configurations do these GPUs use?

A: The R7 M440 uses 4 GB of DDR3 on a 64-bit bus (14.40 GB/s), while the Quadro M4000 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus (192.3 GB/s).

Q: Do both GPUs support DirectX 12?

A: Yes, but at different feature levels. The R7 M440 supports DirectX 12 (12_0), while the Quadro M4000 supports DirectX 12 (12_1).

Q: What are the physical form factor differences?

A: The R7 M440 is an integrated GPU (IGP slot width) with portable-device-dependent display outputs. The Quadro M4000 is a single-slot card measuring 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length and 111 mm (4.4 inches) in height, with 4x DisplayPort 1.2 outputs.

Q: Which GPU has better Vulkan performance?

A: The Quadro M4000 scores 24640 in Geekbench Vulkan versus the R7 M440's 5751, a -76.7% delta for the AMD part.

Where Each One Wins

The NVIDIA Quadro M4000 wins decisively in both head-to-head compute benchmarks — Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan — and extends this dominance across PassMark tests where it scores 6680 in G3D and 2660 in GPU compute. Its 8 GB GDDR5 memory with 192.3 GB/s bandwidth makes it suitable for large dataset manipulation, 4K texture workloads, and multi-display professional environments (4x DisplayPort 1.2). The 1664 shading units and 64 ROPs provide ample geometry throughput for CAD, 3D modeling, and GPU-accelerated rendering tasks.

The AMD Radeon R7 M440's wins are more subtle. Its integrated form factor means no additional power connectors or PSU requirements — the Quadro M4000, by contrast, requires a 300 W suggested PSU and a 1x 6-pin connector. The R7 M440's FP16 capability at 1:1 ratio (570.2 GFLOPS) offers a feature the Quadro M4000 lacks entirely, potentially benefiting applications that leverage half-precision arithmetic. Its 4 GB DDR3 memory, while slow at 14.40 GB/s, provides adequate capacity for lighter workloads, and its PCIe 3.0 x8 interface — though narrower than the Quadro's x16 — suffices for its performance class.

For portable devices where space and power are constrained, the R7 M440's IGP slot width and lack of discrete power requirements make it the only viable option between the two. The Quadro M4000's single-slot footprint and 120 W TDP demand a desktop workstation chassis with adequate cooling and power delivery.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ across nearly every specification field. Process node and foundry are identical (28 nm, TSMC), but transistor counts diverge sharply: 1,550 million for the R7 M440 versus 5,200 million for the Quadro M4000. Die sizes are 125 mm² and 398 mm² respectively, with transistor densities of 12.4M/mm² and 13.1M/mm². Memory clocks differ — 900 MHz (1800 Mbps effective) for the AMD part versus 1502 MHz (6 Gbps effective) for the NVIDIA part. Memory capacity is 4 GB versus 8 GB, with DDR3 versus GDDR5 types and 64-bit versus 256-bit bus widths. Bandwidth ranges from 14.40 GB/s to 192.3 GB/s.

Compute resources show the Quadro M4000 with 1664 shading units, 104 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, against the R7 M440's 320, 20, and 8. Pixel rates are 7.128 GPixel/s versus 49.47 GPixel/s; texture rates are 17.82 GTexel/s versus 80.39 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 570.2 GFLOPS versus 2.573 TFLOPS. The R7 M440 lists FP16 at 570.2 GFLOPS (1:1), while the Quadro M4000 has no FP16 data. TDP is absent for the AMD part but 120 W for NVIDIA. Slot widths are IGP versus single-slot. The Quadro M4000 requires a 1x 6-pin power connector and 300 W suggested PSU; the R7 M440 lists neither. Bus interfaces are PCIe 3.0 x8 versus PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs are portable-device-dependent versus 4x DisplayPort 1.2. DirectX support is 12 (12_0) versus 12 (12_1); OpenGL is 4.6 for both; Vulkan is 1.2.170 versus 1.4. Release dates are May 2016 for the AMD part and June 2015 for the NVIDIA part, with the R7 M440's generation listed as "Gem System (R7 M400)" and the Quadro M4000's as "Quadro Maxwell (Mx000)".